“NFL on Thanksgiving Day”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

Since its inception in 1920, the National Football League has played games on Thanksgiving Day, patterned upon the historic playing of college football games on and around the Thanksgiving holiday.

Since 1978, the NFL's Thanksgiving Day games have traditionally included one game hosted by the Detroit Lions, and one game hosted by the Dallas Cowboys. Since 2006, with the advent of the NFL's then-new Thursday Night Football package, a third primetime game has also been played on Thanksgiving (which, in 2012, was moved to the NFL's flagship primetime package). Unlike the traditional afternoon games, this game has no fixed host and has featured different teams annually.

History

The concept of American football games being played on Thanksgiving Day dates back to 1876, shortly after the game had been invented, as it was a day that most people had off from work. In that year, the college football teams at Yale and Princeton began an annual tradition of playing each other on Thanksgiving Day.^[1] The University of Michigan also made it a tradition to play annual Thanksgiving games, holding 19 such games from 1885 to 1905.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] The Thanksgiving Day games between Michigan and the Chicago Maroons in the 1890s have been cited as "The Beginning of Thanksgiving Day Football."^[7] In some areas, high-school teams play on Thanksgiving, usually to wrap-up the regular-season.

By the time football had become a professional event, playing on Thanksgiving had already become an institution. Records of pro football being played on Thanksgiving date back to as early as the 1890s, with the first pro–am team, the Allegheny Athletic Association of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1902, the "National" Football League, a Major League Baseball-backed organization based entirely in Pennsylvania and unrelated to the current NFL, attempted to settle its championship over Thanksgiving weekend; after the game ended in a tie, eventually all three teams in the league claimed to have won the title. Members of the Ohio League, during its early years, usually placed their marquee matchups on Thanksgiving Day. For instance, in 1905 and 1906 the Latrobe Athletic Association and Canton Bulldogs, considered at the time to be two of the best teams in professional football (along with the Massillon Tigers), played on Thanksgiving. A rigging scandal with the Tigers leading up to the 1906 game led to severe drops in attendance for the Bulldogs and ultimately led to their suspension of operations. During the 1910s, the Ohio League stopped holding Thanksgiving games because many of its players coached high school teams and were unavailable. This was not the case in other regional circuits: in 1919, the New York Pro Football League featured a Thanksgiving matchup between the Buffalo Prospects and the Rochester Jeffersons. The game ended in a scoreless tie, leading to a rematch the next Sunday for the league championship.

Several other NFL teams played regularly on Thanksgiving in the first eighteen years of the league, including the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cardinals (1922–33; the Bears played the Lions from 1934 to 1938 while the Cardinals switched to the Green Bay Packers for 1934 and 1935), Frankford Yellow Jackets, Pottsville Maroons, Buffalo All-Americans, Canton Bulldogs (even after the team moved to Cleveland they played the 1924 Thanksgiving game in Canton), and the New York Giants (1929–38, who always played a crosstown rival). The first owner of the Lions, George A. Richards, started the tradition of the Thanksgiving Day game as a gimmick to get people to go to Lions football games, and to continue a tradition begun by the city's previous NFL teams.^[8] What differentiated the Lions' efforts from other teams that played on the holiday was that Richards owned radio station WJR, a major affiliate of the NBC Blue Network; he was able to negotiate an agreement with NBC to carry his Thanksgiving games live across the network.^[9]

During the Franksgiving controversy in 1939 and 1940, the only two teams to play the game were the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles, as both teams were in the same state (Pennsylvania). (At the time, then-president Franklin Roosevelt wanted to move the holiday for economic reasons and many states were resistant to the move; half the states recognized the move and the other half did not. This complicated scheduling for Thanksgiving games. Incidentally, the two teams were also exploring the possibility of a merger at the time.^[10]) Because of the looming World War II and the resulting shorter seasons, the NFL did not schedule any Thanksgiving games in 1941, nor did it schedule any in the subsequent years until the war ended in 1945. When the Thanksgiving games resumed in 1945, only the Lions' annual home game would remain on the Thanksgiving holiday. In 1951, the Packers began a thirteen-season run as the perpetual opponent to the Lions each year through 1963.

