document_title: Women's soccer in the United States

question_text: when did women's soccer start in the united states

question_tokens: when did women 's soccer start in the united states

text: Women's soccer in the United States

text: Early history[edit]

text: The first organized women's soccer league in the United States was the Craig Club Girls Soccer League, which consisted of four teams in St. Louis, Missouri, playing 15-game seasons in 1950 and 1951.[6][7]

text: Women's soccer in the United States started to gain popularity in the beginning of the 20th century, much later than it appeared in Europe, which had women's leagues in the 1930s. In the 1970s, Title IX legislation passed in 1972 made gender equality mandatory in education, including collegiate athletics, which led to more organized women's soccer teams and development. Collegiate soccer created more popularity for the game in the 1980s. However, there were few professional opportunities for women in the United States, and the first national women's league, the USL W-League, wouldn't be established until 1995.[2]

text: National team[edit]

text: The women's national team was formed in 1983, but wouldn't play its first games until 1985. In its first years, it played in little more than friendly tournaments, primarily against European teams, as few competitions for women's national teams yet existed. After the United States was awarded the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the first FIFA Women's World Cup was announced for 1991, increased investment in both the men's and women's national teams by the USSF led to the United States' team rapidly improving and winning the first women's World Cup.[8][2] The popularity of the team exploded in the aftermath of the US 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup win as a result of penalty kicks in front of a sold-out Rose Bowl.[9][10][11][12] The close win increased the tension, giving the team a more lively reputation as a sport.[13]

text: Since then, the Americans have remained a force in international women's soccer, having finished third or better in every World Cup, reaching the championship game again in 2011 and winning in 2015, as well as appearing in five of the six Olympic gold medal games, winning four. The national team also competes in other tournaments, such as the annual Algarve Cup. The primary source of young players for the national team is NCAA college soccer, which feeds players to the U-20 national team and eventually the full senior team. Because the United States often lacked a professional women's league, interest in the team peaked around major tournaments, and the team historically struggled to maintain interest between tournaments.[2] The United States also faces increasingly competitive European national teams, many of which have well-established women's leagues in their countries from which to draw players. [14]

text: League system[edit]

text: The success of the women's national team has not always translated into success for women's professional soccer in the United States.[15]

text: History[edit]

text: Amateur soccer: W-League and WPSL[edit]

text: Originally called the United States Interregional Women's League, the USL W-League was formed in 1995 as the first national women's soccer league, providing a professional outlet for many of the top female soccer players in the country. It also allowed college players the opportunity to play alongside established international players. Starting as the Western Division of the W-League, the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) broke away and formed its own league in 1997 and had its inaugural season in 1998. Both the W-League and the WPSL were considered the premier women's soccer leagues in the United States at the time, but eventually fell to a second-tier level upon the formation of the Women's United Soccer Association in 2000.

text: Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)[edit]

text: A seemingly viable market for the sport became apparent after the United States women's national soccer team won the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup.[16] Feeding on the momentum of their victory, the twenty national team players, in partnership with John Hendricks of the Discovery Channel, sought out the investors, markets, and players necessary to form the WUSA, an eight-team league, in February 2000. The league played its first season in April 2001, and was the world's first women's soccer league in which all players were paid professionals.[17]

text: The eight teams included the Atlanta Beat, Boston Breakers, Carolina Courage, New York Power, Philadelphia Charge, San Diego Spirit, San Jose CyberRays (called Bay Area CyberRays for 2001 season), and the Washington Freedom.

text:
Team
Stadium
City
Founded
Joined WUSA
Left
Notes

Atlanta Beat
Herndon Stadium
Atlanta
2001
2001
2003
Dissolved then joined WPS in 2009

Boston Breakers
Nickerson Field
Boston
2000
2001
2003
Dissolved then joined WPS in 2007

Carolina Courage
SAS Stadium
Cary, North Carolina
2001
2001
2003
Dissolved

New York Power
Mitchel Athletic Complex
Uniondale, New York
2000
2001
2003
Dissolved

Philadelphia Charge
Villanova Stadium
Villanova, Pennsylvania
2000
2001
2003
Dissolved

San Diego Spirit
Torero Stadium
San Diego
2001
2001
2003
Dissolved

San Jose CyberRays
Spartan Stadium
San Jose, California
2001
2001
2003
Dissolved

Washington Freedom
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
Washington, D.C.
2001
2001
2003
Joined W-League in 2006

text: The U.S. Soccer Federation approved membership of WUSA as a sanctioned Division I women's professional soccer league on August 18, 2000. WUSA had previously announced plans to begin play in 2001 in eight cities across the country, including: Atlanta, the Bay Area, Boston, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Diego and Washington, D.C. Led by investor John Hendricks, WUSA had also forged ahead on a cooperation agreement that will see the new league work side-by-side with Major League Soccer to help maximize the market presence and success of both Division I leagues.[18]

text: WUSA played for three full seasons and suspended operations on September 15, 2003, shortly after the conclusion of the third season due to financial problems and lack of public interest in the sport.[19]

text: Post-WUSA[edit]

text: With the Women's United Soccer Association on hiatus, the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) and the W-League regained their status as the premier women's soccer leagues in the United States, and many former WUSA players joined those teams.

text: After the folding of WUSA, the WUSA Reorganization Committee was formed in September 2003 that led to the founding of Women's Soccer Initiative, Inc. (WSII), whose stated goal was "promoting and supporting all aspects of women's soccer in the United States", including the founding of a new professional league.[20] Initial plans were to play a scaled-down version of WUSA in 2004. However, these plans fell through and instead, in June 2004, the WUSA held two "WUSA Festivals" in Los Angeles and Blaine, Minnesota, featuring matches between reconstituted WUSA teams in order to maintain the league in the public eye and sustain interest in women's professional soccer.[21] A planned full relaunch in 2005 also fell through. In June 2006, WSII announced the relaunch of the league for the 2008 season.[22]

text: In December 2006, WSII announced that it reached an agreement with six owner-operators for teams based in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., and a then-unnamed city.[23] In September 2007, the launch was pushed back from Spring of 2008 to 2009 to avoid clashing with 2007 Women's World Cup and the 2008 Olympic Games and to ensure that all of the teams were fully prepared for long-term operations.[24]

text: Women's Professional Soccer (WPS)[edit]

text:
Team
Stadium
City
Founded
Joined WPS
Left
Notes

Atlanta Beat
KSU Soccer Stadium
Kennesaw, Georgia
2009
2010
2012
Dissolved

Boston Breakers
Harvard Stadium
Boston
2008
2009
2012
Joined WPSLE in 2012

Chicago Red Stars
Toyota Park
Bridgeview, Illinois
2007
2009
2011
Joined WPSL in 2011

FC Gold Pride
Pioneer Stadium
Hayward, California
2008
2009
2010
Dissolved

Los Angeles Sol
Home Depot Center
Carson, California
2007
2009
2012
Dissolved

magicJack
FAU Soccer Field
Boca Raton, Florida
2001
2009
2012
Dissolved

Philadelphia Independence
Leslie Quick Stadium
Chester, Pennsylvania
2009
2010
2012
Dissolved

Sky Blue FC
Yurcak Field
Piscataway, New Jersey
2008
2009
2012
Joined NWSL in 2013

Saint Louis Athletica
Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park
Fenton, Missouri
2008
2009
2010
Dissolved

Western New York Flash
Sahlen's Stadium
Rochester, New York
2008
2011
2012
Joined WPSLE in 2012

text: The new league announced its name and logo on January 17, 2008, and was to have its inaugural season in 2009 with seven teams, including the Washington Freedom of the WUSA. The United States national team players allocated 21 players across the seven teams in September 2008. Also in September, the league held the 2008 WPS International Draft.

text: Unlike WUSA, the WPS attempted a more local approach and slower growth. In addition, the WPS attempted to have a closer relationship with Major League Soccer in order to cut costs. Most teams considered the first season a moderate success, despite many losing more money than planned. However, most teams began to see problems in 2010. Overall attendance for 2010 was noticeably down from 2009, teams struggled financially, and the WPS changed leadership by the end of the season.

text: The success of the United States women's national team at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup resulted in an upsurge in attendance league-wide as well as interest in new teams for the 2012 season. However, several internal organization struggles, including an ongoing legal battle with magicJack-owner Dan Borislow and a lack of resources invested in the league, led to the suspension of the 2012 season announced in January 2012.

text: On May 18, 2012, the WPS announced that the league had officially ceased operations after three seasons.

text: WPSL Elite[edit]

text: By this time, the WPSL and W-League were the two semi-pro leagues in the United States and had sat under WUSA and the WPS until 2012. Upon the disbandment of the WPS, they once again regained their status as the premier women's soccer leagues in the United States. In response to the suspension – and eventual end – of the WPS, the Women's Premier Soccer League created the Women's Premier Soccer League Elite (WPSL Elite) to support the sport in the United States. For the 2012 season, the league featured former WPS teams with the Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, and Western New York Flash, in addition to many WPSL teams. Six of the eight teams were considered fully professional.

text: Many members of the USWNT remained unattached for the 2012 season, while others chose to play in the W-League instead of the WPSL Elite.

text: National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)[edit]

text: After the WPS folded in 2012, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced a round-table discussion of the future of women's professional soccer in the United States. The meeting resulted in the planning of a new league set to launch in 2013 with 12 to 16 teams from the WPS, the W-League, and the WPSL. In November 2012, the USSF, Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) and the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) announced that there would be eight teams in a new women's professional soccer league to be funded by the USSF. The USSF would fund up to 24 players, the CSA up to 16, and the FMF a minimum of 12.[25] Four former WPS teams – the Western New York Flash, Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, and Sky Blue FC – were joined by four other teams for the inaugural season in 2012. One of those teams, the Portland Thorns FC, is affiliated with the MLS Portland Timbers and shares its ownership and facilities.[26]

text: Each NWSL club is allowed a minimum of 18 players on their roster, with a maximum of 20 players allowed at any time during the season.[27] Each team's roster includes up to three allocated USWNT players, two Mexico women's national team players, and two Canada women's national team players via NWSL Player Allocation. Each team also has, as of 2016, four spots for international players, though these spots can be traded. The rest of the roster must be filled by players from the United States.

