What's the deal with the Cowboys and Thanksgiving?

November 24, 2005 2:52 PM

What is the deal with the Dallas Cowboys and Thanksgiving?

Why is it that they are always playing on Thankgiving? When did they start doing it? Has there been another team besides Dallas that has held this honour?

posted by Botunda to sports, hobbies, & recreation (5 comments total)

Detroit does as well. Back in the day, the NFL wanted to play a game on Thanksgiving, and Dallas and Detroit both offered to host games. The other teams didn't want to. Now, because they were the teams that did it originally, they get to host the games every Thanksgiving. The other teams would like to play on Thanksgiving, but they missed their opportunity.
posted by stovenator at 2:54 PM on November 24, 2005

Dallas has been playing since 1966; Detroit's tradition goes back to the 30s.

My understanding was that Dallas offered to host as a ploy to increase television ratings and exposure for the team. It worked.
posted by frogan at 2:59 PM on November 24, 2005

Not sure if this is a self-post or not, but I just posted about this on SportsFilter.
posted by terrapin at 3:03 PM on November 24, 2005

Detroit's tradition goes back to the 30s.

yes, and that tradition often includes losing also ... 27-7 ... phooey
posted by pyramid termite at 6:37 PM on November 24, 2005

Whoa, I was thinking about posting this same question earlier, and wondered if someone would beat me to it. Thanks for the question and answers. Go MeFi!

...and Go Falcons!
posted by SuperNova at 9:26 PM on November 24, 2005