Thanksgiving Football Losing Its Luster

Growing up, the best part about Thanksgiving wasn't the turkey, stuffing, or mashed potatoes. It wasn't the break from school for two and a half days. It was always sitting with family and watching NFL football.

People across the nation were treated to annual games at Detroit and Dallas, two teams that were always relevant throughout my childhood. They were able to see stars like Aikman, Irvin, Deion, Emmitt, and Barry Sanders carve up other teams and entertain like no others could.

But when you turn on the television tomorrow, you won't see those teams. You won't be wowed like you once were. Instead, you will have the opportunity of watching two games where the spread is over 11, and the third game isn't appealing, if you can even watch it.

Fact is, Thanksgiving football has become a sideshow, at best. The games have been toothless for years, and we haven't seen a legitimately interesting game since Barry retired.

Detroit has been irrelevant since that time, losing six of the last seven Thanksgiving games while not sporting a winning record over that span. They have been consistently blown out, losing their last four by an average of 13 points, and last year would have been worse if not for a few garbage time touchdowns. This year doesn't look any better, as the 0-11 Lions host the 10-1 Titans.

Throughout their history, Detroit has been average on the holiday, going 33-33-2. But Sanders was vital to their success. The three years previous to Sanders joining the Lions, the Lions were 0-3. With Sanders, they went 7-3. After tomorrow, their record over the ten years since his retirement will be the exact opposite.

Dallas hasn't been much better. The organization hasn't won a playoff game since 1996, and has a 91-94 record overall in that span. Fans have been treated to quarterback performances by Mike Quinn, Randall Cunningham, Anthony Wright, Clint Stoerner, Quincy Carter, Ryan Leaf, Chad Hutchinson, Vinny Testaverde, Drew Henson, and Drew Bledsoe, all of which were either past their primes or never relevant in the NFL.

Clearly, the draw for Thanksgiving games has not been there since the heydeys of the 1990s for these two teams. But the NFL tried to jump-start the nostalgic tradition by adding a third game in 2006, but the games have been shown on NFL Network, which many people still do not have in their homes. Not that the match-ups have been desirable (Broncos-Chiefs in 2006, Colts-Falcons in 2007, and Eagles-Cardinals in 2008).

The sad part about this Thanksgiving is that the games all feature one team which is unbearable to watch. Dallas gets the Seahawks, who would be completely irrelevant if it wasn't Mike Holmgren's final season. We all know how bad Detroit is, but it will be compelling to see if they can run the table in reverse, looking terrible the entire way. And of course, there is the night game, which involves an Eagles team who has a lame-duck quarterback and a head coach who lost his team three years ago.

So as you sit down tomorrow after stuffing yourself with good food and you contemplate whether to turn on the games, take a nap instead. You will thank me later.