Giants owner complains about scheduling Thanksgiving game in Denver

John Mara is unhappy his Giants have to travel more than 1,700 miles to play in Denver on Thanksgiving.
(AP file photo)

It took seven months after the 2009 NFL schedules were released, but New York Giants co-owner says he has filed a complaint with the NFL that his team has to travel 1,779 miles to Denver to play the Broncos on Thanksgiving night.

Mara, who is on the NFL's competition committee which makes rules recommendations and will study future Thanksgiving Day games, told the New York Daily News, "I don't mind playing on Thanksgiving. My complaint is sending us all the way to Denver on a short week."

NFL schedules were announced on April 14. What took Mara so long to complain about the Thanksgiving Night game? Did he just find out about the Thanksgiving game this week? Or could it be Mara is miffed because his Giants have lost four straight games after opening the season at 5-0?

Mara apparently is upset the Broncos are playing at home this Sunday against the San Diego Chargers in a 2:15 p.m. Mountain time gain and don't have to travel between its Week 11 and Week 12 contests.

The Giants host the Atlanta Falcons at 11 a.m. MT Sunday before traveling to play the Broncos on Thanksgiving night (a 6:20 p.m. start at Invesco Field at Mile High).

Admittedly the Giants are at a disadvantage, playing the 5-4 Falcons, who are a playoff contender. But the Broncos will play San Diego in a critical battle of the top two teams in the AFC West and the winner will have the upper hand to win the division.

But, when the NFL decided it was adding a third game on Thanksgiving night three years ago, the Giants were offered the chance to host such a game. Mara declined the offer. He explained that "I didn't think most of our fans would like that."

Do you think Broncos fans are thrilled with having a game on Thanksgiving?

Did Mara complain when the Giants had to travel to Dallas on Thanksgiving in 1992?

A lot of teams surely don't like going to Detroit (who would) or Dallas for Thanksgiving games. But it has become a tradition and airing games on the NFL Network created the need for an extra Thanksgiving contest.

And, as Yahoo.com NFL writer Chris Chase so aptly said in a Tuesday story, the Giants sure didn't complain about getting an extra home game against the Saints after New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.