Peter King MMQB - DWare and Rotating Thanksgiving Day games

[THUMPER]

Since the inaugural game in 1966, the Cowboys have hosted a Thanksgiving Day game every year except for 1975 and 1977. The '75 and '77 Thanksgiving Day games were both hosted by the St. Louis Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals). This was done as a result of complaints issued by the other NFL teams. They felt that Dallas enjoyed an unfair advantage by hosting the Thanksgiving Day game because it gave them a 10-day break before their next game (as opposed to 7 days for the rest of the league). The ratings for the Cardinals-hosted games, however, were poor. As a result, the NFL (no doubt at the urging of CBS, the league's official network at the time) invited Dallas to resume their duties as host of the game. Tex Shramm accepted the offer, but only on the condition that the game never again be moved out of Dallas. And so the much-loved, much-anticipated Turkey Day classic resumed in Dallas and continues to delight fans to this day.

It's ours and the rest of the league can just get over it.

I do find it funny that people say it gives us an unfair advantage yet in the 2 years that we didn't host it, 75 & 77, we went to the SB. Put that alongside Detroit's lack of any meaningful success on Thanksgiving Day and it pretty much blows apart their contention that it gives us an unfair advantage.

The other teams' owners in the mid 60s didn't believe it would give them an advantage. The ones who benefit the most from having Dallas host the game every Thanksgiving are the fans and the network who gets to broadcast the game. It is routinely one of the highest rated games all year and it's not just because it is an "off" day because the Lions game is usually pretty low. When Pat Summerall was with Fox he said that whenever rating were low the execs would say "when in doubt show the Cowboys".

The players and fans of other teams and some mediots may want to rotate the Thanksgiving Day games but the networks sure don't. They know Dallas is the biggest draw in the NFL and want to get as much bang as they can for their Thanksgiving Day programming. I can see them wanting to dump Detroit and they should have done it a long time ago but they aren't going to take the Cowboys off.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Jerry will never let Thanksgiving games be taken away.

Detroit should do the right thing and volunteer to give up the Thanksgiving day game.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

what guys on the radio in Dallas have ever said that? I have never heard that.

I hate to bring up any names of the Dallas media but right after the Giants game Matt Mosley asked Brian who'd you rather have Tuck or Ware and he said "Oh Tuck without a doubt" "He's a better player" and blah blah blah. Talked about how Ware's sacks come when the games are over which is BS. The games are over because of him lol.

 

[JPostSam]

The Lions are riding a 5 game losing streak on Thanksgiving. Some advantage.

exactly.

what, in dallas it's an advantage, but in detroit it's not?

it's pretty clear that dallas "has and advantage" because it's usually a good team, while detroit "doesn't have an advantage" because it's usually not a very good team.

i love troy, but for all his yapping about dallas having an advantage after the thanksgiving day game, someone needs to expose that line as nonsense by bringing up detroit.

 

[DaBoys4Life]

There's a night game on Sunday. Either play the cowboys of Loins or play in that night time slot if you really want to play on thanksgiving.

 

[jobberone]

Glad to hear that about Ware. I don't think he's overlooked anymore. I hope he's not hurt enough to mess with his play.

I hope we don't get screwed out of Thanksgiving's Day games. We were promised forever because no one wanted to do it. And I don't think it gives us a big advantage either. We have just been good over the years. We've won for the most part when we were the better team.

But I think they will have to give it up.

 

[jazzcat22]

I don't think the NFL can just change the thanksgiving games around. I think one of the stipulations when Dallas originially tookt he thanksgiving game was that they would have it permenently (Although I could be wrong). Now that the Thanksgiving game is a high profile game everyone wants to get in on the action. Tough crap I say.

You are correct. When they wanted to add a 2nd gme to T-Day. no one wanted any part of it. Except Tex Schramm. And he said, the Cowbouys will take it, but it has to be every year. Not just that year, or rotated.

 

[Wrangler87]

During the first half of the 1960s, televised NFL games grew exponentially in popularity. In an effort to capitalize on this success, the league began shopping around for a team to host an annual Thanksgiving Day game in addition to the game hosted by the Detroit Lions. Every single team turned down the offer on the grounds that scheduling a Thursday game so late in the season would be too disruptive. Every team, that is, except for the Dallas Cowboys. General Manager Tex Schram recognized this as a golden opportunity for the Cowboys to establish their own Thanksgiving Day game tradition. Clearly, his decision was a prescient one. The game caught on and has become wildly popular.

We were the only team willing to take this game, everyone else turned it down. Now that it has turned out to be a good thing, the other teams now want their turn as well. I think not. You had your chance. No one wanted it. We took one for the team....and so now we shall reap the benefits. Too bad, so sad.

 

[Don Corleone]

Glad to hear that about Ware. I don't think he's overlooked anymore. I hope he's not hurt enough to mess with his play.

I hope we don't get screwed out of Thanksgiving's Day games. We were promised forever because no one wanted to do it. And I don't think it gives us a big advantage either. We have just been good over the years. We've won for the most part when we were the better team.

But I think they will have to give it up.

...and the NFL tried this in the 1970's with poor ratings. They gave it back to Dallas. Ratings are the key, and Dallas has one of the largest followings in all of sports. The NFL would be foolish to take it away.

 

[bbgun]

I thought the whole purpose of the Thursday night game was to pacify the people who were always *****ing about Dallas and Detroit. Yet they're still not happy? Screw 'em. We took this game when nobody else wanted it, and we're gonna keep it. Besides, the Cowboys are ratings gold (even in lean years), so if anyone gets jettisoned, it'll be Detroit.