The All-America Football Conference and American Football League, both of which would later be absorbed into the NFL, also held Thanksgiving contests, although neither of those leagues had permanent hosts. Likewise, the AFL of 1926 also played two Thanksgiving games in its lone season of existence, while the AFL of 1936 hosted one in its first season, which featured the Cleveland Rams, a future NFL team, and the 1940–41 incarnation of the American Football League played two games in 1940 on the earlier "Franksgiving" date.

In 1966, the Dallas Cowboys, who had been founded six years earlier, adopted the practice of hosting Thanksgiving games. It is widely rumored that the Cowboys sought a guarantee that they would regularly host Thanksgiving games as a condition of their very first one (since games on days other than Sunday were uncommon at the time and thus high attendance was not a certainty).^[11] This is only partly true; Dallas had in fact decided to host games on Thanksgiving by their own decision because there was nothing else to do or watch on that day. In 1975 and 1977, at the behest of then-Commissioner Pete Rozelle, the St. Louis Cardinals replaced Dallas as a host team (Dallas then hosted St. Louis in 1976). Although the Cardinals, at the time known as the "Cardiac Cards" due to their propensity for winning very close games, were a modest success at the time, they were nowhere near as popular nationwide as the Cowboys, who were regular Super Bowl contenders during this era. This, combined with St. Louis's consistently weak attendance, a series of ugly Cardinals losses in the three-game stretch, and opposition from the Kirkwood–Webster Groves Turkey Day Game (a local high school football contest) led to Dallas resuming regular hosting duties in 1978; it was then, after Rozelle asked Dallas to resume hosting Thanksgiving games, that the Cowboys requested (and received) an agreement guaranteeing the Cowboys a spot on Thanksgiving Day forever.^[12]

Since 1978, Thanksgiving games have been hosted in Detroit and Dallas every year, with Detroit in the early time slot and Dallas in the late afternoon slot. Because of TV network commitments in place through the 2013 season, to make sure that both the AFC-carrying network (NBC from 1965 to 1997, and CBS since 1998) and the NFC-carrying network (CBS from 1956 to 1993, and Fox since 1994) got at least one game each, one of these games was between NFC opponents, and one featured AFC-NFC opponents. Thus, the AFC could showcase only one team on Thanksgiving, and the AFC team was always the visiting team.

Since 2006, a third NFL game on Thanksgiving has been played in primetime. It originally aired on the NFL Network as part of its Thursday Night Football package until 2011; in 2012, the game was moved to NBC as part of its Sunday Night Football package. The night game never had any conference tie-ins, meaning the league could place any game into the time slot. In 2014, a series of changes to the broadcast contracts freed CBS from its obligation to carry an AFC team; by 2018, the last vestiges of conference ties to the Thanksgiving games were eliminated (in practice, games on Fox remain all-NFC contests).

Throwback uniforms

Since {{nfly|2001}} teams playing on Thanksgiving have worn throwback uniforms on numerous occasions. In some years (namely 2002), it extended to nearly all games of the weekend, and in some cases also involved classic field logos at the respective stadiums.

In 2001–2004, and again in 2008, 2010, and 2017 the Detroit Lions have worn throwback uniforms based on their very early years.

