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Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!
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<blockquote data-quote="moreluck" data-source="post: 437049" data-attributes="member: 1246"><p style="text-align: left">The origins of the Thanksgiving Day Tradition</p><p><em>It was, legend says, a typically colorful, probably chilly, November day in 1622 that Pilgrims and Native Americans celebrated the new world's bounty with a sumptuous feast. They sat together at Plymouth Plantation (they spelled it Plimouth) in Massachusetts, gave thanks for the goodness set before them, then dined on pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes, maize, cranberry sauce, turkey and who knows what else.</em></p><p><em>Actually, fish was just as predominant a staple. And history books say pumpkin pie really debuted a year later. But regardless of the accuracy of the details, that's how Thanksgiving Day is seen by Americans -- except Detroiters.</em></p><p><em>They may have most of the same images as everyone else, but with a new twist that began in 1934.</em></p><p><em>That's when Detroiters and their outstate Michigan compatriots found themselves at the dawn of an unplanned behavior modification, courtesy of George A. "Dick" Richards, owner of the city's new entry in the National Football League: The Detroit Lions.</em></p><p style="text-align: right"><strong><em>--Larry Paladino</em></strong></p> <p style="text-align: right"><em>Lions Pride, 1993</em></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left">Four generations of Detroiters have been a proud part of the American celebration of Thanksgiving. The relationship between Detroit and Thanksgiving dates back to 1934 when owner <strong>G.A. Richards</strong> scheduled a holiday contest between his first-year Lions and the Chicago Bears. Some 74 years later, fans throughout the State of Michigan have transformed an annual holiday event into the single greatest tradition in the history of American professional team sports. Indeed, if football is America’s Passion, Thanksgiving football is Detroit’s Passion.</p> <p style="text-align: left">No other team in professional sports can claim to be as much a part of an American holiday as can the Detroit Lions with Thanksgiving. When you think of Thanksgiving, you think of football and the Lions.</p> <p style="text-align: left">The Thanksgiving tradition is older than 24 current NFL franchises, and Detroit’s passionate affair with the annual Thanksgiving Day game is evidenced by its growing popularity. Year-after-year, Detroiters look forward to not only spending Thanksgiving with their families, but they also enjoy sharing that time with the Lions.</p> <p style="text-align: left">The most recent illustration of this love affair was introduced on September 9, 1998 when the Lions announced that all individual reserved tickets for the Lions-Steelers contest were sold out, assuring the earliest sellout in the 65-year history of the holiday series. The only remaining tickets were the 3,500 bleacher seats that went on sale 11 days before the game -- fans who had stood in line hours waiting for those seats gobbled up the remaining tickets in approximately eight minutes.</p> <p style="text-align: left">November 22, 2008 will mark the 69th addition of Detroit’s Thanksgiving Day tradition, and the passion continues to burn brighter than ever before.</p> <p style="text-align: left"><strong>The Origin of the Lions' Thanksgiving Day Game</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left">The game was the brainchild of <strong>G.A. Richards</strong>, the first owner of the Detroit Lions. Richards had purchased the team in 1934 and moved the club from Portsmouth, Ohio to the Motor City. The Lions were the new kids in town and had taken a backseat to the baseball Tigers. Despite the fact the Lions had lost only one game prior to Thanksgiving in 1934, the season’s largest crowd had been just 15,000.</p> <p style="text-align: left">The opponent that day in 1934 was the undefeated, defending World Champion Chicago Bears of George Halas. The game would determine the champion of the Western Division. Richards had convinced the NBC Radio Network to carry the game coast-to-coast (94 stations) and, additionally, an estimated 26,000 fans jammed into the University of Detroit Stadium while thousands more disappointed fans were turned away.