The Sporting Day: Thanksgiving Day Football Frenzy

As deeply engrained in the custom and traditions of Thanksgiving as turkey and pumpkin pie are the annual late-November Thursday battles of brutality watched across the nation of the free and land of the brave between cooking and carving and consuming the feast that usually is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving Day football dates back to the infant days of the sport and has long been held as a staple at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. Red Grange debuted on Thanksgiving. Dick Richards, in 1934, planted the seed for the blooming tradition of Detroit Lions football on Thanksgiving by staging the first holiday game for those from the Motor City. Thanksgiving Day games are, without doubt, the most popular and watched of all regular season games.

This Friday, Australian time, three NFL games and one college match-up are on for our viewing and wagering pleasure. In the NFL, the Detroit Lions host the Green Bay Packers in a time-honoured NFC North clash, the Dallas Cowboys welcome the New York Jets with a traditional down-home Texas reception and the Atlanta Falcons meet the Indianapolis Colts. In the NCAA, number six Arizona State plays number eleven USC in a match-up that will have severe Bowl implications.

For any football fan, that is a menu more appetizing than roast turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes soaked in cranberry sauce. Four winners for dessert would be the only way to make the day better.

While the Lions are the essence of Thanksgiving football, all is not looking festive for those from Detroit. The Green Bay Packers roll into town with a 9-1 record and riding the horse of fate. Brett Favre is playing like it is 1997 again and the Pride of Wisconsin are on their way to playoff football. Green Bay are doing it all on the powerful arm of Favre, at least in terms of offense. There is no running game and whilst receivers like Greg Jennings and James Jones are performing well, it is Brett Favre and the pre-season preparation provided to him by Coach Mike McCarthy that has led to the Packers revival. The Packers are playing smart, winning football and that counts for a lot in this age of parity. The Lions aren’t playing nearly as well. After winning three on the trot, Detroit have lost two very winnable games. Jon Kitna was not nearly as efficient as he had been, failing to find star wideouts Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams enough. The Packers are only giving up 3 ½ points and look a fine bet.

Of the remaining two NFL games, the points may be good in both. The Falcons are not a good side but should be better this week with Joey Harrington in the starter’s box and they do meet a Colts side ravaged by injuries to key players. Compounding matters for the Colts this week is the quick back-up from a tough, last-second win over the Chiefs. The Colts are vulnerable this week and this has all the hallmarks of a trap game so the 11 points seem the best option. In the Cowboys-Jets game, the two touchdown start might be enough for a Jets team on the up. The Jets had a horrible run of six straight losses (failing to cover in the first five) but have been competitive the last fortnight, losing a close one to Washington and then defeating the highly rated Pittsburgh Steelers. The Cowboys have been somewhat loose the last two weeks and while they should win, this game does not look like it will be one that will get out of hand.

In the hot college football game, most likely the pick of the four affairs, two Pac-10 teams with a long history of quality play meet in a game with major ramifications for the BCS picture. The USC Trojans were raging preseason favourites with talk of an undefeated season doing the rounds. That confidence soon dissipated with two losses that now see USC ranked number eleven in the country. The Arizona State Sun Devils, conversely, have overachieved. They are now six in the country and in contention for a national title game if the teams above them continue to fall, as they have all year. This game could be a classic. While the Sun Devils have not beaten USC since 1999, this is about as weak as the Trojans have been in that period. Take Arizona State and the three points start and get ready for a great game of football.

What a feast. You just have to love Thanksgiving.

© 2007 Punting Ace.com