text: The Houston Dynamo of MLS stated interest in starting a women's team in 2013, and by December 2013 the NWSL approved the new Dynamo-operated team, the Houston Dash, for expansion in 2014.[28] The addition of the Dash made the NWSL the first top-division professional women's soccer league in the United States to have nine teams.

text: After the United States women's national team winning the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the NWSL announced agreements for its first televised games with Fox Sports 1 during the 2015 season, airing games near the end of the season and during the postseason. The league reached another similar agreement with Fox Sports 1 for the 2016 seasons.[29] The league remained without a season-long broadcast deal, however, and streamed all of its games for free on YouTube.[30]

text: After the media boom of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, MLS side Orlando City SC showed interest in starting a women's team for the 2016 season. On October 20, 2015, the NWSL and Orlando City SC announced that Orlando would host the Orlando Pride, which started play at the beginning of the 2016 season.[31]

text: With the beginning of the 2016 season, the NWSL became the first professional women's soccer league to play a fourth season.[32]

text: The 2016–17 offseason saw the league's first major relocation, with the Western New York Flash selling their NWSL franchise rights to the owner of North Carolina FC, then members of the NASL and now in the USL, who moved the NWSL team to NCFC's base of the Research Triangle of North Carolina and relaunched it as the North Carolina Courage.[33]

text: Shortly before the start of the 2017 season, the NWSL signed a three-year broadcasting deal with A+E Networks. Under this deal, A+E's Lifetime channel broadcasts 22 regular-season matches as the NWSL Game of the Week at 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday afternoons, as well the league's entire postseason. The deal also saw A+E purchase a 25% stake in the league and receive two seats on the league's board.[34][35][36][37][38] The remainder of the league's games were intended to be exclusively streamed by go90 in the U.S.,[34] but technical issues with that platform led to the NWSL also temporarily streaming these games on its own website.[39]

text: Soon after the end of that season, FC Kansas City folded. The team was partnered with but not owned by MLS side Sporting Kansas City, and media reports indicated that FCKC was the unintended victim of issues that Sporting was facing with its United Soccer League reserve team, Swope Park Rangers. Kansas City's place in the NWSL was immediately filled by a new franchise to be operated by another MLS club, Real Salt Lake.[40]

text:
Team
Stadium
City
Founded
Joined NWSL

Boston Breakers
Jordan Field
Boston
2008
2013

Chicago Red Stars
Toyota Park
Bridgeview, Illinois
2007
2013

Houston Dash
BBVA Compass Stadium
Houston
2013
2014

North Carolina Courage
WakeMed Soccer Park
Cary, North Carolina
2017[a]
2017[b]

Orlando Pride
Orlando City Stadium
Orlando, Florida
2015
2016

Portland Thorns FC
Providence Park
Portland, Oregon
2012
2013

Seattle Reign FC
Memorial Stadium
Seattle
2012
2013

Sky Blue FC
Yurcak Field
Piscataway, New Jersey
2007
2013

Utah Royals FC
Rio Tinto Stadium
Sandy, Utah
2017
2018

Washington Spirit
Maryland SoccerPlex
Boyds, Maryland
2012
2013

text:
Jump up ^ Successor to Western New York Flash, founded in 2008.
Jump up ^ First season as North Carolina Courage; franchise's first NWSL season was 2013 as the Flash.

tag: ol

text: Folding of the W-League and creation of United Women's Soccer[edit]

text: The W-League served as a second-tier development organization and league for women's soccer in the United States for 21 seasons. However, the W-League announced on November 6, 2015, that the league would cease operations ahead of the 2016 season.[41] In response to the folding of the W-League and instability in the WPSL, another second-tier league – United Women's Soccer (UWS) – was founded as a pro-am women's soccer league in the United States. The UWS had 11 teams in two conferences for its 2016 inaugural season, with Real Salt Lake Women, New England Mutiny, Lancaster Inferno, and Houston Aces joining from the WPSL and the Long Island Rough Riders, New York Magic, North Jersey Valkyries, Santa Clarita Blue Heat, Colorado Storm, and Colorado Pride joining from the W-League.[42] The league doubled in size for its 2017 season, adding a Midwest Conference to go with its original East and West Conferences.

text:
Team
Stadium
City
Founded
Joined UWS

East Conference

Lancaster Inferno
Pucillo Field
Millersville, Pennsylvania
2008
2015

Long Island Rough Riders
Cy Donnelly Stadium
South Huntington, New York
2003
2015

New England Mutiny
Harmon Smith Stadium
Agawam, Massachusetts
1999
2015

New Jersey Copa FC
Mercer County Community College
Metuchen, New Jersey
2015
2015

New York Magic
Mazzella Field
New Rochelle, New York
1997
2015

Syracuse Developmental Academy
Ted Grant Field
Syracuse, New York
2012
2017

TSF Academy Valkyries
DePaul Catholic High School
Wayne, New Jersey
2009
2015

Western New York Flash
TBA
Buffalo, New York
2008
2017

Midwest Conference

Detroit Sun FC
Ultimate Soccer Arenas
Pontiac, Michigan
1994
2016

F.C. Indiana
Newton Park
Lakeville, Indiana
2003
2017

Fort Wayne United SC
Hefner Stadium
Fort Wayne, Indiana
2016
2017

Grand Rapids FC
Grandville High School
Grandville, Michigan
2016
2017

Indy Premier SC
Trinity Sports Park
Noblesville, Indiana
2017
2017

Michigan Legends FC
Legacy Center
Brighton, Michigan
2017
2017

Toledo Villa FC
Northview High School
Rossford, Ohio
2017
2017

West Conference

Calgary Foothills WFC
Glenmore Athletic Park
Calgary, Alberta
2015
2017

Colorado Pride
Washburn Field
Colorado Springs, Colorado
1994
2016

Colorado Storm
Sports Authority Field, Adams 12 Five Star Stadium
Parker, Colorado
2014
2016

Houston Aces
Sorrels Field
Houston
2012
2016

Real Salt Lake Women
Ute Field
Salt Lake City
2008
2016

Santa Clarita Blue Heat
Reese Field
Santa Clarita, California
2008
2016

So Cal Crush FC
TBA
Montrose, California
2017
2017

text: Tier system[edit]

text: The U.S. Soccer Federation is heavily involved in the creation and operation of the NWSL, but it did not initially refer to the league as a sanctioned Division I league.[44] U.S. Soccer has now officially labeled the NWSL as a Division I professional league, and has added the league to its Professional Council.[45] Unlike men's soccer, the USSF has not specifically designated tiers or levels below the NWSL. However, the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) and United Women's Soccer (UWS) act as an unofficial lower division.

text:
Tier
Leagues/divisions

Division I
National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
10 teams

Division II
Sanctioned through United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA)[46][47]

Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL)
100+ clubs (in 15 conferences)[48]

United Women's Soccer (UWS)
22 clubs (in 3 conferences)[49]

Division III
United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA)
55 state associations in 4 regions See List of USASA affiliated leagues for complete list

text: Amateur soccer[edit]

text: The United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) is a national organization and sanctioning body for amateur soccer in the United States. It consists of 55 state organizations as well as regional and national leagues. The USL's Premier Development League and the National Premier Soccer League are USASA-affiliated but are designed to promote a higher lever of competition than the state organizations. USASA also sanctions the Women's Premier Soccer League and United Women's Soccer league.

text: USASA National Women's Open[edit]

text: The USASA National Women's Open is an American women's soccer tournament run by USASA. It began in 1996, and from 2009–2012 it was known as the Women's Cup. Before the formation of the Women's Open, the Women's Amateur was the top national cup competition.

text: Historically, it has been contested only by amateur and semi-pro teams, as teams from professional leagues (WUSA, WPS, and the NWSL) are not allowed to enter the competition. However, in 2012, the Chicago Red Stars – then a professional club in the WPSL Elite – entered and won the competition. Similarly, the professional Houston Aces of the WPSL won in 2013.

text: USASA National Women's Amateur[edit]

text: The USASA National Women's Amateur is an American women's soccer tournament run by the United States Adult Soccer Association. It began in 1980 and was the top-level national tournament for women's soccer in the United States until the formation of the Women's Open in 1996. It is open to all USASA-affiliated women's teams.

text: US Soccer National Amateur Championships[edit]

text: First held in 2014, the US Soccer National Amateur Championships are contested between the league winners of WPSL, Open Cup, and Amateur Cup.

