There’s a lot to look forward to during Thanksgiving Break: your old bed, sleeping in, awkward questions from distant family members. What a holiday.
And despite all the commotion of dinner guests and food, NFL football seems to be as associated with Thanksgiving Day as turkey and cranberry sauce. Somehow, sports can dictate what time dinner is served on one of the most important family suppers of the year.
It’s not all that surprising, either. Football on Thanksgiving has been around since before the ballpoint pen. Though games were played on Thanksgiving throughout the 1920s, the tradition really took flight in 1934 when the Chicago Bears visited the Detroit Lions in a classic game that featured two teams with a combined record of 21-1.
The reason for playing on Thanksgiving? Detroit’s general manager used it as a way to sell tickets and garner more attention for his team, because local fans and the local newspapers paid much more attention to the Detroit Tigers than the Detroit Lions. By scheduling a noteworthy game on a noteworthy day, he was sure to divert attention from the Tigers for at least a little while.
And so, a new tradition was born because the Lions were looking for a little extra publicity. Guess things haven’t changed all that much since 1934.
It’s interesting to think that almost all of our holidays are tied directly to sports in some way or another. From Christmas to the Fourth of July, where there’s a holiday, there’s a sport.
Let’s look at the three most noteworthy other than football on Thanksgiving:
1.The NBA on Christmas. This is a tradition that goes back to the 1940s. Though the games don’t carry the weight that NFL games in late November do, they generally showcase the top talent in the league. Interestingly enough, nba.com claims that one of the top reasons to watch the NBA on Christmas is because you can “optimiz[e] family time: three games means less awkward silences between you and family members you haven’t seen since last Christmas...” Ironic how we can “optimize” family time by tuning out loved ones and instead watching a rematch of the teams from last year’s championship between the Lakers and Celtics.
Regardless, the NBA on Christmas is a staple — but not nearly as exciting as Thanksgiving Day football.
2. College Football on New Year’s. Just seven short days after Christmas, you are treated to a slew of BCS bowl games. The national championship is held just a few days later.
That hasn’t always been the case, though. Back on New Year’s Day in 1902, the national championship and the first-ever bowl game was played between Michigan and Stanford. Because the Wolverines won by 49 points, the Tournament of Roses Association feared a loss of interest in the Rose Bowl Game on New Year’s Day. Instead of continuing the tradition, however, they replaced football with chariot races to attract spectators.
It wasn’t until 1916 that football came back and replaced the gladiator games.
Thank God.
3. Baseball on the Fourth of July. It’s a tradition that goes back further than Thanksgiving Day football, Christmas Day basketball and New Year’s Day bowl games. Americans were playing baseball on the Fourth of July back when we had teams called the “Houston Stonewalls” and the “Galveston Robert E. Lees” (the 1860s). Though it’s not clear exactly when the tradition originated, it’s still a game as connected to the Fourth as hotdogs and fireworks. Unlike the other athletic events on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, playing baseball on the Fourth isn’t limited to the professionals; it extends all the way down to the Little League level. Hot dogs + baseball + postgame fireworks = about as American as it gets. Maybe not the most exciting game to watch on a holiday, but definitely the most wholesome.
And so, sports on holidays are as certain and as noticeable as orange sweatshirts on Al Groh. They are the centerpiece of a Thanksgiving dinner and the perfect backdrop for an Independence Day cookout. And, though nba.com suggests sports are a way to avoid conversation with distant family members, I submit to you that they actually give you something to talk about. That they turn awkward conversation into something normal, that even though you don’t know exactly how the bald-headed man sitting in your living room is related to you, you can still strike up a conversation about how the Cowboys should be playing better. Or how the Lions should have gone for it on fourth-and-1.
I hope everyone has a safe and relaxing holiday. Sleep in, eat good food, and enjoy a few days with your family — whether you have the NFL turned on or not.
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