NFL Thanksgiving
By Ari Kopp / Staff Reporter
Thanksgiving and Christmas are two of the most celebrated holidays in America, and the incorporation of professional sports has become another way to add to the festivities. Dating back to the early 1900s, NFL Thanksgiving has better traditions that bring families closer and have an impact on holiday activities.
The NFL Thanksgiving game tradition dates back to 1934 when the Detroit Lions hosted the Chicago Bears. The Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns then created an annual game in 1966 to bring more fans together during the holiday, adding an experience unique to Thanksgiving that generations have grown up experiencing.
This special history and tradition of the Thanksgiving game provides nostalgia synonymous with the holidays. As families gather and cook their Thanksgiving meals together-with football televised in the background, the games flow perfectly with the holiday activities.
Thanksgiving NFL broadcasts are known for their pregame ceremonies, halftime performances and post-game moments. One tradition that started in 1989 is the MVP of each game getting a turducken, which is a chicken stuffed inside a duck, stuffed inside a turkey.
Teams also frequently bring out throwback jerseys connecting modern games to earlier eras. Every year, the Cowboys wear throwback jerseys for the game as a special way to share the program’s history. The NBA has occasionally had festive jerseys for the holidays, but the lack of consistent tradition makes them seem forced and inauthentic compared to the NFL.
Thanksgiving falls late in the NFL season, when every win matters in the playoff hunt. This urgency gives the games meaning and tension, rather than only entertainment value. Players like Houston Texans Quarterback CJ Stroud have said Thanksgiving games are often the most competitive games of the year. On the other hand, Christmas falls early in the NBA season. Teams are still developing chemistry and forming lineups and tactics, so losing a game at that point in the season doesn’t have as much of an impact on the postseason as it does in the NFL.
Fans may find the Thanksgiving schedule repetitive, as Detroit and Dallas play annually, lacking any change, while the NBA rotates through teams for the holiday games. However, having consistency is what makes the tradition so special. Knowing which teams are playing creates a familiar rhythm that becomes a part of the holiday itself.
According to USA Today, the NFL Thanksgiving games consistently rank among the most watched television broadcasts throughout the year. Even casual fans tune in to these games, creating an experience that becomes part of the Thanksgiving holiday. Christmas Day games are simply not as big of a cultural relic as they aren’t as popular among less invested fans.
The NFL’s deep traditions and meaningful games give Thanksgiving football an edge over Christmas basketball. As the NFL’s popularity continues to rise each year, these games become a defining part of the holiday, bringing special moments both on and off the field that the NBA’s traditions simply can’t match.
NBA Christmas
By Adam Merzel / Staff Reporter
Christmas has its rituals: stockings on the mantel, hot chocolate cooling on the counter and wrapping paper lingering around the living room. Right in the middle of all that chaos is one of the best traditions in sports: NBA games on the television.
Many say Thanksgiving belongs to the NFL, and that’s fair. But Christmas feels like it was built for basketball, and the NBA has turned the day into something bigger than just five games.
While Thanksgiving football provides background noise during the meal, NBA Christmas games are pure entertainment and must-watch TV. Unlike the NFL, the league doesn’t just stick to traditional pairings with the possibility that the games won’t be competitive. Instead, they strategically schedule matchups starring the game’s biggest names to maximize competitiveness and create excitement for every type of fan.
Each year, the NBA turns Christmas Day into a showcase, airing five nationally televised games featuring the league’s biggest stars. Viewers are not just watching basketball; they’re watching LeBron James celebrating a big moment, Stephen Curry draining threes, Jayson Tatum going at Giannis, Luka challenging Jokic or a rising star like Anthony Edwards getting his first national spotlight. That kind of star-driven, head-to head excitement is something the NFL rarely delivers, where individual players are harder to showcase and the action feels less personal.
Since the tradition started in 1947, there’s been intention behind every tipoff, which alone gives Christmas Day games a unique shine that the same old Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys NFL Thanksgiving slate cannot match anymore.
The presentation of NBA Christmas Day games is part of what makes the holiday showcase special. At various times, the league has leaned into festive uniforms, including red-vs- green matchups with snowflake logos from 2008–2011.
Later on, designs leaned heavily into holiday fonts and lettering, like the script-style fonts on the 2015 and 2016 “Christmas card” uniforms. Today, the holiday aesthetic lives on in ways such as seasonal outfits and holiday-themed campaigns.
According to final Nielsen ratings, last year’s NBA Christmas slate averaged over 5.3 million viewers per game, its highest holiday audience since 2019 and an 84% increase from 2023. Even with the NFL airing games at the same time, people still consumed basketball in massive numbers, proving Christmas really does belong to basketball.
Critics say NBA Christmas games don’t matter because they’re early in the season, but that’s exactly why the games are fun. They’re the first real measure of which teams are contenders and which are pretenders. Basketball moves at a pace that keeps viewers engaged. Clutch moments and excitement makes every possession worth watching and is full of highlight plays that the NFL rarely has.
Thanksgiving will always belong to football. However, Christmas basketball is colorful and star-studded, making it a perfect match for the mood of Christmas Day. When you stack that energy against a league often nicknamed the “No Fun League,” it’s obvious which one is the right choice. Year after year, the NBA proves when the lights come on Dec. 25, basketball doesn’t just share the stage, it owns it.
Published December 2025. Digitized 2025.