text: Hardships[edit]

text: High operating and travel costs, the lack of TV rights and sponsorship agreements and corresponding lack of funding for salaries and training and development facilities, and the lack of affiliation with profitable men's professional clubs have all hampered the growth of professional women's leagues in the United States. The NWSL, now the longest-lasting professional women's soccer league in the United States, pays salaries as low as $7,200 per year, an amount that falls beneath every government-recognized poverty line in the United States and is less than an equivalent Federal minimum wage job of 40 hours per week. Its highest-paid players who lack a national team affiliation face a maximum cap of $39,700 and teams are held to a salary cap of $278,000, while some players join teams under amateur agreements where the players cannot be paid even if they take the field or start the game. This is far less than the NWSL's predecessors, such as the WPS, where the average salary of $32,000 was almost double the NWSL's maximum average salary of $16,850.[50] It is also poorly competitive with European leagues, which can readily pay salaries to players of the same talent more than $100,000 per year.[51]

text: The United States women's national team further highlighted pay issues, both in discrepancy with the men's national team and in fiscal hardships of low NWSL pay, in 2015 and 2016. The women's national team filed action with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on March 31, 2016, claiming they are paid 1/4 as much as the men's team despite generating more revenue for the U.S. Soccer Federation. The women's team also claimed that they are paid only if they win, and paid less for winning than the men's team is if they were to lose every game. Also, the women's team said they are given inferior accommodations, with the men's team being housed in luxury hotels compared to lower-class housing for the women's team.[52] In July 2016 during preparations for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the women's national team sold T-shirts to support a NWSL player trust fund operated by the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team Players Association (WNTPA).[53] Before the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, women's national team player Abby Wambach and a group of other players file a complaint in Canadian court about the tournament's artificial turf playing surface. The players argued that the surface was a form of gender-based discrimination since the men's World Cup games are exclusively played on grass. The players' group abandoned the complaint before the tournament.[54]

text: United States women's soccer players have also faced inferior accommodations and facilities to men's soccer at the professional club level. After a 2016 regular season NWSL game between the Seattle Reign and Western New York Flash was played on a baseball field smaller than league regulations considered acceptable, several prominent current and former players called out the league for allowing the game to be played. Women's national team goalkeeper Hope Solo, who also plays for the NWSL's Seattle Reign, published a blog post detailing several other examples of failures in hotels, facilities, and equipment while playing for the NWSL.[54][55]

text: Another contributing factor is the role of women within American society, which includes relative equality (especially rejecting hardened gender roles) for women in the United States relative to many other countries.[56] This is also reflected in official government policies regarding women in athletics, specifically Title IX, which requires college and public school athletics programs to support men's and women's athletics equally. By contrast, youth athletics in many countries – including most European countries, where soccer development is highly competitive – is focused on sports clubs, not on school-based programs.[57] Thus, outside the United States, laws prohibiting sex discrimination in the educational system could have limited effect on sports programs.

text: Contributions to the game[edit]

text: America's approach to growing the game among women has served as a model for other countries' development programs for women at all levels.[58][59] The relative lack of attention — and in some cases, restrictions[60] — afforded the women's game in traditional soccer-playing countries might also have contributed to the United States' early dominance of the international women's game. For example, in England, The Football Association prohibited women's soccer from being played at professional football grounds from 1921 through 1973.[61] The German Football Association banned women's soccer from 1955 through 1970,[62] and Brazil legally prohibited girls and women from playing soccer from 1941 through 1979.[63]


document_title: Red Dawn

question_text: where does the movie red dawn take place

root

text: Red Dawn

text: Plot[edit]

text: The United States has gradually become strategically isolated after several European nations (except the United Kingdom) withdraw from NATO. At the same time, the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact partners aggressively expand their sphere of influence. In addition, the Ukrainian wheat harvest fails while a Communist coup d'etat occurs in Mexico.

tag: p

text: On a September morning, in the small town of Calumet, Colorado, a local high school teacher pauses when he sees Soviet paratroopers landing in a nearby field. The paratroopers open fire when the teacher confronts them. Pandemonium follows as students flee amid heavy gunfire. In downtown Calumet, Cuban and Soviet troops are trying to impose order after a hasty occupation. Cuban Colonel Bella instructs the KGB to go to a local sporting goods store and obtain the records of the store's gun sales on the ATF's Form 4473, which lists citizens who have purchased firearms.

text: Brothers Jed and Matt Eckert, along with their friends Robert, Danny, Daryl, and Aardvark, flee into the wilderness after hastily equipping themselves at a sporting goods store owned by Robert's father. While on the way to the mountains, they run into a Soviet roadblock, but are saved by an attacking U.S. Army UH-1 helicopter gunship. After several weeks in the forest, they sneak back into town; Jed and Matt learn that their father is being held in a re-education camp. They visit the site and speak to him through the fence; Mr. Eckert orders his sons to avenge his inevitable death.

text: The kids visit the Masons and learn that they are behind enemy lines in "Occupied America." Robert's father is revealed to have been executed because of the missing inventory from his store. The Masons charge Jed and Matt with taking care of their two granddaughters, Toni and Erica. After killing Soviet soldiers in the woods, the youths begin an armed resistance against the occupation forces, calling themselves "Wolverines," after their high school mascot. The occupation forces initially try reprisal tactics, executing groups of civilians following every Wolverine attack. During one of these mass executions, the fathers of Jed, Matt and Aardvark are killed. Daryl's father, Mayor Bates, is a collaborator and tries to appease the occupation authorities. Despite the reprisal tactics the occupation forces get nowhere.

text: The Wolverines find a downed pilot, Lt. Col. Andrew Tanner, who informs them of the current state of the war: several American cities, including Washington, D.C., were destroyed by nuclear strikes; the Strategic Air Command was crippled by Cuban saboteurs; and paratroopers were dropped from fake commercial airliners to seize key positions in preparation for subsequent assaults via Mexico and Alaska. The middle third of the U.S. has been taken over, but American counterattacks have halted Soviet advances along the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River and the lines have stabilized. The only remaining U.S. allies, the UK and China, are militarily crippled. Concerned about nuclear fallout, both sides refrain from the further use of nuclear weapons.

text: Tanner assists the Wolverines in organizing raids against the Soviets. Soon after, in a visit to the front line, Tanner and Aardvark are killed in the crossfire of a tank battle. Daryl is caught by the Soviets after being turned in by his collaborating father. Using threats of torture, KGB officers force Daryl to swallow a tracking device, then release him to rejoin the guerrillas. Spetsnaz are sent into the mountains carrying portable radio triangulation equipment, but are ambushed by the Wolverines. The group trace the source of the signal to Daryl, who confesses and pleads for mercy, but is executed by Robert after Jed executes a captured Soviet soldier.

text: The remaining members are ambushed by Mi-24 helicopter gunships, and Robert and Toni are killed. Jed and Matt attack the Soviet headquarters in Calumet to distract the troops while Danny and Erica escape. The plan works, but Jed and Matt are wounded. Though Colonel Bella comes across the brothers, he is unable to bring himself to kill them and lets them go. Nevertheless, it is implied the brothers die in the park where they spent time as kids.

text: Erica narrates that the U.S. repelled the Soviet invasion some time later. A plaque is seen with Partisan Rock in the background, with each dead (presumed) Wolverine's name inscribed upon it. The rock is fenced off and an American flag flies nearby. The plaque reads:

text: ...In the early days of World War III, guerrillas – mostly children – placed the names of their lost upon this rock. They fought here alone and gave up their lives, so "that this nation shall not perish from the earth."

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Patrick Swayze as Jed Eckert
C. Thomas Howell as Robert Morris
Lea Thompson as Erica Mason
Charlie Sheen as Matt Eckert
Darren Dalton as Daryl Bates
Jennifer Grey as Toni Mason
Brad Savage as Danny Bates
Doug Toby as Arturo "Aardvark" Mondragon
Powers Boothe as Lt. Col. Andrew "Andy" Tanner, USAF
Ben Johnson as Jack Mason
Harry Dean Stanton as Tom Eckert
Ron O'Neal as Colonel Ernesto Bella
William Smith as Colonel Strelnikov
Vladek Sheybal as General Bratchenko
Frank McRae as Mr. Teasdale
Roy Jenson as Samuel Morris
Pepe Serna as Mr. Mondragón
Lane Smith as Mayor Bates
Judd Omen as Nicaraguan Captain
Radames Pera as Sgt. Stepan Gorsky

tag: ul

text: Development[edit]

text: The film was originally called Ten Soldiers and was written by Kevin Reynolds. It was set in the near future as a combined force of Russians and Cubans launched an invasion of the Southwestern USA. Ten kids take to the hills when their small town is captured and they turn into a skilled and lethal guerrilla band.

text: The script was shown to MGM where then senior vice-president for production, Peter Bart, who remembers it as a "sharply written anti-war movie... a sort of Lord of the Flies."[5] He took the project to the head of the studio, Frank Yablans. Bart recalls that things changed when "the chieftains at MGM got a better idea. Instead of making a poignant little antiwar movie, why not make a teen Rambo and turn the project over to John Milius, a genial and rotund filmmaker who loved war movies and also loved war? The idea was especially popular with a member of the MGM board of directors, General Alexander Haig, the former Nixon chief of staff, who yearned to supervise the film personally and develop a movie career."[5]

text: Milius admits he was enthusiastic about the project:

text: When I was a kid in the early 60s and 50s, even... I went to high school in Colorado. One of the big things we wanted to be, aside from football players and skiers and everything else–we wanted to be mountain men. And so we read everything about Jim Pritchard and Jim Carson, all that kind of thing, you know, to be a woodsman. The greatest fantasy of all was that we were going to go up to the mountains and resist the Russians with flint-lock rifles, cap-lock rifles, anyway.[6]

text: Milius says MGM decided to make the film because of the Soviet war in Afghanistan. "MGM decided we’re going to make this patriotic movie that’s mirroring the situation in Afghanistan, and we’ll release it during the Olympics."[6] Milius set about rewriting the script. Some of the changes included a shift in focus from conflict within the group to conflict between the teens and their oppressors, and the acceleration of the ages of some of the characters from early teens to high school age and beyond.[7]

text: Haig took Milius under his wing, bringing him to the Hudson Institute, the conservative think tank founded by Herman Kahn, to develop a plausible scenario. Milius saw the story as a Third World liberation struggle in reverse; Haig introduced Nicaragua and suggested that, with the collapse of NATO, a left-wing Mexican regime would participate in the Soviet invasion, effectively splitting the U.S. in half.[8] Bart says "Even Milius was taken aback by Haig's approach to the project. "This is going to end up as a jingoistic, flag-waving movie," Milius fretted. Meanwhile, despite Haig's enthusiasm (or perhaps because of it) the Department of Defense flatly refused to extend any cooperation whatsoever. As a result, the budget of this once $6 million movie almost tripled."[5]

text: Milius later said "I see this as an anti-war movie in the sense that if both sides could see this, maybe it wouldn't have to happen. I think it would be good for Americans to see what a war would be like. The film isn't even that violent – the war shows none of the horrors that could happen in World War III. In fact, everything that happened in the movie happened in World War Two."[2]

text: Shooting[edit]

text: The movie was filmed in and around the city of Las Vegas, New Mexico. Many of the buildings and structures which appeared in the film, including a historic Fred Harvey Company hotel adjacent to the train depot, the train yard, and a building near downtown, which was repainted with the name of "Calumet, Colorado", are still there today. An old Safeway grocery store was converted to a sound stage and used for several scenes in the movie.[9]

text: Before starting work on the movie, the cast underwent an intensive eight-week military training course. During that time, production crews designed and built special combat vehicles in Newhall, California. Soldier of Fortune reported that the movie's T-72 tank was such a precise replica that "while it was being carted around Los Angeles, two CIA officers followed it to the studio and wanted to know where it had come from".

