The Tradition of NFL Games on Thanksgiving

NFL games have been a Thanksgiving tradition since 1934. (Photo Credit: Bleacher Report)

The Thanksgiving tradition of NFL games had its founding in one of the United States of America's most tradition-rich cities, Detroit. In 1934, George A. Richards purchased the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans and moved the team to Detroit. Despite having a good football team led by Earl "Dutch" Clark, Richards noticed his team continued to take a back seat to baseball and the hometown Tigers.

Richards decided to take a big gamble. His 10-1 Lions were set to host the World Champion Chicago Bears, who were winners of 11 straight. A win would put his team in a tie with the Bears for first place with a rematch scheduled for just three days later. Richards decided he wanted to play the big game on Thanksgiving Day. People quickly became excited, and 26,000 tickets were sold two weeks in advance of the game.

The game turned out to be an instant classic with the Bears prevailing 19-16. Three days later, the Bears won the rematch, 10-7, to win the NFL Western Division. Despite the two losses, Richards was pleased by the Lions' first season. He decided to give his team another shot on Thanksgiving Day the next year. This time it was the Lions who emerged victorious 14-2. The win clinched them the Western Division, and they went on to win the NFL Championship that year as well.

The rest as they say is history. The Lions have played in a NFL game on Thanksgiving every year, except for a six-season stretch from 1939-1944. The Dallas Cowboys joined the Lions in their yearly tradition beginning in 1966. They have only missed playing on the day in 1975 and 1977. Currently, the NFL has one team from each conference play either team on a rotating basis. In 2006, they added a third game to be played annually with no set opponents.

Football is one of the many Thanksgiving traditions for which I am thankful. Just as many gather around the table to enjoy the meal set before them, families and friends have come together around television screens to watch the Lions, Cowboys and maybe their own favorite team play the sport of football. It doesn't matter if you are the game's biggest fan or you don't even know what a first down is. What matters is that you are spending that quality time with the ones you love in a way that seems just so right.