</p> <p style="text-align: left">Despite two <strong>Ace Gutowsky</strong> touchdowns, the Bears won the inaugural game, 19-16, but a classic was born. Since 1934, 67 games have been played with the Lions holding a series record of 33-32-2 (.507). And each game, in its own way, continues to bring back memories of Thanksgiving, not only to Lions' fans, but to football fans across the nation.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="moreluck, post: 437049, member: 1246"] [LEFT]The origins of the Thanksgiving Day Tradition[/LEFT] [I]It was, legend says, a typically colorful, probably chilly, November day in 1622 that Pilgrims and Native Americans celebrated the new world's bounty with a sumptuous feast. They sat together at Plymouth Plantation (they spelled it Plimouth) in Massachusetts, gave thanks for the goodness set before them, then dined on pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes, maize, cranberry sauce, turkey and who knows what else. Actually, fish was just as predominant a staple. And history books say pumpkin pie really debuted a year later. But regardless of the accuracy of the details, that's how Thanksgiving Day is seen by Americans -- except Detroiters. They may have most of the same images as everyone else, but with a new twist that began in 1934. That's when Detroiters and their outstate Michigan compatriots found themselves at the dawn of an unplanned behavior modification, courtesy of George A. "Dick" Richards, owner of the city's new entry in the National Football League: The Detroit Lions.[/I] [RIGHT][B][I]--Larry Paladino[/I][/B] [I]Lions Pride, 1993[/I][/RIGHT] [LEFT]Four generations of Detroiters have been a proud part of the American celebration of Thanksgiving. The relationship between Detroit and Thanksgiving dates back to 1934 when owner [B]G.A. Richards[/B] scheduled a holiday contest between his first-year Lions and the Chicago Bears. Some 74 years later, fans throughout the State of Michigan have transformed an annual holiday event into the single greatest tradition in the history of American professional team sports. Indeed, if football is America’s Passion, Thanksgiving football is Detroit’s Passion. No other team in professional sports can claim to be as much a part of an American holiday as can the Detroit Lions with Thanksgiving. When you think of Thanksgiving, you think of football and the Lions. The Thanksgiving tradition is older than 24 current NFL franchises, and Detroit’s passionate affair with the annual Thanksgiving Day game is evidenced by its growing popularity. Year-after-year, Detroiters look forward to not only spending Thanksgiving with their families, but they also enjoy sharing that time with the Lions. The most recent illustration of this love affair was introduced on September 9, 1998 when the Lions announced that all individual reserved tickets for the Lions-Steelers contest were sold out, assuring the earliest sellout in the 65-year history of the holiday series. The only remaining tickets were the 3,500 bleacher seats that went on sale 11 days before the game -- fans who had stood in line hours waiting for those seats gobbled up the remaining tickets in approximately eight minutes. November 22, 2008 will mark the 69th addition of Detroit’s Thanksgiving Day tradition, and the passion continues to burn brighter than ever before. [B]The Origin of the Lions' Thanksgiving Day Game[/B] The game was the brainchild of [B]G.A. Richards[/B], the first owner of the Detroit Lions. Richards had purchased the team in 1934 and moved the club from Portsmouth, Ohio to the Motor City. The Lions were the new kids in town and had taken a backseat to the baseball Tigers. Despite the fact the Lions had lost only one game prior to Thanksgiving in 1934, the season’s largest crowd had been just 15,000. The opponent that day in 1934 was the undefeated, defending World Champion Chicago Bears of George Halas. The game would determine the champion of the Western Division. Richards had convinced the NBC Radio Network to carry the game coast-to-coast (94 stations) and, additionally, an estimated 26,000 fans jammed into the University of Detroit Stadium while thousands more disappointed fans were turned away. Despite two [B]Ace Gutowsky[/B] touchdowns, the Bears won the inaugural game, 19-16, but a classic was born. Since 1934, 67 games have been played with the Lions holding a series record of 33-32-2 (.507). And each game, in its own way, continues to bring back memories of Thanksgiving, not only to Lions' fans, but to football fans across the nation.[/LEFT] [/QUOTE]
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