text: Milius says the scene that meant the most to him was when the Wolverines execute the Russian soldier and the mayor's son, Daryl.

text: The rationale that Jed [Patrick Swayze's character] gives is, "We live here." For me that sort of summed up the anger and fear that followed Sept. 11. That's the emotional core of it, isn't it though? That's it. We live here. This is what we are. At the time I remember that was a very, very powerful scene... [I]t was extremely [difficult] to shoot that. We were way, way up on a place called Johnson's Mesa. It snowed. The wind was blowing in. It dropped below zero, everybody was getting frostbite, as well as the fact, I remember, everyone had dysentery. So you had the problem of everyone having to rush to various facilities wearing Avirex assault gear... I remember the power of that scene and that they got into it because of the fact that it was so bitterly cold. And yet it was so beautiful at the same time. Everybody became kind of strongly attached to the place.[6]

text: Powers Boothe later claimed "Milius cut out the emotional life of its characters. Originally, my character was anti-war, as well as a rightist. I was supposed to be the voice of reason in that movie. But certain cuts negated my character."[10]

text: Lea Thompson says the original cut featured a love scene between her and Powers Boothe but it "was cut out after some previews because of the age difference. And that was the main reason I took the movie-it was such a terrific scene."[11]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: Red Dawn was the 20th highest-grossing film of 1984, opening on August 10, 1984 in 1,822 theatres and taking in $8,230,381 on its first weekend. Its box office gross is $38,376,497.[1]

text: Critical[edit]

text: Red Dawn received mixed reviews, receiving a score of 50% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 22 reviews.[12]

text: The New York Times reviewer said "to any sniveling lily-livers who suppose that John Milius... has already reached the pinnacle of movie-making machismo, a warning: Mr. Milius's Red Dawn is more rip-roaring than anything he has done before. Here is Mr. Milius at his most alarming, delivering a rootin'-tootin' scenario for World War III."[13]

text: MGM apologised to Alaska war veterans for the film's advertising, which claimed that no foreign troops had ever landed on US soil, thereby overlooking the Aleutian Islands Campaign.[14]

text: At the time it was released, Red Dawn was considered the most violent film by the Guinness Book of Records and The National Coalition on Television Violence, with a rate of 134 acts of violence per hour, or 2.23 per minute.[15] The DVD Special Edition (2007) includes an on-screen "Carnage Counter" in a nod to this.[16]

text: A few days after the NCTV survey came out, 35 protestors picketed the MGM/UA building in opposition to the film.[17] John Milius said:

text: What these people really don't like is that the movie shows violence being perpetrated against Russian and Cuban invaders, which is what the demonstration was all about. My question is, where were all these demonstrators when the Russians shot down that airliner? Were they cheering? And what about the people being gassed and yellow-rained in Afghanistan?... There's really no pleasure in outraging these people. I suppose next some extreme right wing organisation will give me an award, which is equally ridiculous.[14]

text: Soon after the Gun Owners of America announced that they were honoring Milius for "dramatically depicting the importance in our time of the Second Amendment."[18]

text: Later reputation[edit]

text: National Review Online has named the film No. 15 in its list of "The Best Conservative Movies."[19] Adam Arseneau at the website DVD Verdict opined that the film "often feels like a Republican wet dream manifested into a surrealistic Orwellian nightmare".[16]

text: According to Jesse Walker of Reason,

text: The film outraged liberal critics, but further to the left it had some supporters. In a witty and perceptive piece for The Nation, Andrew Kopkind called it "the most convincing story about popular resistance to imperial oppression since the inimitable Battle of Algiers," adding that he'd "take the Wolverines from Colorado over a small circle of friends from Harvard Square in any revolutionary situation I can imagine."[20]

text: Libertarian theorist Murray Rothbard argued that the film was "not so much pro-war as it is anti-State." Rothbard gave the film a generally positive review, while expressing some reservations with the story:

text: One big problem with the picture is that there is no sense that successful guerrilla war feeds on itself; in real life the ranks of the guerrillas would start to swell, and this would defeat the search-and-destroy concept. In Red Dawn, on the other hand, there are only the same half-dozen teenagers, and the inevitable attrition makes the struggle seem hopeless when it need not be.

text: Another problem is that there is no character development through action, so that, except for the leader, all the high school kids seem indistinguishable. As a result, there is no impulse to mourn as each one falls by the wayside.[21]

text: Milius said that:

text: The movie was very successful. It was just roundly hated by the liberal community and critics. I was vilified and excoriated to a degree–and I was one who was used to being vilified and excoriated for my movies–but that movie really got their dander up... You see the tremendous cost of everything. Nobody comes out of it whole or unscarred. The ones that in the end, when they get away, they’re looking down on this vast plain and say, "We’re free now." And he says, "Free to do what?"[6]

text: References in the film[edit]

text:
The NRA slogan, "I'll give you my gun when you take it from my cold, dead fingers", is seen on a truck's bumper sticker as the paratroopers take over Calumet before a dead man's M1911 pistol is taken from him.[22]
The movie being shown to American prisoners at the Soviet camp near Calumet is Alexander Nevsky (1938), Sergei Eisenstein's Soviet anti-Nazi film. It is also playing in the town cinema across from the drugstore.[23]
Much of the story is set in the Arapaho National Forest, and a group of Soviet soldiers refer specifically to the Colorado War, which was fought there between the Arapaho and Cheyenne Indian insurgencies and the occupying U.S. government.[24]

text: Music[edit]

text: The film's score was composed and conducted by Basil Poledouris; it was the first soundtrack album to be released (on LP and compact disc) by Intrada Records. The label issued the complete score in 2007.

text: In popular culture[edit]

text:
"Grey Dawn" is a South Park episode which parodies Red Dawn.[25]
In a cutaway scene in the Family Guy episode "Hell Comes to Quahog," Peter Griffin stars in "Red Dawn: The Musical." [26]
Homefront, a video game also written by John Milius, is about a Korean invasion of America.[27]

text: The movie has become a big cult success. Milius:

text: It was almost like a Revolutionary War message. It’s the nature of America’s struggle against oppression. But the movie, because it was a rare patriotic movie in a time when that really wasn’t done very often, I think it really struck a chord. It really struck a chord with people who’ve grown up [with it]… They've told me, "God, I just love that movie." Because everybody, I think, had that fantasy of what would happen if your home was invaded and you would fight the Russians and whatever.[6]

text: Operation Red Dawn[edit]

text: The operation to capture former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was named Operation Red Dawn and its targets were dubbed Wolverine 1 and Wolverine 2. Army Captain Geoffrey McMurray, who named the mission, said the naming "was so fitting because it was a patriotic, pro-American movie." Milius approved of the naming: "I was deeply flattered and honored. It's nice to have a lasting legacy."[28]

text: "I was very proud," said Milius. "I was just thrilled. It's nice to be liked someplace in the world. I have very strong supporters in the military."[6]

text: Remake[edit]

text: The remake takes place in a slightly altered version of the modern day (c. 2012), with North Korea invading the United States. Milius did not like the remake, and criticised it as "terrible" after reading an original script where the villains were Chinese.

text: There was a strange feeling to the whole thing. They were fans of the movie so they put in stuff they thought was neat. It's all about neat action scenes, and has nothing to do with story.... There's only one example in 4,000 years of Chinese territorial adventurism, and that was in 1979, when they invaded Vietnam, and to put it mildly they got their [butts] handed to them... Why would China want us? They sell us stuff. We're a market. I would have done it about Mexico.[29]


document_title: NFL on Thanksgiving Day

question_text: who did the lions play on thanksgiving last year

text: NFL on Thanksgiving Day

text: History[edit]

text: 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.

text: 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.

text: 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]

text: 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.

text: 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.

text: 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]

text: Notwithstanding the aforementioned St. Louis-hosted games in 1975 and 1977, the two "traditional" Thanksgiving Day pro football games since the 1970 AFL–NFL merger have then been in Detroit and Dallas. Because of TV network commitments in place through the 2013 season, to make sure that both the AFC-carrying network (NBC from the 1970 merger to 1997, and CBS since 1998) and the NFC-carrying network (CBS from the 1970 merger 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.

text: Since 2006, a third NFL game on Thanksgiving has been played at night. It originally aired on the NFL Network as part of its Thursday Night Football package until 2011; NBC began carrying the night game in 2012. The Thanksgiving night game has no fixed opponents or conferences, enabling the league to freely choose whatever marquee match-up to feature on that night. The 2012 changes also allowed both Dallas and Detroit in the future to offer NFC games (one would be played at night), and CBS can offer a game with two AFC teams. In 2014, the NFL added the cross-flex rule, allowing CBS to televise NFC away games, and Fox to broadcast AFC away games, under select circumstances on Sunday afternoons;[13][14] however, this did not cover the Thanksgiving contests.[15] CBS also signed a separate contract to carry Thursday Night Football from the 2014 season onward, which allowed that network to carry games from either conference on Thursdays;[16] 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.

text: The NFL's flexible scheduling rule currently does not apply for Thanksgiving games; however, the NFL in theory could in the future apply the rule to change start times and networks for the three games.

text: Throwback uniforms[edit]

text: Since 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.