From 2001 to 2003, Dallas chose to represent the 1990s Cowboys dynasty by wearing the navy "Double-Star" jersey not seen since 1995. In {{nfly|2004}}, the team wore uniforms not seen since {{nfly|1963}}. In 2009, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the AFL, both Dallas and Oakland played in a "AFL Legacy Game." In 2013, the Cowboys intended to wear their 1960s throwbacks, but chose not to do so after the NFL adopted a new policy requiring players and teams to utilize only one helmet a season to address the league's new concussion protocol; rather than sport an incomplete throwback look, the Cowboys instead wore their standard blue jerseys at home for the first time since 1963.^[13] In 2015, the Cowboys resurrected their 1994 white "Double-Star" jerseys only this time wore them with white pants as part of the league's "Color Rush", a trial run of specially-designed, monochromatic jerseys to be worn during Thursday games.^[14]

Memorable games

Home team controversy

It has remained a tradition for Dallas and Detroit to host the afternoon games dating back several decades. However, in recent years, other teams have expressed interest in hosting Thanksgiving games. Lamar Hunt, the former owner of the Chiefs (who had hosted Thanksgiving games from 1967–69 as an AFL team prior to the merger), lobbied heavily in favor of his team hosting a game on the holiday. When the NFL adopted a third, prime time game, the Chiefs were selected as the first team to host such a contest, but the team was not made a permanent host, and Hunt's death shortly after the 2006 contest ended the lobbying on behalf of that team.

The host issue came to a head in 2008, focusing particularly on the winless Lions. Going into the game, Detroit had lost their last four Thanksgiving games, and opinions amongst the media had suggested removing Detroit and replacing them with a more attractive matchup.^[20]^[21] The team also required an extension to prevent a local television blackout.^[22] The Lions were routed by Tennessee 47–10, en route to the team's 0–16 season.^[23] NFL commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed that the Lions would stay on Thanksgiving for the 2009 season, but kept the issue open to revisit in the future.^[24]^[25]

Conversely, the Dallas Cowboys, who typically represent a larger television draw,^[26] have had many fewer public calls to be replaced on Thanksgiving. One issue that has been debated is a perceived unfair advantage of playing at home on Thanksgiving.^[27] The advantage is given in the form of an extra day of practice for the home team while the road team has to travel to the game site. This is true for most Thursday games, but with the night games, the visitor can travel to the game site after practice and hold the final walk-thru the following morning.

With the introduction of the prime time game, which effectively allows all teams in the league an opportunity to play on Thanksgiving, along with the introduction of year-long Thursday Night Football ensuring all teams have one Thursday game during the regular season (thus negating any on-field advantages or disadvantages to being selected for Thanksgiving), the calls for Detroit and Dallas to be removed have curtailed.

Game results

1920–1940

1945–1959

1960–1969

1970–2005

2006–present

Thanksgiving Day standings

Notable appearance droughts

The last currently active franchise to have never played on Thanksgiving through {{nfly|2018}} is the Jacksonville Jaguars, who joined the league in {{nfly|1995}}.

An idiosyncrasy in the NFL's current scheduling formula, which has been in effect in its basic form since 2002, effectively prevented teams from the AFC North from playing the Lions or Cowboys on Thanksgiving, as the formula had the AFC North playing in Dallas or Detroit in years when the other team was slated to play the AFC game on Thanksgiving. These teams, under the television contracts in place at the time, could only play in the third (night) game. With the changes in the scheduling practices in 2014, the division is no longer barred from participating in the game (since both CBS and Fox can choose teams from either conference; because of the idiosyncrasy, the AFC North team would, if chosen, always play on Fox). In practice, the changes have led to fewer AFC games, as the league has regularly scheduled the Lions' and Cowboys' division rivals for the contests so that ratings are maximized; seven out of the ten Thanksgiving games involving the Lions or Cowboys since 2014 have involved a team in the same division, while only one (a 2017 contest between the Cowboys and Los Angeles Chargers) has involved the AFC.

The Los Angeles Rams have the longest active appearance drought of any team, with their last appearance coming in 1975. Among current NFL markets, Cleveland has had the longest wait to have a team from its city play on Thanksgiving; the Browns last appeared in 1989, several years before suspending operations in 1995, and have not appeared in the game since rejoining the league as an expansion team in 1999.

