A Turkey of a Tradition
The question is raised as regularly as the Vince Lombardi Trophy -- once a year, the same time every year. Should the NFL schedule host teams other than the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving?
The problem isn't a matter of disagreeing with tradition. The problem is the Detroit Lions.
The Lions fell to the Green Bay Packers in a 34-12 laugher on Thursday, not that their long-suffering fans were laughing any. Detroit has now eight of its last nine Turkey Day affairs, the last six by the embarrassing combined score of 213-64 (an average defeat of 36-11).
Do whatever you want with the Cowboys. Keep them on Thanksgiving. Let them take a year off. It doesn't matter.
Bench the Lions.
Watching football on Thanksgiving is only as fun as the game being watched. You've heard the old line about pizza, that even when it's bad it's still good? That's not the NFL. When pro football is bad, whether because of poor play or on-field mismatch, it's not good. It's bad.
Would Lions fans be upset about losing their Thanksgiving Day game? It doesn't matter. They'll get to play again on Turkey Day when they get back to being competitive. With Jim Schwartz and Matthew Stafford, maybe those days aren't too far away. For now? I'd rather see good football this holiday.
Doesn't look like the Cowboys/Raiders match-up will redeem the afternoon, either.
The problem isn't a matter of disagreeing with tradition. The problem is the Detroit Lions.
The Lions fell to the Green Bay Packers in a 34-12 laugher on Thursday, not that their long-suffering fans were laughing any. Detroit has now eight of its last nine Turkey Day affairs, the last six by the embarrassing combined score of 213-64 (an average defeat of 36-11).
Do whatever you want with the Cowboys. Keep them on Thanksgiving. Let them take a year off. It doesn't matter.
Bench the Lions.
Watching football on Thanksgiving is only as fun as the game being watched. You've heard the old line about pizza, that even when it's bad it's still good? That's not the NFL. When pro football is bad, whether because of poor play or on-field mismatch, it's not good. It's bad.
Would Lions fans be upset about losing their Thanksgiving Day game? It doesn't matter. They'll get to play again on Turkey Day when they get back to being competitive. With Jim Schwartz and Matthew Stafford, maybe those days aren't too far away. For now? I'd rather see good football this holiday.
Doesn't look like the Cowboys/Raiders match-up will redeem the afternoon, either.
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