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

text: From 2001 to 2003, Dallas chose to represent the 1990s Cowboys dynasty by wearing the navy "Double-Star" jersey not seen since 1995. In 2004, the team wore uniforms not seen since 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.[17] 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.[18]

text: Memorable games[edit]

text:
1920: An urban legend states that the Chicago Tigers and Decatur Staleys challenged each other to a Thanksgiving duel, in Chicago, in the league's inaugural season, with the loser being relegated out of the league at the end of the season, purportedly explaining why the Tigers were the only NFL team to fold after the 1920 season (no other team would fold until 1921). The claims of it being a duel are unsubstantiated and no evidence exists that the Tigers were ever officially league members; nevertheless, the Tigers, after a 27–0 win over the non-league Thorn Tornadoes the next week, never played football again. The Staleys would move to Chicago during the next season, later renaming themselves the Bears.
1921: In a matchup of two of the league's best teams, the Staleys lose to the Buffalo All-Americans at home. The Staleys demand a rematch, with Buffalo agreeing to a December match only on the terms of it being considered an off-the-record exhibition game. That later match, which Chicago won, ended up counting despite the All-Americans' insistence, controversially handing Chicago the championship.
1952: The Dallas Texans are forced to move their lone remaining home game to the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio as the undercard to a high school football contest. Their opponent for that game, the Chicago Bears, underestimated the then-winless Texans and sent their second string team to the game; the Texans scored a 27–23 upset over the Bears for their only win of their existence.
1962: The Lions handed the 10–0 Green Bay Packers their lone defeat of the season.
1964–65: The 1964 and 1965 AFL contests featured the Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers, the two teams that would eventually meet in those years' American Football League Championship Games.
1974: Unknown Cowboys backup quarterback Clint Longley took over for an injured Roger Staubach with the team down 16–3 and rallied them to an improbable victory over Washington on two deep passes.
1976: The Bills offense put forth one of the best and the worst performances in Thanksgiving history. O. J. Simpson set the NFL record for most rushing yards in a single game, with 273. However, Bills backup quarterback Gary Marangi completed only 4 of 21 pass attempts, for 29 yards passing, and a rating of 19.7. The Lions defeated the Bills 27-14.[19]
1980: With the Lions and Bears tied 17-17 at the end of regulation, the game went to overtime, the first Thanksgiving game to do so (overtime was not added to the NFL regular season until 1974), and the first overtime game at the Silverdome. Bears running back Dave Williams returned the fifth-quarter opening kickoff 95 yards for a game-winning touchdown, ending the shortest overtime period in NFL history at the time.
1986: The Lions and the Packers had the highest scoring game in Thanksgiving history. It was the best day of receiver Walter Stanley's career; Stanley netted 207 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns, including an 83-yard punt return to win the game for Green Bay, 44–40. Stanley had an otherwise undistinguished career in the NFL.
1989: Known as the "Bounty Bowl", the Eagles crushed the Cowboys by a score of 27–0. Allegations surfaced that the Eagles had placed a bounty on the Cowboys kicker, thus becoming the first of a string of three bitterly contested games between the two teams, the other two being Bounty Bowl II and the Porkchop Bowl a year later.
1993: In one of the more famous Thanksgiving Day games in recent history, the Cowboys led the Dolphins 14–13 with just seconds remaining in a rare, snow-filled Texas Stadium. Miami's Pete Stoyanovich attempted a game winning 40-yard field goal that was blocked by the Cowboys' Jimmie Jones. Dick Enberg of NBC proclaimed "The Cowboys will win."[20] Indeed, since the kick landed beyond the line of scrimmage, once the ball stopped moving the play would be declared dead and Dallas would gain possession. However, the ball landed and began spinning on its tip, leading Cowboys lineman Leon Lett to try to gain possession. Lett slipped, fell, and knocked the ball forward. By rule, the ball was live and the Dolphins fell on it at the two yard line. With the recovery, Stoyanovich got a second chance to win the game and hit the much shorter field goal. The Dolphins won 16–14.[21]
1994: Troy Aikman was injured and third-string quarterback Jason Garrett was forced to start for Dallas against the Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys won a 42–31 shoot-out against Brett Favre.
1998: In another controversial Thanksgiving Day game, the Steelers and Lions went to overtime tied 16–16. Pittsburgh's Jerome Bettis called the coin toss in the air, but head referee Phil Luckett awarded Detroit the ball after Bettis tried to call both heads and tails at the same time. The Lions went on to kick a field goal on the first possession, winning 19–16. As a result of the fiasco, team captains are now required to call the coin toss before the coin is tossed, and a later rule change now prevents teams from automatically winning a game by scoring a field goal on the first possession. The day also saw a memorable performance by the Minnesota Vikings in a 46–36 win over the Dallas Cowboys as Vikings rookie Randy Moss caught three touchdowns, all of over 50 yards.
2008: The 10–1 Titans routed the 0–11 Lions by a score of 47–10, one of the most lopsided results in history on Thanksgiving. The Lions would go on to finish the season 0–16.
2011: The trio of games[22] was lauded as one of the better Thanksgiving Day slates of games in NFL history.[23] The night game between Baltimore and San Francisco pitted head coaches and brothers John and Jim Harbaugh against each other – a preview of Super Bowl XLVII.
2012: The prime time contest became infamous for the "Butt fumble", an incident in which Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez ran headfirst into the buttocks of his own offensive lineman. He subsequently fumbled the ball; it was recovered by New England, who returned it for a touchdown. In the earlier game, one of the NFL's most infamous rule changes came when former Lions coach Jim Schwartz challenged a play in which Texans running back Justin Forsett's knee clearly touched the ground before sprinting for an 81-yard touchdown. Referee Walt Coleman stated that, by rule, scoring plays are automatically reviewed and the play was not challengeable by a coach. Because of the improper attempted challenge, the review was cancelled and Coleman assessed a 15-yard kickoff penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. The NFL then passed a new rule that stated that if a coach attempted to challenge a play that is automatically reviewed, the review would continue. It was called the 'Jim Schwartz rule'.

text: Home team controversy[edit]

text: 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.

text: 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.[24][25] The team also required an extension to prevent a local television blackout.[26] The Lions were routed by Tennessee 47–10, en route to the team's 0–16 season.[27] 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.[28][29]

text: Conversely, the Dallas Cowboys, who typically represent a larger television draw,[30] have had much 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.[31] 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.

text: 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.

text: Game results[edit]

text: (Winning teams are denoted by boldface type; tie games are italicized.)

text:
All three of the generally recognized iterations of the American Football League that played during this era (AFL I in 1926, AFL II in 1936 and AFL III in 1940) played Thanksgiving games, which are also listed as indicated.
Non-NFL team games between league teams and non league teams counted in the 1920 standings. The All-Tonawanda Lumberjacks later joined the league as the Tonawanda Kardex, albeit only for one game.
Thanksgiving fell on the final Thursday in November until 1938 and was held on two conflicting days from 1939 to 1941.

