November 14, 1951 (eight days before Thanksgiving): In the comic strip “Peanuts”, Charlie Brown first attempted his infamous football kick. Since then both the Cowboys and Lions play every Thanksgiving. The Detroit defense was dominant and did not give Sanchez much time to get into a groove.
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That isn’t fair. Of the top 40 television programs last fall, according to Nielsen, four fell on Thanksgiving Day.
Other colleges had picked up the idea before the end of the 19th century.
First game up, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time, will be the 4-6 Philadelphia Eagles at the 3-7 Detroit Lions.
The NFL’s Thanksgiving Day tradition celebrates its 92nd year on Thursday, with three games. Within a decade it was the premier athletic event in the nation. Enjoy the family (if possible), the food and the NFL.
After the game, Jimmy Johnson accused Buddy Ryan of putting a bounty on kicker Zendejas and Troy Aikman (Zendejas had been with the Eagles at the start of the season).
Indeed it was, and so it would remain. Detroit, which had a tradition of pro football on Thanksgiving dating back to 1917, hosted the Bears each year until 1938.
We know what Thanksgiving should really be about.
All fans can root for the intrinsically bad Detroit Lions and root against the Dallas Cowboys. Richards used his connections in the radio business to get the game broadcast nationally. But the Lions would run away with the game in the second half. And can the Lions build off of two huge wins against the Packers and Raiders? Assuming Sam Bradford remains out, I like the Lions. I was in awe of Layne, the tough hard-drinking Texan, who was out of shape, aging, and never wore a facemask. “I was upset. I had basically messed it up for the entire team”.
Through history the Dolphins have had some memorable turkey day games. There’s no question the undefeated Panthers are for real but they re going to slip up at some point, right?
However, incredible performances aren’t just limited to the two teams that are always featured on Thanksgiving. The Lions are playing in a dome.
The second game features the Panthers and Cowboys.
That’s quite the crowd, but it’s still less than the combined average audience of 84.3 million who spent roughly 12 hours watching National Football League games on Thanksgiving.
The highlight game of the day has to be the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. A morning game would have to compete with the Macy’s Parade.
Every holiday seems to be dominated by one league.
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The Cowboys lost more than just the game on Thursday, as quarterback Tony Romo re-injured his collarbone and could be out for the rest of the season. MI started playing on Thanksgiving in 1885, usually against the University of Chicago, and Kansas-Missouri was a holiday tradition beginning in 1892.
