It is that time of year once again. The one time a year that it is socially acceptable to sit with or without family stuffing your face with turkey while staying planted in front of a TV watching football.
Watching football has become an equal part if not more important to the turkey on Thanksgiving for some families or family members.
Longtime Chico resident Jade Hopkins said:
“I discovered Joe Montana and Jerry Rice at age 13 and watching a thrilling comeback I fell in love with sports. My family still has no interest in sports but they put football on the TV and it is a must for my Thanksgiving experience. It’s a tradition. They even will put it on a separate TV for me.”
When it comes to the history of the NFL on Thanksgiving, there are two teams that one thinks of as the teams who play every year.
First, the Detroit Lions, who have been playing every year since 1934, according to NFL.com. Through the good and the bad, the Lions have always been one of the featured teams ever since they first played the Chicago Bears in a closely and contested 19-16 loss.
The other team, the Cowboys, who most think of as the other longstanding team who plays on the third Thursday of each November. However, they didn’t start the Thanksgiving tradition until 1966 and missing games in 1975 and 1977, according to profootballHOF.com.
For me, as a diehard sports fan in a big family, it is always a battle for the TV of what Thanksgiving tradition we are going to watch while we get ready for evening festivities. The sports nut in me is pushing for the football game at 9:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and then more at 5:30 p.m. Meanwhile, the rest of my family is pushing to watch the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Whatever you may choose to do this Thanksgiving, whether it be football, the parade, or just dinner and a turkey day workout the next day, be thankful for technology and DVR’s. Make sure you get your fair share of food, football and family this Thanksgiving.
Justin Couchot can be reached at [email protected] or @JCouchot_Sports on Twitter.