text:
Season
Visiting Team
Score
Home Team
Score

Nov. 25, 1920
Canton Bulldogs
0
Akron Pros
7

Decatur Staleys
6
Chicago Tigers
0

Detroit Heralds
0
Dayton Triangles
28

Columbus Panhandles
0
Elyria Athletics*
0

Hammond Pros
0
Chicago Boosters*
27

All-Tonawanda *
14
Rochester Jeffersons
3

Nov. 24, 1921
Canton Bulldogs
14
Akron Pros
0

Buffalo All-Americans
7
Chicago Staleys
6

Nov. 30, 1922
Buffalo All-Americans
21
Rochester Jeffersons
0

Chicago Bears
0
Chicago Cardinals
6

Milwaukee Badgers
0
Racine Legion
3

Oorang Indians
18
Columbus Panhandles
6

Akron Pros
0
Canton Bulldogs
14

Nov. 29, 1923
Toledo Maroons
0
Canton Bulldogs
28

Chicago Cardinals
0
Chicago Bears
3

Hammond Pros
0
Green Bay Packers
19

Milwaukee Badgers
16
Racine Legion
0

Nov. 27, 1924
Buffalo Bisons
0
Akron Pros
22

Chicago Bears
21
Chicago Cardinals
0

Dayton Triangles
7
Frankford Yellowjackets
32

Milwaukee Badgers
10
Cleveland Bulldogs
(at Canton)
53

Green Bay Packers
17
Kansas City Blues
6

Nov. 26, 1925
Chicago Cardinals
0
Chicago Bears
0

Kansas City Cowboys
17
Cleveland Bulldogs
(at Hartford)
0

Rock Island Independents
6
Detroit Panthers
3

Green Bay Packers
0
Pottsville Maroons
31

Nov. 25, 1926
New York Giants
17
Brooklyn Lions
0

Los Angeles Buccaneers
9
Detroit Panthers
6

Chicago Cardinals
0
Chicago Bears
0

Green Bay Packers
14
Frankford Yellowjackets
20

Providence Steam Roller
0
Pottsville Maroons
8

Akron Pros
0
Canton Bulldogs
0

(AFL I) Los Angeles Wildcats
0
Chicago Bulls
0

(AFL I) Philadelphia Quakers
13
New York Yankees
10

Nov. 24, 1927
Chicago Cardinals
3
Chicago Bears
0

Providence Steam Roller
0
Pottsville Maroons
6

Green Bay Packers
17
Frankford Yellowjackets
9

Cleveland Bulldogs
30
New York Yankees
19

Season
Visiting Team
Score
Home Team
Score

Nov. 29, 1928
Providence Steam Roller
7
Pottsville Maroons
0

Dayton Triangles
0
Detroit Wolverines
33

Green Bay Packers
0
Frankford Yellow Jackets
2

Chicago Cardinals
0
Chicago Bears
34

Nov. 28, 1929
New York Giants
21
Staten Island Stapletons
7

Green Bay Packers
0
Frankford Yellow Jackets
0

Chicago Cardinals
40
Chicago Bears
6

Nov. 27, 1930
New York Giants
6
Staten Island Stapletons
7

Providence Steam Roller
12
Brooklyn Dodgers
33

Green Bay Packers
25
Frankford Yellowjackets
7

Chicago Cardinals
0
Chicago Bears
6

Nov. 26, 1931
Green Bay Packers
38
Providence Steam Roller
7

New York Giants
6
Staten Island Stapletons
9

Chicago Cardinals
7
Chicago Bears
18

Nov. 24, 1932
Green Bay Packers
7
Brooklyn Dodgers
0

New York Giants
13
Staten Island Stapletons
13

Chicago Cardinals
0
Chicago Bears
24

Nov. 30, 1933
New York Giants
10
Brooklyn Dodgers
0

Chicago Bears
22
Chicago Cardinals
6

Nov. 29, 1934
Green Bay Packers
0
Chicago Cardinals
6

New York Giants
27
Brooklyn Dodgers
0

Chicago Bears
19
Detroit Lions
16

Nov. 28, 1935
Green Bay Packers
7
Chicago Cardinals
9

New York Giants
21
Brooklyn Dodgers
0

Chicago Bears
2
Detroit Lions
14

Nov. 26, 1936
Chicago Bears
7
Detroit Lions
13

New York Giants
14
Brooklyn Dodgers
0

(AFL II) Cleveland Rams
7
Rochester Tigers
6

Nov. 25, 1937
Chicago Bears
13
Detroit Lions
0

New York Giants
13
Brooklyn Dodgers
13

Nov. 24, 1938
Chicago Bears
7
Detroit Lions
14

New York Giants
7
Brooklyn Dodgers
7

Nov. 23, 1939
Pittsburgh Pirates
14
Philadelphia Eagles
17

Nov. 21, 1940
(AFL III) New York Yankees
16
Columbus Bullies
17

(AFL III) Buffalo Tigers
13
Milwaukee Chiefs
30

Nov. 28, 1940
Pittsburgh Steelers
0
Philadelphia Eagles
7

tag: table

text:
No Thanksgiving games were held from 1941 to 1944 due to World War II.
Thanksgiving games were played on the fourth Thursday in November from 1945 onward.
The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) also played Thanksgiving games from 1946 to 1949.

text:
Season
League
Visiting Team
Score
Home Team
Score

Nov. 22, 1945
NFL
Cleveland Rams
28
Detroit Lions
21

Nov. 28, 1946
NFL
Boston Yanks
34
Detroit Lions
10

AAFC
New York Yankees
21
Brooklyn Dodgers
7

Nov. 27, 1947
NFL
Chicago Bears
34
Detroit Lions
14

AAFC
Cleveland Browns
27
Los Angeles Dons
17

AAFC
San Francisco 49ers
21
Brooklyn Dodgers
7

Nov. 25, 1948
NFL
Chicago Cardinals
28
Detroit Lions
14

AAFC
Cleveland Browns
31
Los Angeles Dons
14

AAFC
Buffalo Bills
39
Chicago Rockets
35

Nov. 24, 1949
NFL
Chicago Bears
28
Detroit Lions
7

AAFC
New York Yankees
17
Los Angeles Dons
16

AAFC
Cleveland Browns
14
Chicago Hornets
6

Nov. 23, 1950
NFL
New York Yanks
14
Detroit Lions
49

Pittsburgh Steelers
28
Chicago Cardinals
17

Nov. 22, 1951
NFL
Green Bay Packers
35
Detroit Lions
52

Nov. 27, 1952
NFL
Green Bay Packers
24
Detroit Lions
48

Chicago Bears
23
Dallas Texans (at Akron, Ohio)
27

Nov. 26, 1953
NFL
Green Bay Packers
15
Detroit Lions
34

Nov. 25, 1954
NFL
Green Bay Packers
24
Detroit Lions
28

Nov. 24, 1955
NFL
Green Bay Packers
10
Detroit Lions
24

Nov. 22, 1956
NFL
Green Bay Packers
24
Detroit Lions
20

Nov. 28, 1957
NFL
Green Bay Packers
6
Detroit Lions
18

Nov. 27, 1958
NFL
Green Bay Packers
14
Detroit Lions
24

Nov. 26, 1959
NFL
Green Bay Packers
24
Detroit Lions
17

text:
The American Football League (AFL) also played Thanksgiving Day games during this decade.
The Dallas Cowboys started playing their traditional series in 1966.

text:
Season
League
Visiting Team
Score
Home Team
Score

Nov. 24, 1960
NFL
Green Bay Packers
10
Detroit Lions
23

AFL
Dallas Texans
35
New York Titans
41

Nov. 23, 1961
NFL
Green Bay Packers
17
Detroit Lions
9

AFL
Buffalo Bills
14
New York Titans
21

Nov. 22, 1962
NFL
Green Bay Packers
14
Detroit Lions
26

AFL
New York Titans
46
Denver Broncos
45

Nov. 28, 1963
NFL
Green Bay Packers
13
Detroit Lions
13

AFL
Oakland Raiders
26
Denver Broncos
10

Nov. 26, 1964
NFL
Chicago Bears
27
Detroit Lions
24

AFL
Buffalo Bills
27
San Diego Chargers
24

Nov. 25, 1965
NFL
Baltimore Colts
24
Detroit Lions
24

AFL
Buffalo Bills
20
San Diego Chargers
20

Nov. 24, 1966
NFL
San Francisco 49ers
41
Detroit Lions
14

Cleveland Browns
14
Dallas Cowboys
26

AFL
Buffalo Bills
31
Oakland Raiders
10

Nov. 23, 1967
NFL
Los Angeles Rams
31
Detroit Lions
7

St. Louis Cardinals
21
Dallas Cowboys
46

AFL
Oakland Raiders
44
Kansas City Chiefs
22

Denver Broncos
20
San Diego Chargers
24

Nov. 28, 1968
NFL
Philadelphia Eagles
12
Detroit Lions
0

Washington Redskins
20
Dallas Cowboys
29

AFL
Buffalo Bills
10
Oakland Raiders
13

Houston Oilers
10
Kansas City Chiefs
24

Nov. 27, 1969
NFL
Minnesota Vikings
27
Detroit Lions
0

San Francisco 49ers
24
Dallas Cowboys
24

AFL
Denver Broncos
17
Kansas City Chiefs
31

San Diego Chargers
21
Houston Oilers
17

text:
From 1970 to 2005, three NFC teams and one AFC team played each Thanksgiving.
The two afternoon games were held at Detroit (12:30 p.m. EST) and Dallas (4:15 p.m. EST), respectively. Detroit always hosts the "early" game because a 12:30 p.m. EST kick-off at Dallas would be 11:30 a.m. local time (CST), and the NFL avoids starting games before noon locally. The two games rotate annually as intra-conference (NFC vs. NFC) and inter-conference (AFC vs. NFC) games. This is to satisfy the television contract balance between CBS (which broadcasts games in which the visiting team is from the AFC) and Fox (which broadcasts games in which the visiting team is from the NFC).
The "early" game kicks off at a special time of 12:30 p.m. EST as opposed to the typical afternoon start time of 1 p.m. This provides an additional 30 minutes to prevent overlapping of the "late" game, and also gave the network time for a pregame show and some additional time for an expanded halftime show (selected years). When Fox carries the "early" game, they typically start their pregame coverage (Fox NFL Sunday) at 11:30 a.m. (with the addition of Fox NFL Kickoff to the Fox lineup, its pregame will begin at 10:30 a.m. for 2015). When CBS carries the "early" game, they start their pregame coverage (The NFL Today) at 12:00 p.m., due to the fact that their morning parade coverage runs until noon. The network with the 4:15 "late" game begins pregame coverage at 3:30 p.m. EST.
Dallas was replaced by the St. Louis Cardinals as a host team in 1975 and 1977; Dallas and St. Louis faced each other at Texas Stadium in 1976. Because of the Missouri Turkey Day Game, the long-established Kirkwood–Webster Groves high school football game that takes place on Thanksgiving in St. Louis, weak fan support in St. Louis, and general national preference of the Cowboys over the historically weaker Cardinals, the Cardinals' hosting of the Thanksgiving game was not popular. Dallas returned to hosting the game in 1978 and has hosted since. Likewise, the Rams never played on Thanksgiving while in St. Louis, in part because of the Turkey Day Game and also because the Missouri State High School Activities Association has held its state football championship games on Thanksgiving weekend at The Dome at America's Center since 1996.
Since the time NFL began its current alignment in 2002, no team from the AFC North can play a Thanksgiving Day game against the traditional hosts. This is because under the current rotation, the Cowboys and the Lions each play AFC North teams in years that FOX is scheduled to broadcast its Thanksgiving Day game, requiring an NFC opponent. To date, the last game to feature a team currently in the AFC North was the Lions matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1998. AFC North teams can play in the prime time game, as the Cincinnati Bengals did in 2010.