Since 2010, several appearance droughts have ended. New Orleans, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Houston, and Carolina all played their first Thanksgiving games during this time frame. San Francisco likewise played their first Thanksgiving game since 1972 in 2011, and the Los Angeles Chargers, who last played on the holiday in 1969 (while the team was still an AFL franchise in San Diego) before actually joining the league, appeared for the first time as an NFL member in 2017.^[30]

Thanksgiving Day records of defunct teams

Game MVPs

Since 1989, informal and sometimes lighthearted Man of the Match awards have been issued by the networks broadcasting the respective games. Running back Emmitt Smith holds the record for most Thanksgiving MVPs with five (1990, 1992, 1994, 1996 and 2002). Voting on the respective awards is typically done informally by the announcing crew themselves, and criteria are loose. Noteworthy statistical accomplishments weigh heavily, and "group" awards are common. The announcement of the winner(s), and the presentation of the award is normally done immediately following the game, during post-game network coverage.

Turkey Leg Award (CBS & Fox)

In {{nfly|1989}}, John Madden of CBS awarded the first "Turkey Leg Award", for the game's most valuable player. Pursuant to its name, it was an actual cooked turkey leg, and players typically took a celebratory bite out of the leg for the cameras during post-game interviews. Reggie White of the Eagles was the first recipient. The gesture was seen mostly as a humorous gimmick relating to Madden's famous multi-legged turkey,^[31] cooked and delivered by local restaurant owner Joe Pat Fieseler of Harvey's Barbecue (located less than a mile from Texas Stadium). Since then, however, the award has gained subtle notoriety. Madden brought the award to Fox in {{nfly|1994}}, and it continued through 2001.

Because of the loose and informal nature of the award, at times it has been awarded to multiple players. On one occasion in 1994, it was given to players of both teams.

Galloping Gobbler / Game Ball (Fox)

When John Madden left Fox after 2001, the network introduced a new award starting in 2002, named the "Galloping Gobbler." It was represented by a small figurine of a cartoonish, silver turkey wearing a football helmet^[32] striking a Heisman-like pose.^[33] Much like Cleatus and Digger, the original Galloping Gobbler trophy reflected Fox's irreverent mascots, and went through several iterations.^[32] Unimpressed by its tackiness, 2002 winner Emmitt Smith famously threw his in a trash can.^[32]

In 2007, the kitschy statuette was replaced with a bronze-colored statue of a nondescript turkey holding a football.^[33] In 2011, the trophies were discarded altogether and replaced by an attractive plaque. Unlike the aforementioned "Turkey Leg Award", the "Galloping Gobbler" is normally awarded to only one player annually,^[34] however in 2016, co-winners were honored.^[35]

For 2017, the Galloping Gobbler was permanently retired, and replaced with the "Game Ball," an stylish, ornate football-shaped trophy, reminiscent of the tradition where game-used balls are typically awarded to players of the game. No one at Fox seemed to notice the first ball awarded has the stripe markings of a college ball.

All-Iron Award (CBS)

When the NFL returned to CBS in {{nfly|1998}}, they introduced their own award, the "All-Iron Award", which is, suitably enough, a small silver iron, a reference to Phil Simms' All-Iron team for toughness. The All-Iron winner also receives a skillet of blackberry cobbler made by Simms' mother.

Through 2006, the trophy was only awarded to one player annually. Occasionally, it has been issued as a "group award" in addition to a single player award. In 2008, Simms stated it was "too close to call" and named four players to the trophy; he then gave the award to several people every year until 2013, after which he reverted to a single MVP in 2014.

Simms was removed from the broadcast booth for the 2017 season in favor of Tony Romo, who did not carry on the tradition.

Prime time games (NFLN & NBC)

During the time when NFL Network held the broadcast rights the prime time game, from 2007 to 2011 they gave out the "Pudding Pie Award" for MVPs. The award was an actual pie. In 2009, NFL Network gave Brandon Marshall a pumpkin pie rather than the chocolate pudding pie of the previous two years.

