Every Thanksgiving — come turkey, family, and pie — two NFL teams do more than just celebrate the holiday. Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys take the field, continuing a tradition that dates back nearly a century. Here’s how the ritual started — and why it’s stuck around.
🏁 How It All Began
The tradition started with Detroit. In 1934, then-owner George A. Richards — who had just relocated the Portsmouth Spartans to Detroit and rebranded them the Lions — scheduled a Thanksgiving game. The idea was to draw big crowds and national attention during the holiday. The plan worked: tickets sold out, and the game was broadcast nationwide, making Thanksgiving football a hit.
After decades of Lions-only Turkey Day games, the league expanded the tradition. In 1966, the Cowboys — led by visionary GM Tex Schramm — volunteered to host a second Thanksgiving game, hoping to build their fan base and exposure. That first Cowboys Thanksgiving game drew over 80,000 fans and helped cement their place under the holiday spotlight.
Since the late 1970s, both teams have maintained their Thanksgiving-day hosting rights with almost no interruptions.
📅 What Thanksgiving Games Look Like Today
Every year, the Lions play a home game on Thanksgiving — a ritual dating back more than 80 years (with a short break only during World War II).
Since the Cowboys were added in the 1960s, they’ve also almost always secured the holiday’s afternoon slot. These games are as much about tradition and entertainment as they are about football.
In 2006, the NFL added a third “primetime” Thanksgiving game to the slate — creating what many fans now call the “Thanksgiving triple-header.” This includes Detroit’s early game, Dallas’s afternoon game, and a rotating night-game featuring other teams.
❤️ Why the Tradition Matters
For fans, Thanksgiving football isn’t just a game — it’s a national ritual: turkey, family, and gridiron tradition all wrapped in one day. The Lions and Cowboys give the NFL a guaranteed holiday audience.
For the teams, it’s a chance for national exposure — a special moment where their fanbases, past and present, tune in, watch, and remember.
For the league, it’s a celebration of football culture: a mix of history, nostalgia, and competition that reminds everyone why Thanksgiving and football go together.
Why Every Thanksgiving, Fans Around the Nation Tune Into Detroit and Dallas