text:
Season
Visiting Team
Score
Home Team
Score
OT

Nov. 26, 1970
Oakland Raiders
14
Detroit Lions
28

Green Bay Packers
3
Dallas Cowboys
16

Nov. 25, 1971
Kansas City Chiefs
21
Detroit Lions
32

Los Angeles Rams
21
Dallas Cowboys
28

Nov. 23, 1972
New York Jets
20
Detroit Lions
37

San Francisco 49ers
31
Dallas Cowboys
10

Nov. 22, 1973
Washington Redskins
20
Detroit Lions
0

Miami Dolphins
14
Dallas Cowboys
7

Nov. 28, 1974
Denver Broncos
31
Detroit Lions
27

Washington Redskins
23
Dallas Cowboys
24

Nov. 27, 1975
Los Angeles Rams
20
Detroit Lions
0

Buffalo Bills
32
St. Louis Cardinals
14

Nov. 25, 1976
Buffalo Bills
14
Detroit Lions
27

St. Louis Cardinals
14
Dallas Cowboys
19

Nov. 24, 1977
Chicago Bears
31
Detroit Lions
14

Miami Dolphins
55
St. Louis Cardinals
14

Nov. 23, 1978
Denver Broncos
14
Detroit Lions
17

Washington Redskins
10
Dallas Cowboys
37

Nov. 22, 1979
Chicago Bears
0
Detroit Lions
20

Houston Oilers
30
Dallas Cowboys
24

Nov. 27, 1980
Chicago Bears
23
Detroit Lions
17
(OT)

Seattle Seahawks
7
Dallas Cowboys
51

Nov. 26, 1981
Kansas City Chiefs
10
Detroit Lions
27

Chicago Bears
9
Dallas Cowboys
10

Nov. 25, 1982
New York Giants
13
Detroit Lions
6

Cleveland Browns
14
Dallas Cowboys
31

Nov. 24, 1983
Pittsburgh Steelers
3
Detroit Lions
45

St. Louis Cardinals
17
Dallas Cowboys
35

Nov. 22, 1984
Green Bay Packers
28
Detroit Lions
31

New England Patriots
17
Dallas Cowboys
20

Nov. 28, 1985
New York Jets
20
Detroit Lions
31

St. Louis Cardinals
17
Dallas Cowboys
35

Nov. 27, 1986
Green Bay Packers
44
Detroit Lions
40

Seattle Seahawks
31
Dallas Cowboys
14

Nov. 26, 1987
Kansas City Chiefs
27
Detroit Lions
20

Minnesota Vikings
44
Dallas Cowboys
38
(OT)

Nov. 24, 1988
Minnesota Vikings
23
Detroit Lions
0

Houston Oilers
25
Dallas Cowboys
17

Nov. 23, 1989
Cleveland Browns
10
Detroit Lions
13

Philadelphia Eagles
27
Dallas Cowboys
0

Nov. 22, 1990
Denver Broncos
27
Detroit Lions
40

Washington Redskins
17
Dallas Cowboys
27

Nov. 28, 1991
Chicago Bears
6
Detroit Lions
16

Pittsburgh Steelers
10
Dallas Cowboys
20

Nov. 26, 1992
Houston Oilers
24
Detroit Lions
21

New York Giants
3
Dallas Cowboys
30

Nov. 25, 1993
Chicago Bears
10
Detroit Lions
6

Miami Dolphins
16
Dallas Cowboys
14

Nov. 24, 1994
Buffalo Bills
21
Detroit Lions
35

Green Bay Packers
31
Dallas Cowboys
42

Nov. 23, 1995
Minnesota Vikings
38
Detroit Lions
44

Kansas City Chiefs
12
Dallas Cowboys
24

Nov. 28, 1996
Kansas City Chiefs
28
Detroit Lions
24

Washington Redskins
10
Dallas Cowboys
21

Nov. 27, 1997
Chicago Bears
20
Detroit Lions
55

Tennessee Oilers
27
Dallas Cowboys
14

Nov. 26, 1998
Pittsburgh Steelers
16
Detroit Lions
19
(OT)

Minnesota Vikings
46
Dallas Cowboys
36

Nov. 25, 1999
Chicago Bears
17
Detroit Lions
21

Miami Dolphins
0
Dallas Cowboys
20

Nov. 23, 2000
New England Patriots
9
Detroit Lions
34

Minnesota Vikings
27
Dallas Cowboys
15

Nov. 22, 2001
Green Bay Packers
29
Detroit Lions
27

Denver Broncos
26
Dallas Cowboys
24

Nov. 28, 2002
New England Patriots
20
Detroit Lions
12

Washington Redskins
20
Dallas Cowboys
27

Nov. 27, 2003
Green Bay Packers
14
Detroit Lions
22

Miami Dolphins
40
Dallas Cowboys
21

Nov. 25, 2004
Indianapolis Colts
41
Detroit Lions
9

Chicago Bears
7
Dallas Cowboys
21

Nov. 24, 2005
Atlanta Falcons
27
Detroit Lions
7

Denver Broncos
24
Dallas Cowboys
21
(OT)

text:
Since 2006, three contests have been played on Thanksgiving. In addition to the traditional Detroit and Dallas home afternoon games, a third game is now played in primetime and televised by NFL Network (2006–2011) or NBC (since 2012). Current plans call for the various NFL teams (other than the Lions and Cowboys) to take turns hosting the night game on a rotation basis.
In 2006, Kansas City hosted the first prime time Thanksgiving game. The game marked a new "Thanksgiving Tripleheader" tradition. The Denver/Kansas City game marked the first time more than two games were played on Thanksgiving (as well as the first all-AFC holiday matchup) since the AFL–NFL merger in 1970.
Rule changes in the 2012–2022 television contracts permit "cross flexing", whereby selected games can be switched between CBS and FOX, effectively allowing CBS to schedule an NFC vs. NFC matchup on Thanksgiving Day rather than an AFC at NFC game. The 2014 season was the first in which all three games feature NFC vs. NFC opponents under these rules; the league again scheduled an all-NFC Thanksgiving for 2015.[32]

text:
Season
Visiting Team
Score
Home Team
Score
OT

Nov. 23, 2006
Miami Dolphins
27
Detroit Lions
10

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
10
Dallas Cowboys
38

Denver Broncos
10
Kansas City Chiefs
19

Nov. 22, 2007
Green Bay Packers
37
Detroit Lions
26

New York Jets
3
Dallas Cowboys
34

Indianapolis Colts
31
Atlanta Falcons
13

Nov. 27, 2008
Tennessee Titans
47
Detroit Lions
10

Seattle Seahawks
9
Dallas Cowboys
34

Arizona Cardinals
20
Philadelphia Eagles
48

Nov. 26, 2009
Green Bay Packers
34
Detroit Lions
12

Oakland Raiders
7
Dallas Cowboys
24

New York Giants
6
Denver Broncos
26

Nov. 25, 2010
New England Patriots
45
Detroit Lions
24

New Orleans Saints
30
Dallas Cowboys
27

Cincinnati Bengals
10
New York Jets
26

Nov. 24, 2011
Green Bay Packers
27
Detroit Lions
15

Miami Dolphins
19
Dallas Cowboys
20

San Francisco 49ers
6
Baltimore Ravens
16

Nov. 22, 2012
Houston Texans
34
Detroit Lions
31
(OT)

Washington Redskins
38
Dallas Cowboys
31

New England Patriots
49
New York Jets
19

Nov. 28, 2013
Green Bay Packers
10
Detroit Lions
40

Oakland Raiders
24
Dallas Cowboys
31

Pittsburgh Steelers
20
Baltimore Ravens
22

Nov. 27, 2014
Chicago Bears
17
Detroit Lions
34

Philadelphia Eagles
33
Dallas Cowboys
10

Seattle Seahawks
19
San Francisco 49ers
3

Nov. 26, 2015
Philadelphia Eagles
14
Detroit Lions
45

Carolina Panthers
33
Dallas Cowboys
14

Chicago Bears
17
Green Bay Packers
13

Nov. 24, 2016
Minnesota Vikings
13
Detroit Lions
16

Washington Redskins
26
Dallas Cowboys
31

Pittsburgh Steelers
28
Indianapolis Colts
7

Nov. 23, 2017
Minnesota Vikings
30
Detroit Lions
23

Los Angeles Chargers
28
Dallas Cowboys
6

New York Giants
10
Washington Redskins
20

text: Thanksgiving Day standings[edit]

text: Of current NFL franchises. This includes American Football League (AFL) games; however, it does not include All-America Football Conference (AAFC) games.

text:
Team
Last Game
Wins
Losses
Ties
Win %
Other names appeared under

Baltimore Ravens
2013
2
0

1.000

Carolina Panthers
2015
1
0

1.000

Houston Texans
2012
1
0

1.000

New Orleans Saints
2010
1
0

1.000

Philadelphia Eagles
2015
7
1

.875

Minnesota Vikings
2017
6
2

.750

Los Angeles Rams
1975
3
1

.750
Cleveland Rams (1937–1945), does not include 1936 AFL's Cleveland Rams

Miami Dolphins
2011
5
2

.714

Tennessee Titans
2008
5
2

.714
Houston Oilers (1960–1996)
Tennessee Oilers (1997–1998)

Indianapolis Colts
2016
2
1
1
.625
Baltimore Colts (1953–1983)

Los Angeles Chargers
2017
3
1
1
.625
San Diego Chargers (1961–2016)

Dallas Cowboys
2017
30
19
1
.622

New York Giants
2017
7
6
3
.607

New England Patriots
2012
3
2

.600

Chicago Bears
2015
17
15
2
.529
Decatur Staleys (1920)
Chicago Staleys (1921)

Kansas City Chiefs
2006
5
5

.500
Dallas Texans (1960–1962), does not include 1–0 record of unrelated NFL Dallas Texans.

New York Jets
2012
4
4

.500
New York Titans (1960–1962)

San Francisco 49ers
2014
2
2
1
.500
Does not include 1–0 record when team was a member of the AAFC.

Seattle Seahawks
2014
2
2

.500

Atlanta Falcons
2007
1
1

.500

Detroit Lions
2017
37
39
2
.494

Buffalo Bills
1994
3
4
1
.438
Does not include 1–0 record of unrelated AAFC team of same name.

