Thanksgiving, The Ultimate Tailgate?

by JasonB on Nov 20, 2010 4:02 PM EST in Captain of the Tailgate

Is Thanksgiving just the ultimate tailgate? Think about it, tremendous effort is put into meal preparation. Even a modest Thanksgiving spread is going to dwarf most tailgate cooking. You still spend the entire day watching football with a bunch of people and you get to do it in the comfort of your own home.

You could make the argument that Thanksgiving is the ultimate tailgate. If you opened all the living room windows, you'd scarcely be able to tell the difference!

I kid of course... but there is a shred of truth in there. So enjoy yourself this Thanksgiving and ponder why two awful teams like the Cowboys and Lions get automatic games every year and no one in the NFL office has appeared to even consider changing such a pointless tradition. Take big hits out of the game? Sure! Change the length of the season? Why not?!

Not subject America to watching the Lions every year on Thanksgiving? Oh heaven's no, we could never change that tradition.

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This can't be...

If the Cowboys lose to the Lions (securing their already almost 100% no-playoffs) will we be routing for the girls again to beat the Saints on Thanksgiving? It would lower the Saints record (securing Eagles home game or wildcard) and buff up Cowboys record for a not-so-high draft pick.

by cin7 on Nov 20, 2010 4:30 PM EST reply actions

Hey.

Thanksgiving is all we have, come on :( We never get prime-time.

Haters.

by Mavyrk on Nov 20, 2010 5:46 PM EST reply actions

Tradition

Is tradition. The rules are the rules, and they change with the times; if you start changing tradition to suit the current circumstances, you end up without any traditions.
There have been some pretty crappy games played on Thanksgiving, but it’s always been my contention that the measure of a true football fan is how much enjoyment he gets from a lopsided or obvious game. Anyone with a TV can enjoy the big offensive shootouts. Anyone with a TV and any sense can enjoy the tense defensive playoff battles. But two teams who aren’t going anywhere, playing on a Thursday night, when you’re so tired of your extended family and so full you have to force the beer down? A man who sees the X’s and O’s in that game is a man who appreciates the sport.
More importantly, the Lions’ deserve the Thanksgiving game for number 20. I often wish they’d just show the Barry Sanders’ games on the broadcast instead of the live ones.

by rockaintdeadyet on Nov 21, 2010 3:00 AM EST up reply actions

On a side note, for the zero people who give a fuck

I grew up in Salt Lake City (Up until the early nineties). No professional football team. In my non-Mormon, non-sports oriented upbringing, Barry Sanders happened. I had no football experience, no football family, no sports culture save Stockton and Malone. Barry Sanders happened and I was so captivated that in the end I had every Detroit Tigers’ baseball card there was just for the fact that that team played in the same city. My family moved abroad, and then I ended up in school in Philly. Been an Eagles fan ever since I “came of age” but before that it was Barry Sanders. Watching him made football for me at an early age. His humility on and off the field, his retirement – when JJ died, when we traded Dawkins, when we traded Westbrook – win one for them. I wanted one for them. But right there in my mind was Barry with the Lions. The good guys don’t always get the rings and that has to be one of the hardest things about rooting for a team and a sport.

by rockaintdeadyet on Nov 21, 2010 3:26 AM EST up reply actions

Us Lions fans.

Have fans from all over the world.

The main reason?

Obviously, the incomparable Barry Sanders.

I grew up in Detroit, was born in the east side and moved to the suburbs, so being a Detroit fan is a natural for me. I was there for the Wings during the 90s, I watched every Miracle on Ice related movie, I HATED Patrick Roy with a passion (even at my young age then). I watched the Piston’s dynastic performance during the early 2000s.

And I watched Barry.

He is probably the reason most people are Lions fans. Detroiters and non-Detroiters. Barry is the man. It’s a shame he never got the things he deserved, because he deserved a winning team.

by Mavyrk on Nov 21, 2010 10:01 AM EST up reply actions