Well ladies, one of the more popular days of the sports year is here. Apparently for most guys there is nothing better than a day that consists of sleeping in, eating a huge, delicious meal, and ‘working it all off’ by dozing off in front of football games on a nice HDTV. Doesn’t sound quite as good as shopping, champagne, and a good chick flick to me, but hey, their loss. Anyway, here’s some good facts that will impress everyone at the Thanksgiving feast…
Thanksgiving and football are linked together unlike any other holiday with a particular sport. Tradition plays a big factor in the scheduling of the games each year too… you probably haven’t noticed but the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys are always the home teams for the two Thanksgiving Day afternoon games. Do you know why, or how that started? Didn’t think so, and thats why I’m here:
- The Detroit Lions were the first team to start the tradition… in 1934, their owner decided to schedule the game on Thanksgiving as a way to draw additional fans to the games. The attendance at the Thanksgiving game doubled their average for the previous home dates, and the tradition was born. Since 1934, the Lions have hosted a Thanksgiving game every year, except for a six year gap during World War II (if anyone at your Thanksgiving day gathering is old enough to remember this, well, they deserve a toast and another glass of wine). This year the winless Lions take on the Titans (12:30 EST, CBS), in what should be an easy win for the Titans, although the Lions usually play well on Thanksgiving.
- In the mid 1960’s the NFL was starting to become more popular, so league executives went searching for another team willing to host a Thanksgiving Day game in addition to the Lions. Incredibly, none of the teams wanted to do it, saying that scheduling a Thursday game so late in the season would disrupt their routines… but, the Cowboys decided to accept the chance and they played their first Turkey day game in 1966… it became incredibly popular, and that season was the first of 20 straight winning seasons for the Cowboys. The Cowboys have hosted a game on every Thanksgiving afternoon since then, except for 1975 and 1977. This year the Seattle Seahawks are paying a visit to Big D (4:00 EST, FOX)… Dallas is a big favorite, and rightfully so… keep an eye out to see if Tony “ouch my pinkie” Romo still has the splint on his finger, and also keep an eye in the stands to see if Jessica Simpson is there too…the controversy…missing dinner with the family to see your boyfriend play football….interesting…
- Two years ago the NFL decided to expand its Thanksgiving schedule by adding a night game that would be televised on the NFL Network. That game rotates between different teams each year, and this year it involves the Cardinals at the Eagles. At least the whole country will be able to watch the next chapter of the McNabb-Reid saga unfold.
OK…I think we have some good facts here for the big Thanksgiving celebration….but if you want to get out of watching football…I have a few ideas for you….
1. Feed the sports-lovers a TON of turkey…its supposedly loaded with that tryptophan stuff which makes you sleepy…they can all fall asleep and you can watch what you want on TV.
2. Surf the web in the AM of T-giving and search out the best price for a plasma tv…print out the information, hand it to your guy and urge him to go stand in line at Best Buy, Circuit City, Walmart or wherever nice and early so he can get the good deal and a new TV…he will be so shocked you are allowing the purchase that he won’t rationalize the situation…
3. If the ladies cooked the dinner, announce to everyone that it is “guys do the dishes” type of Thanksgiving…explain that this is an equal opportunity celebration…and claim the tv before he gets a chance…
I am sure there are plenty of other ideas you can think of…these are just my top 3!
Alright, have a fantastic Thanksgiving…I want to THANK YOU for continuing to read my blog and pass it on! I will be back tomorrow with your College Football info….
- sportsgirl
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