Oakland Raiders
2013
3
4

.429

Green Bay Packers
2015
14
20
2
.417

Denver Broncos
2009
4
7

.364

Arizona Cardinals
2008
6
15
2
.304
Chicago Cardinals (1920–1959)
St. Louis Cardinals (1960–1987)
Phoenix Cardinals (1988–1993)

Pittsburgh Steelers
2016
2
6

.250

Washington Redskins
2017
4
7

.364

Cincinnati Bengals
2010
0
1

.000

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2006
0
1

.000

Cleveland Browns
1989
0
3

.000
Does not include 3–0 record when team was a member of the AAFC.

Jacksonville Jaguars
None
0
0

–
Only active franchise to have never played on Thanksgiving.

text: Notable appearance droughts[edit]

text: The last currently active franchise to have never played on Thanksgiving through 2017 is the Jacksonville Jaguars, who joined the league in 1995.

text: An idiosyncrasy in the NFL's current scheduling formula, which has been in effect since 2002 and revised in 2010, effectively prevents teams from the AFC North from playing the Lions or Cowboys on Thanksgiving, as the formula has the AFC North playing in Dallas or Detroit in years when the other team is slated to play the AFC game on Thanksgiving. These teams can, under the 2014 television contracts, play only in the third (night) game; should cross-flex be expanded to Thursdays or Fox win the Thursday Night contract in 2018 (either scenario would allow both Fox and CBS to carry AFC games), this idiosyncrasy will be eliminated.

text: 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 being suspended in the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy, and have not appeared in the game since rejoining the league as an expansion team.

text: Since 2010, the league has made efforts to end the longest droughts. 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.[33]

text: Thanksgiving Day records of defunct teams[edit]

text:
Team
Wins
Losses
Ties
Win Pct.
Other names appeared under

Frankford Yellow Jackets
2
0

1.000
Defunct (1931)

New York Yankees*
2
0

1.000
Defunct (1949)

Pottsville Maroons
2
0

1.000
Defunct (1928)

Boston Yanks
1
0

1.000
Defunct (1948)

Buffalo Bills*
1
0

1.000
Defunct (1949), unrelated to current NFL team with this name

Dallas Texans
1
0

1.000
Defunct (1952), does not count AFL's Dallas Texans, which are now the Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Buccaneers
1
0

1.000
Defunct (1926)

Oorang Indians
1
0

1.000
Defunct (1923)

Rock Island Independents
1
0

1.000
Defunct (1925)

All-Tonawanda Lumberjacks
1
0

1.000
Defunct (1921)

Akron Pros
3
1
1
.700
Defunct (1926)

Buffalo Bisons
1
1
1
.500
Buffalo All-Americans (1920–1923), Defunct (1929)

Canton Bulldogs
1
1
1
.500
Defunct (1926)

Cleveland Bulldogs
1
1

.500
Defunct (1927)

Dayton Triangles
1
1

.500
Defunct (1929)

Kansas City Cowboys
1
1

.500
Kansas City Blues (1924), Defunct (1926)

Milwaukee Badgers
1
1

.500
Defunct (1926)

Brooklyn Lions
0
1

.000
Defunct (1926)

Chicago Tigers
0
1

.000
Defunct (1920)

Detroit Heralds
0
1

.000
Defunct (1920)

New York Yanks
0
1

.000
Defunct (1950)

Providence Steam Roller
0
1

.000
Defunct (1931)

Racine Legion
0
1

.000
Defunct (1926)

Toledo Maroons
0
1

.000
Defunct (1923)

Brooklyn Dodgers*
0
2

.000
Defunct (1949)

Chicago Hornets*
0
2

.000
Chicago Rockets (1946–1948), Defunct (1949)

Columbus Panhandles
0
2

.000
Defunct (1926)

Detroit Panthers
0
2

.000
Defunct (1926)

Hammond Pros
0
2

.000
Defunct (1926)

Rochester Jeffersons
0
2

.000
Defunct (1925)

Los Angeles Dons*
0
3

.000
Defunct (1949)

text: *All-America Football Conference team.

text: Game MVPs[edit]

text: 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.

text: Turkey Leg Award (CBS & FOX)[edit]

text: In 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,[34] 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 1994, and it continued through 2001.

text: 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.

text: Galloping Gobbler / Game Ball (FOX)[edit]

text: 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 silver turkey wearing a football helmet[35] striking a Heisman-like pose.[36] Much like Cleatus and Digger, the original Galloping Gobbler trophy reflected Fox's irreverent mascots, and went through several iterations.[35] Unimpressed by its tackiness, 2002 winner Emmitt Smith (who holds the record for most Thanksgiving MVP awards and had won the Turkey Leg Award four previous times) famously threw his in a trash can.[35]

text: In 2007, the kitschy statuette was replaced with a bronze-colored statue of a nondescript turkey holding a football.[36] 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,[37] however in 2016, co-winners were honored.[38]

text: 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.

text: All-Iron Award (CBS)[edit]

text: When the NFL returned to CBS in 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.

text: 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.

text: Simms was removed from the broadcast booth for the 2017 season and no player of the game was chosen that year.

text: Prime time games (NFLN & NBC)[edit]

text: 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.

text: NBC, which carried Thanksgiving afternoon games through 1997, did not issue an MVP award during that time. NBC began broadcasting the Thanksgiving prime time game in 2012, at which point the MVP award was added. The award is currently called the Sunday Night Football on Thanksgiving Night Player of the Game, and is typically awarded to multiple players on the winning team.[39] From 2012 to 2015, the NBC award was referred to as the "Madden Thanksgiving Player-of-the-Game", honoring John Madden (who announced NBC games from 2006 to 2008).[40][41] In the first few years, the award specifically went to players on both offense and defense, but in recent years, defensive players have not necessarily been recognized. The winning players are presented with ceremonial game balls and, as a gesture to Madden, a cooked turkey leg.[42]

text: Complete list[edit]

text:
CBS Turkey Leg Award

Year
MVP (Team)

1989
Reggie White (Phi)

1990
Troy Aikman & Emmitt Smith (Dal)

1991
Barry Sanders (Det)

1992
Emmitt Smith & Cowboys Offensive line

1993
Richard Dent (Chi)

CBS All-Iron Award

1998
Stephen Boyd (Det)

1999
Dexter Coakley (Dal)

2000
Charlie Batch (Det)

2001
Mike Anderson (Den)

2002
Troy Brown (NE)

2003
Jay Fiedler & Chris Chambers (Mia)

2004
Peyton Manning & Colts Offensive line

2005
Ron Dayne (Den)

2006
Joey Harrington (Mia)

2007
Tony Romo & Cowboys defense*

2008
Albert Haynesworth (Ten)
Chris Johnson (Ten)
Kevin Mawae (Ten)
LenDale White (Ten)

2009
Miles Austin (Dal)
Tony Romo (Dal)
Jason Witten (Dal)

2010
Tom Brady (NE)

2011
DeMarcus Ware (Dal)

2012
Andre Johnson (Hou)
Matt Schaub (Hou)
J.J. Watt (Hou)

2013
Tony Romo (Dal)
DeMarco Murray (Dal)
Lance Dunbar (Dal)
HM: Matthew McGloin (Oak)

2014
Calvin Johnson (Det)

2015
Luke Kuechly (Car)
Jerricho Cotchery (Car)
Kurt Coleman (Car)
Cam Newton (Car)

2016
Matt Prater (Det)
Darius Slay (Det)
Matthew Stafford (Det)

2017
no award

FOX Turkey Leg Award

Year
MVP (Team)

1994
Emmitt Smith & Jason Garrett (Dal)
Brett Favre & Sterling Sharpe (GB)

1995
Herman Moore (Det)
Brett Perriman (Det)
Johnnie Morton (Det)

1996
Emmitt Smith (Dal)

1997
Luther Ellis (Det)

1998
Randy Moss (Min)

1999
Gus Frerotte (Det)
Greg Hill (Det)
Johnnie Morton (Det)
Robert Porcher (Det)

2000
Robert Smith (Min)
Randy Moss (Min)
Daunte Culpepper (Min)
Cris Carter (Min)

2001
Brett Favre & Ahman Green (GB)

FOX Galloping Gobbler Award

2002
Emmitt Smith (Dal)

2003
Dré Bly (Det)

2004
Julius Jones (Dal)

2005
Michael Vick (Atl)

2006
Tony Romo (Dal)

2007
Brett Favre (GB)

2008
DeMarcus Ware (Dal)

2009
Donald Driver (GB)

2010
Drew Brees (NO)

2011
Aaron Rodgers (GB)

2012
Robert Griffin III (Was)

2013
Reggie Bush (Det)

2014
LeSean McCoy (Phi)

2015
Matthew Stafford (Det)

2016
Dak Prescott & Ezekiel Elliott (Dal)

FOX Game Ball

2017
Case Keenum (Min)

NFLN Pudding Pie Award

Year
MVP (Team)

2006
Not given

2007
Reggie Wayne (Ind)

2008
Donovan McNabb & Brian Westbrook (Phi)

2009
Brandon Marshall (Den)

2010
Brad Smith & Darrelle Revis (NYJ)

2011
Terrell Suggs (Bal)

NBC Player of the Game

2012
Tom Brady (NE)
Vince Wilfork (NE)
Steve Gregory (NE)

2013
Jacoby Jones (Bal)
Justin Tucker (Bal)

2014
Russell Wilson (Sea)
Richard Sherman (Sea)

2015
Jay Cutler (Chi)
Tracy Porter (Chi)

2016
Le'Veon Bell (Pit)
Ben Roethlisberger (Pit)
Antonio Brown (Pit)

2017
Kirk Cousins (Was)
Jamison Crowder (Was)
Ryan Kerrigan (Was)

text:
Of the members of the 2007 Cowboys defense, Chris Canty, DeMarcus Ware, Terence Newman and Greg Ellis were particularly noted.
In 2017 no official CBS award was handed out, though Phillip Rivers (Chargers) was interviewed after the game during post-game coverage.

text: Broadcasting[edit]

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

text: 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[43]. 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.

text: Westwood One holds 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.

text: 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.