Complete list

Broadcasting

DuMont was the first network to televise Thanksgiving games in {{nfly|1953}}; CBS took over in {{nfly|1956}}, and in {{nfly|1965}}, the first ever color television broadcast of an NFL game was the Thanksgiving match between the Lions and the Baltimore Colts.

Starting in 2012, all three broadcast networks with NFL rights will carry one game apiece. The first two games are split between CBS and Fox. These games are rotated annually, with CBS getting the 12:30 p.m. (EST) "early" game, and Fox getting the 4:25 p.m. "late" game in even-numbered years, while Fox likewise gets the "early" game and CBS the "late" game in odd-numbered years. The third game, with a prime time 8:30 p.m. start, is carried by NBC^[40]. The NFL may involve the Flexible Scheduling rule in the future to reassign games if the night game has less importance than the Dallas or Detroit game.

In 2014, two developments would eventually allow for the networks to carry teams from either of the two conferences, something that was not allowed prior to this point. First, a system known as "cross-flex" was imposed, in which the two networks bound by conference restrictions, CBS and Fox, could carry Sunday afternoon games that would otherwise air on the other network.^[41]^[42] That same year, in order to accommodate CBS's new contract to simulcast Thursday Night Football, the network was given permission to air games with teams from either conference on Thursdays in a deal separate from its Sunday afternoon rights.^[43] From that year through 2016, CBS carried all-NFC contests every year on Thanksgiving, and in 2014 and 2015, no AFC teams played in any of the Thanksgiving games. It was initially unclear what mechanism was involved that allowed CBS to carry the NFC vs. NFC matchups; two separate articles on the NFL's official Web site gave conflicting possibilities, with one by Kevin Patra speculating that it was covered under the cross-flex rule^[28] and another by Gregg Rosenthal stating that, because the Thanksgiving matchup was on a Thursday, the cross-flex rule did not apply.^[44]{{Failed verification|talk=Cross-flex DOES NOT APPLY|reason=This quote appears in the paragraph BEFORE the paragraph about the cross-flexing mechanism, thus the claim does not appear to be explicitly stated in the source the cross-flexing was definitely excluded from Thanksgiving games|date=April 2018}}

CBS's Thursday Night Football rights expired after the 2017 season, after which Fox won the bidding. The league then scheduled all three games in 2018 to feature NFC vs. NFC opponents, with CBS given the Chicago Bears as the Lions' opponent for the early game while Fox carries the Washington at Dallas late afternoon game. NBC still held the rights to the Thanksgiving night game, Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints.^[29] (The same year, the league expanded its flexible scheduling policies to include days other than Sundays.)^[45] To date, the NFL has never assigned an AFC road game to Fox on Thanksgiving.

Westwood One most recently held national radio broadcast rights to all three games, with Compass Media Networks sharing rights to the Cowboys contest. (Under league rules, only radio stations that carry at least 12 Cowboys games in a season are allowed to carry the Compass broadcast.) The participating teams also air the games on their local flagship stations and regional radio networks.

The Cowboys Thanksgiving game has regularly been the most watched NFL regular season telecast each year, with the Lions Thanksgiving game usually in the top five.

