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AP Photo: Barry Sanders
For the last couple of years, the argument has been made, and it has been made again. Take the Thanksgiving Day game away from the Detroit Lions, they all say. The Lions are terrible, they don't deserve it. Throw tradition out the door, let others have their chance, and so on and so forth.
Granted, I can understand this notion and that people are tired of the Lions, who have been bad to terrible for several years now, playing every Thanksgiving afternoon. However, I say let the Lions keep their game.
When it comes to traditions in sports, I find myself on both sides of the fence depending on the issue. If I had my druthers, they would use pitch tracking software to call balls and strikes in baseball, doing away with the erratic strike zones of umpires. On the other hand, I love a classic match-up in the championship game, regardless of the sport, and bristle a bit at teams like the Tampa Bay Rays or Carolina Panthers on a sport's biggest stage.
Of course, the Thanksgiving Day Lions game is a tradition closer to my heart than most, being a lifelong Lions fan as I am. I have attended several Thanksgiving Day Games in my life. And of course, I love the Lions getting a chance to have national spotlight, given the fact they haven't merited a Sunday or Monday Night game in years.
However, this argument is not one of the heart, but as all of my arguments generally are, of the mind. The reasoning behind making this change seems faulty to me. Yes, the Lions have been bad for years, but allow me to posit this; What if it were the Atlanta Falcons who always played on Thanksgiving Day? They were terrible last year, and perhaps they would have taken the game away from them and given it to, say, the New England Patriots. Flash forward to this season, and the fans would be deprived of the upstart Falcons let by Matt Ryan, in lieu watching Matt Cassel and BenJarvus Green-Ellis take the field. Football turns around fast.
That is my point. Football is a fickle game, chewing teams up and spitting them out before we even got a chance to get used to them on top of the league. Granted, the Lions string of bad seasons has gone on for a very long time, but now that Millen is gone, that can change now.
Let's say after the Lions presumably get blown out by Tennessee this season they took the game away from them, but next year they were at least a half decent team, whereas the team that replaced them fell as sharply as the Cleveland Browns did this season. Then you'd have the same problem: A terrible team hosting a Thanksgiving Day game.
When they make the schedules before the season, there is no way of knowing by the time Thanksgiving rolls around who will be good and who will be bad. Absolutely none. Sure, some teams have been bad for years and others good. But the gambler at the roulette wheel cannot expect red to come up again just because it has the last five spins. Things change, and they change far too fast to keep up with in the NFL.
This is why every so often a Monday Night game turns out to be a snoozer, and why they go to flex schedules late in the season for Sunday night games. Alas, you can't do that same thing with a Thursday Day game, because of scheduling for practices and travel, etc. You can't spring it on a team, even a week or two before the game, that they suddenly will be playing on Thanksgiving. It's not practical. Whoever you stick in the Thanksgiving Day games will have to be there no matter what.
That said, why not keep the tradition? Instead of playing "guess which match-up will be worthwhile come Thanksgiving" just keep the games in Detroit and Dallas, and alternate that late night NFL Network game. There are so many traditionalists in sports, and with the game always changing, why not throw them a bone?
The NFL has enough to worry about hoping their Monday Night games don't turn into battles between a 5-4 team and a 3-6 team, like this week's clash between the Bills and Browns. Why should they add to their stress?
Plus, let's face it, most people will watch the games regardless. It's Thanksgiving, family gathered, an abundance of food being cooked and served, and what have you. You combine that with the fact football is by far the most popular sport in America, and you've got a recipe for relative success, no matter who is playing.
So, while the Lions are terrible now, let them keep the Thanksgiving Day game. It's a nice little tradition, and it gives Lions fans one thing to look forward to for the time being. Then, in the future when the Lions turn it around (and inevitably at some point they will) nobody will even think for a second about asking for the Lions to be taken off of Thanksgiving.
I just hope when the Cowboys have a down cycle, their fans don't have to put up with the grousing we've had to.
Comments
I don't know Chris.
I see your point, but ...
I'm a staunch supporter of all Detroit sports, and even I've got my doubts about whether they should still host the game until they prove they deserve it.
I mean, the last time they were on Monday Night Football was 2001 and they got shut out 35-0 by the Rams ... completely embarassed.
They haven't been back on since. AND won't be until they prove they can keep folks from turining off the TV by the end of the first quarter.
Well, as bad as the lions have been in the past, you can't take the Thanksgiving day game away.
They started the tradition.
If not for them, nobody would be playing on thanksgiving.
Chris: I was born and raised in Motown and also a die-hard Lions fan and still follow ALL 4 major teams there religiously. BUT, in my opinion, it's time to spread that game around. Makes great business sense for the league and better sense for the fans. If they ever do make the change, I will miss my traditional Thanksgiving days that have included seeing the Lions play. You made a point that teams can change over time. In the 80's I think it was, the Cowboys were 1-15 and they turned it around over the years and won a Super Bowl. Then they got bad again and AGAIN bounced back. During this same time, the Lions have remained the Lions and that's my point with them. Ford doesn't deserve this game since he does not have a clue about the NFL and how long should we expect fans from around the country to be force-fed Lions football with their turkey.
Why does it need to be spread around? Especially since the Lions don't have a tradition like WINNING, let them keep what they do have. Besides, someone gets to go in there every year and get a much needed road win. It gets shown on National TV, and everyone gets something from it.
If you are true football fan and enjoy a good contest to go along with a good meal you do not want to see the Detroit Lions play on Turkey Day. Time to give it up. BORING!
Totally agree Kevin. The Lions started the tradition themselves outside the NFL. There WOULDN’T BE football on Thanksgiving without the Lions starting it. It’s not anybody's except the Lions to take away. Period.
Sorry, but I have to dissent here. It's this kind of thinking that engendered the "America's Team" moniker for you-know-who down south. There's more quality football out there than you think, and I think having to watch the same teams every year for the sake of tradition is at best a weak argument.
As a Browns writer and friend you and I have a deep understanding of bad luck, bad teams, and a losing tradition, especially in recent years. The lions on thanksgiving is a tradition that should stay in tact no matter the record. On the bright side the Detroit Lions beat the Browns the last time the two teams met on thanksgiving!
All you dissenters would not be saying this if it were your teams that played every year on Thanksgiving!! Why is this still even a discussion? The compromise was put in place via the third game. Add to that the fact that it does not matter who plays because people will tune in. It is football and it is tradition. I feel a lot are just jealous that the Lions started the tradition.
For all of the traditionalists out there. THINGS MUST CHANGE. Should there be instant replay or teams in a new city? I can understand Lions fans wanting to keep the game but the organization has done nothing to put a good product on the field. They are flat out boring and painful to watch. I would love for the game to be taken away from Detroit but as an alternative it should be a flex game. The team to play Detroit should be chosen at week 6,7 or 8 and just have the 2nd worst team play them every year. let Detroit have its Toilet Bowl. 1st choice is take it away. they ruin the half of my thanksgiving every year. : )
Why not keep the Lions game on at 12:00 and put another game on the other network at the same time? Give the Lions fans what they want and let all the whiners pick the other game if they want. Otherwise, if you don't like the Lions game then talk to your cousin or something. You babies!
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