 

[JD_KaPow]

Including Thanksgiving week, there is a Thrusday game scheduled six different weeks this year. The same mythical advantage exists the other weeks and I do not hear anyone complaining about them.

Nobody's complaining about them because those games are already spread around to the entire league. People complain about Turkey Day because it's the same teams every time.

Note that I don't think it should change - the tradition is a nice thing to have. But the other Thursday games are irrelevant to the argument about Thanksgiving.

 

[Coakleys Dad]

The Thursday games aren't that big a deal any more. With the creation of the NFL Network there are a lot of Thursday games starting this year on November 20. So I don't know that this will really get much traction. Though I could see them wanting to pull the Lions out, they really never put out a good product to represent the NFL.

great avatar...is that you??

 

[joseephuss]

Nobody's complaining about them because those games are already spread around to the entire league. People complain about Turkey Day because it's the same teams every time.

Note that I don't think it should change - the tradition is a nice thing to have. But the other Thursday games are irrelevant to the argument about Thanksgiving.

I think he was referring to the Thursday night game played on Thanksgiving night following the Cowboys game. That one is two different teams each season.

 

[dogunwo]

There also is not an advantage for Detroit in having 10 days after their Thanksgiving game to prepare for their next game. They currently have a 3 game losing streak the game after Thanksgiving.

If they cared so much about giving a team an unfair advantage then they need to stop giving the Superbowl winning team a home game on the opening Thursday night of the season. They get a home game and then 10 days to prepare for their second game of the season. When Dallas won their Superbowls in the 90s they opened on the road the following season all 3 times. I don't think any SB winner has opened on the road since then.

There is definitely an advantage to the Thanksgiving game for having a ten day layoff, but it is balanced by the disadvantage of having only 4 days to prepare for the Thanksgiving game.

 

[28 Joker]

If you take the Cowboys out of the Thanksgiving game, you will have a revolt on your hands. Jerry Jones will not allow it. Your ratings will go down. Like us or not, we (fans) are everywhere. People don't want the Lions game moved, either. It's tradition. The teams took the game when no other teams wanted them. If Goodell wants the Giants or Commanders playing on Turkey Day, then send their sorry rear-ends to us on Thanksgiving Day.

Goodell wants to play the Super Bowl over seas. This is what the owners are dealing with. Good luck on that one. That move would really hurt the game. Taking home games away from teams and playing in bloody London is idiotic. There are only 8 chances to go the the games, you stuck up idiots.

Oh, yeah, Ware would have tallied 5 sacks if he didn't get hurt.

 

[Beast_from_East]

No chance in hell that the NFL pulls Dallas from the 3 pm Turkey Day time slot.

Not only is it traditional, it is usually one of the highest rated games of the season.

I understand wanting to bump that JV team in Detroit off the air, but you dont kill the "golden goose" to accomplish it.

Will never happen.

 

[bbgun]

Washington, DC: Can we PLEASE get some new Thanksgiving Day NFL matchups? Tradition for tradition's sake has never made any sense to me. I'm soooo tired of seeing Detroit and Dallas play.

Can't they choose a matchup that might make a good game? Or one that has at least a rivalry?

Michael Wilbon: They can sure as heck do better than Seattle-Dallas, which in the best of times for the Seahawks does nothing. Commanders-Cowboys, good. Giants-Cowboys, good. Seahawks? And I'm sorry, but I don't think the NFL should take anything away from Detroit, given what is happening to the economy in the state of Michigan. No chance. The Big Three have been partners with the NFL forever, going back to when they were in great shape and the NFL was crawling and trying to walk. Now, you want the NFL to bail on Ford, GM and Chrysler? After, what, 70 years of partnership. Sorry, I don't believe in that.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Um, Mike? Having the Lions play on Sunday afternoon instead of Thursday afternoon would not be taking anything away from Michigan or their economy.

 

[dfense]

I'm sure as many teams wouldn't want the short week as ones who would. And who the heck wants to see the Bengals at the Niners on Thanksgiving?

Either way, I'm sure the NFC East shouldn't have a team from Texas in it either, but Jerry Jones wields alot of clout and money is always the deciding factor. Eagles, Giants, Skins and The Falcons just doesn't sound right.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

Ware or Harrison will be DPOY... I thought Ware should have won last year over Bob "overrated" Sanders.

 

[FLcowboy]

5. I think this isn't going to please the folks in Detroit and Dallas, but you should expect the league to discuss opening up the Thanksgiving Day games to all 32 teams when a new schedule is discussed for 2010. This will be a battle of tradition. Some owners like the system as is because the league retains few real traditions. But some owners and football people think it's too much of an advantage for Detroit and Dallas -- especially Dallas -- to play at home every Thanksgiving while foes have to travel on a short week. And there is grousing that the games are not spread around to all 32 teams.

It obviously hasn't been enough of a home-field advantage to matter for Detroit, but Dallas gets the short week at home, then the weekend off. When the league goes to 17 or 18 games in 2010 (assuming that's the year the schedule expansion happens), there's a chance the Thanksgiving Day games could rotate as well, with every franchise getting a home game on Thanksgiving every 10 or 11 years.

That's fine, let everybody have Thanksgiving games in a rotation. But then let everybody play on Thursday nights, Saturday nights, Sunday nights, and Monday nights also. Let every team get a chance to play on NBC on Sunday night, on an equal basis.