See also

References

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3. ^{{cite web|title=1887 Football Team|publisher=University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library |url=http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1887fbt.htm}}
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8. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.detroitlions.com/team/history/thanksgiving-day-in-motor-city.html |title=The Origins of the Thanksgiving Day Tradition |publisher=Detroit Lions |accessdate=2007-10-04}}
9. ^Jaworowski, Matt (November 24, 2016). Timeline: How football became a Thanksgiving tradition. WIVB-TV. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
10. ^See also: Pennsylvania Keystoners
11. ^{{cite web|last=Scales|first=Kristi|title=Why Do the Cowboys Play on Thanksgiving Day?|url=http://www.5pointsblue.com/cowboys-play-thanksgiving-day/|publisher=5 Points Blue (Dallas Cowboys)|date=November 26, 2014|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}
12. ^McManaman, Bob (November 22, 2017). [https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/cardinals/2017/11/22/cardinals-nfl-thanksgiving-dallas-cowboys-host-team/883790001/ Cardinals, not Cowboys, could have been an NFL Thanksgiving Day staple]. azcentral.com. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
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17. ^[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199311250dal.htm Miami Dolphins at Dallas Cowboys - November 25th, 1993 | Pro-Football-Reference.com]
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21. ^Kulfan, Ted. Annual Lions game is roasted. The Detroit News. 25 November 2008
22. ^{{cite news|title=In Detroit, Tradition Takes a Hike; Annual Thanksgiving Football Game Offers Little Joy for Troubled City|date=November 27, 2008|first=Peter|last=Slevin|newspaper=Washington Post|page=A1}}
23. ^{{cite news|url=http://www.themorningsun.com/articles/2008/11/28/sports/doc492f1bbc99e34289217519.prt|title=Once-beaten Titans dominate winless Lions 47–10|date=November 28, 2008|first=Larry|last=Lage|agency=Associated Press}}
24. ^{{cite news|last=Niyo|first=John|title=Turkey game safe ... for now|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=31 January 2009|page=C6}}
25. ^{{cite news|last=Kowalski|first=Tom|url=http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/03/lions_president_says_nfl_will.html|title=Lions president says NFL will not take away team's Thanksgiving Day game|work=mlive.com|date=22 March 2009}}
26. ^{{cite news|last=Horn|first=Barry|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/football/cowboys/stories/031009dnspocowbriefs.3e449a8.html|title=Networks vie for Dallas Cowboys' home opener|date=10 March 2009|newspaper=Dallas Morning News}}
27. ^{{cite web|last=King|first=Peter|url=http://si.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Dr.+Z+is+best+football+writer+of+our+time+-+Peter+King+-+SI.com&expire=-1&urlID=32774890&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsportsillustrated.cnn.com%2F2008%2Fwriters%2Fpeter_king%2F11%2F30%2Fweek13%2Findex.html&partnerID=2356|title=The best football writer of our time|work=si.com|date=1 December 2008}}
28. ^¹{{cite web|last=Patra|first=Kevin|title=2014 NFL Schedule: No AFC teams on Thanksgiving Day|url=http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000343516/article/2014-nfl-schedule-no-afc-teams-on-thanksgiving-day|publisher=NFL.com|date=23 April 2014|accessdate=24 April 2014}}
29. ^¹{{cite web|last=Brinson|first=Will|title=2018 NFL Schedule: Thanksgiving has three great division rivalry games, Bears-Lions on CBS|url=https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2018-nfl-schedule-thanksgiving-has-three-great-division-rivalry-games-bears-lions-on-cbs/|publisher=CBS Sports|date=19 April 2018|accessdate=19 April 2018}}
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35. ^Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott win Galloping Gobbler after Thanksgiving win vs. Washington
36. ^2016 Steelers-Colts Game Broadcast on NBC, Post-game coverage: November 24, 2016
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39. ^[https://www.sbnation.com/2016/11/24/13736780/turkey-leg-award-nfl-thanksgiving-john-madden-yum-food Turkey Leg Award is the best NFL football on Thanksgiving tradition]. SB Nation (November 24, 2016). Retrieved November 25, 2016.
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44. ^{{cite web|last=Rosenthal|first=Gregg|title=2014 NFL Schedule: Flex games can now start in Week 5|url=http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000343369/article/2014-nfl-schedule-flex-games-can-now-start-in-week-5|publisher=National Football League|date=April 23, 2014|accessdate=June 4, 2015|quote=Thursday, Saturday, and Monday games are not affected.}}
45. ^{{cite web | url=https://operations.nfl.com/updates/the-game/nfl-announces-the-2018-regular-season-schedule/ | title=NFL Announces the 2018 Regular Season Schedule | publisher=NFL Football Operations | date=April 19, 2018 | accessdate=April 23, 2018}}