Add Some Football to Your Feast

While you’re eating your turkey and spending quality time with your family, there will be three football games going on. Did you know that this tradition has gone on for decades? How did this tradition come to pass? Let’s find out!

George Richards, new owner of the Lions, wanted to boost attention and attendance for his team. He came to George Halas, coach of the Chicago Bears and asked for him to have his Bears play the Lions on Thanksgiving. Starting the tradition (side note: he also asked NBC to broadcast the game on radio, the first NFL game to be broadcasted) in 1934.

There’s another team that plays on Thanksgiving regularly, the Dallas Cowboys. Tec Schrieum, General Manager of the Cowboys, wanted to put his team on top. The NFL wanted to keep up with the AFL (the Lions were in that league at the time) and decided, in 1966, to put the Cowboys in along with the Lions.

This year, in order of the time of games, the Packers go to play the Lions at 11:30 a.m. on Fox TV and the Raiders go to play the Cowboys at 3:30 p.m. on CBS. There is also a game on Thanksgiving that is not tradition, but just happens to be Thursday Night Football. The Giants are going to Denver to play the Broncos at 7:30 p.m. on NFL Network.

I believe that the Packers (5-4) will beat the Lions (1-8) 30-14 in part to the Lions still having a struggling defense which won’t be able to stop Aaron Rodgers and Donald Driver.

Next, I predict that the Cowboys (6-3) will crush the Raiders (2-7) 36-13. The Raiders have too much of a dysfunctional team to have much of a chance. They’re offense doesn’t do too much, but commit turnovers. While the Cowboys’ offense is doing just fine without T.O. (Terrell Owens), Tony Romo has reduced his interceptions the last few weeks, and increased his pass completion percentage, making the Cowboys competitive again.

Clearly, the best game of the day (ironically most people can’t watch it, because it’s on NFL Network, which you need to pay for to get) is The Giants (5-4) at the Broncos (6-3). Both teams are struggling mightily. The Giants have lost four in a row, including a great comeback by the Chargers last week. The Broncos have lost three in a row. This is going to come down to which offense can find ways of getting through the other team’s defense, since both of them have great defenses. I’m going with the Giants, 16-14, but should be a great game.

Have a turkey-tastic Thanksgiving, and don’t forget to sit down and watch the football games!