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Football on Thanksgiving - American as pumpkin pie
Michigan
Posts: 4,942 ✭
in Sports Talk
When you consider that Thanksgiving has been celebrated in America for nearly 400 years and that television has only been around for barely 60, it's surprising that a major part of Thanksgiving culture in this country has come to revolve around watching television; specifically, the Macy's parade and NFL football. But while a big parade has the sort of novelty one might associate with a holiday, there's nothing about Thanksgiving football to distinguish it from the five NFL games that can be seen on any Sunday and Monday in the fall. Nothing, that is, except the ritual and shared memories. We watch football on Thanksgiving for the same reasons that we eat cranberry sauce on that day and no other: because we always have.
Thanksgiving football sounds like one of those ideas, like World Series games that end at 1 AM in the east, that could only have been dreamed up by a network sports division, but in fact it's a tradition that predates television in many parts of the country. Except during wartime, there has been Thanksgiving football every season of the NFL's existence. Detroit has hosted a game since 1934, and Dallas joined the fray in 1966 to give a second network a game. Starting last season, a third game got added to the Thanksgiving schedule in prime time, for the benefit of the fledgling NFL Network.
There are a few things that distinguish Thanksgiving games from run of the mill NFL telecasts. Coming in and out of commercial breaks, you're likely to see happy holiday wishes from crew members, and also from players and their families. The audience for these games contains numerous people who aren't especially big fans, so there tends to be less football jargon used in the broadcast. Because the schedule is made out before the season starts, there's no guarantee that the matchup will be competitive, so when something happens like Dallas's 38-10 destruction of Tampa Bay last season, the announcers tend to digress.
There have been quite a few Thanksgiving games with memorable incidents and finishes. In 1974, a Dallas rookie quarterback named Clint Longley came off the bench to rally the Cowboys past Washington. In the innocent pre-courtroom days of 1976, O.J. Simpson set a new NFL record with 273 yards rushing, though his Buffalo Bills lost to the Detroit Lions nonetheless. In 1980, Chicago's Dave Williams became the first person to run the opening kickoff of the overtime period back for a touchdown, leading the Bears past the Lions.
Two of the weirder finishes in league history occurred on Thanksgiving. In 1998, the Lions and Steelers were headed to overtime when the referee conducting the coin flip inexplicably said Detroit had won the toss even though the Steelers captain had correctly called tails. The Lions took the kickoff and drove for the winning field goal. The 1993 Cowboys-Dolphins game was played in moderate snow in Dallas, noteworthy in itself. But the game would be better remembered for the 2 field goal attempts that ended the game. Miami lined up for a winning field goal, which was blocked. The ball was dead as long as no defensive player touched it, but someone did--Leon Lett of the Cowboys tried to pick up the slippery ball and fumbled it. Miami pounced on the ball, and with time still remaining on the clock and a second chance to kick, the Dolphins were successful.
Thanksgiving hasn't been the same since John Madden left his homes on CBS and Fox to do the big weekly national game (on Monday nights before 2006, and Sunday nights now). Madden is the announcer most synonymous with Thanksgiving, due less to his game analysis than to his "turkey leg" shtick. Whenever the game Madden was covering was dull--and if he had the Lions game instead of the Cowboys', it usually was--much of the second half would be consumed with his musings about which of the game's key players would be awarded an honorary turkey leg. Madden actually did have a turkey on hand for the occasion, a mutant object with about 9 drumsticks emerging so that they were sure to have enough for any deserving player. Madden is also the man who, for better or worse (I'm going to guess the latter), is most responsible for introducing Americans to the concept of turducken, a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken. The dish was known to be Madden's favorite for the holiday, and his plugs for turducken no doubt prompted many to try it for themselves (not that the Madden waistline is any sort of recommendation).
Unless you're someone with an emotional stake in the outcome of tomorrow's games, Thanksgiving football will be an occasion for relaxation, and perhaps for reminiscing about games and holidays past. And let's face it: some families could use the distraction from having to spend a whole day cooped up together.
Thanksgiving football sounds like one of those ideas, like World Series games that end at 1 AM in the east, that could only have been dreamed up by a network sports division, but in fact it's a tradition that predates television in many parts of the country. Except during wartime, there has been Thanksgiving football every season of the NFL's existence. Detroit has hosted a game since 1934, and Dallas joined the fray in 1966 to give a second network a game. Starting last season, a third game got added to the Thanksgiving schedule in prime time, for the benefit of the fledgling NFL Network.
There are a few things that distinguish Thanksgiving games from run of the mill NFL telecasts. Coming in and out of commercial breaks, you're likely to see happy holiday wishes from crew members, and also from players and their families. The audience for these games contains numerous people who aren't especially big fans, so there tends to be less football jargon used in the broadcast. Because the schedule is made out before the season starts, there's no guarantee that the matchup will be competitive, so when something happens like Dallas's 38-10 destruction of Tampa Bay last season, the announcers tend to digress.
There have been quite a few Thanksgiving games with memorable incidents and finishes. In 1974, a Dallas rookie quarterback named Clint Longley came off the bench to rally the Cowboys past Washington. In the innocent pre-courtroom days of 1976, O.J. Simpson set a new NFL record with 273 yards rushing, though his Buffalo Bills lost to the Detroit Lions nonetheless. In 1980, Chicago's Dave Williams became the first person to run the opening kickoff of the overtime period back for a touchdown, leading the Bears past the Lions.
Two of the weirder finishes in league history occurred on Thanksgiving. In 1998, the Lions and Steelers were headed to overtime when the referee conducting the coin flip inexplicably said Detroit had won the toss even though the Steelers captain had correctly called tails. The Lions took the kickoff and drove for the winning field goal. The 1993 Cowboys-Dolphins game was played in moderate snow in Dallas, noteworthy in itself. But the game would be better remembered for the 2 field goal attempts that ended the game. Miami lined up for a winning field goal, which was blocked. The ball was dead as long as no defensive player touched it, but someone did--Leon Lett of the Cowboys tried to pick up the slippery ball and fumbled it. Miami pounced on the ball, and with time still remaining on the clock and a second chance to kick, the Dolphins were successful.
Thanksgiving hasn't been the same since John Madden left his homes on CBS and Fox to do the big weekly national game (on Monday nights before 2006, and Sunday nights now). Madden is the announcer most synonymous with Thanksgiving, due less to his game analysis than to his "turkey leg" shtick. Whenever the game Madden was covering was dull--and if he had the Lions game instead of the Cowboys', it usually was--much of the second half would be consumed with his musings about which of the game's key players would be awarded an honorary turkey leg. Madden actually did have a turkey on hand for the occasion, a mutant object with about 9 drumsticks emerging so that they were sure to have enough for any deserving player. Madden is also the man who, for better or worse (I'm going to guess the latter), is most responsible for introducing Americans to the concept of turducken, a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken. The dish was known to be Madden's favorite for the holiday, and his plugs for turducken no doubt prompted many to try it for themselves (not that the Madden waistline is any sort of recommendation).
Unless you're someone with an emotional stake in the outcome of tomorrow's games, Thanksgiving football will be an occasion for relaxation, and perhaps for reminiscing about games and holidays past. And let's face it: some families could use the distraction from having to spend a whole day cooped up together.
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