In a press conference in Tampa, site of the Super Bowl, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the annual Thanksgiving Day game hosted by the Detroit Lions will still be held at Ford Field in 2009, but that was the only guarantee.
Goodell didn't say anything about the game's future past 2009. It seems every few years there is a call to take the game out of Detroit and Dallas, where the other game is always held. So far, the Lions have been able to avoid losing the game. Part of the reason was the NFL added a third game that is rotated between other teams, which appeased NFL owners for the time being.
With the Lions being one of the worst teams in NFL history recently, including many drubbings on Thanksgiving , the talk heated up in 2008 to take the game out of Ford Field. And for the first time, the movement seems to have real legs. The game is the only show on TV at that time and the NFL can't continue to televise the annual beatings the Lions have been taking.
The Lions created the Thanksgiving tradition and the NFL would like it to continue - and IF the Lions can uphold their end of the bargain and put on a good show, the league will let them keep it.
The Lions don't have to Super Bowl contenders or even a playoff team, they need to be fun and entertaining and make people believe they have a chance to win when they take the field.
It's up to new head coach Jim Schwart to make the Lions a decent product. If that happens and the ratings remain high, Detroit will host the game for many years to come.
It was reported on the Detroit Free Press Web site that Goodell also said the NFL wouldn't be easing up on its blackout rules despite the bad economy. The Lions had five blackouts in 2008.
While many are tagging the bad economy for lagging ticket sales, I am not. If the Lions were watchable, Ford Field would be soldout every week. The fans are not staying away because of low funds, they are staying away because the Lions have been pathetic.
That's not to say every fan who would like to go could afford it, but there are enough fans in the area with enough money to sell 65,000 seats each week.
Avoiding further blackouts will be up to Schwartz as well. Once the Lions are worth watching, people will come.
For the sake of the Thanksgiving Game and people who like to watch the home games on TV, Schwartz better get moving.
Until next time, enjoy Michigan.
