Why do the Lions and the Cowboys always play on Thanksgiving?
NFL games on Thanksgiving have been a tradition since the league’s inception in 1920. It’s always an epic day of action in the NFL calendar, whether that be the football on display, the half-time shows, or the late-great NFL icon John Madden eating a turkey leg.
In the 2023 edition, the Detroit Lions take on the Green Bay Packers in a battle of the NFC North, while NFC East rivals the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Commanders square off. The Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers also play in a NFC West contest.
A common theme of the Thanksgiving games has always been that the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys will feature, and it’s a tradition that goes back almost 100 years.
Why do the Lions play on Thanksgiving?
Whilst there actually isn’t a formal reason why both the Lions play on Thanksgiving, Detroit has played on the holiday since 1934 when they came up against the Chicago Bears. Then owner George A. Richards wanted to use the occasion as a marketing tactic and attract more fans to his stadium and watch his team.
At the time, the Lions were losing fans to the more popular sport team, baseball’s Detroit Tigers, and so with the help of an NBC radio station owner he was affiliated with, and so he could negotiate a contract to broadcast his team’s games on TVs across the country, Richards struck up a deal to host the then back-to-back world champion Bears in Detroit.
Despite a win for Chicago that day, the idea went down a threat in front of the 26,000 fans in attendance, and ever since, the Lions have hosted a game on Thanksgiving.
Why do the Cowboys play on Thanksgiving?
The reasoning behind the Cowboys playing on the holiday is much more recent. Their custom to this date goes back to 1966, when then-general manager Tex Schramm wanted to get more national publicity for his team, and so took a leaf out of Detroit’s book.
Having organised a game against the Cleveland Browns, over 80,000 fans attended the Cowboys’ first Thanksgiving Day game as Dallas won the game 26-14. Ever since, excluding two years in the 1970s, Dallas has hosted a game on Thanksgiving.
The 2023 games feel rather different for the teams, but in particularly for Detroit. For the first time in years, both are fighting for the title as the best team in the NFC, and are both favoured to win big on Thanksgiving.
Detroit will play their 84th game on Turkey Day, and currently sit on a 37-44-2 record, although they are 6-17 since 2000 and haven’t won on Thanksgiving since beating the Minnesota Vikings in 2016. The Cowboys, however, have a winning record on Thanksgiving, and have compiled a 32-22-1 record going into 2023.
The Detroit Lions recently announced rapper Jack Harlow will be the 2023 Thanksgiving Day game halftime performer at Ford Field, while country music legend Dolly Parton will do the halftime show in the game between the Cowboys and Commanders.
