With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the National Football League (NFL) is preparing for its annual autumnal celebration. They’ll combine culture, civic engagement, and a whole lot of good eats! We will serve an amazing 4,100 pounds of turkey this year—1,800 turkey legs alone! A resplendent selection of sides and desserts will round out this great cultural exchange, a testament to the league’s commitment to educating its players and fans alike.
Even the Detroit Lions, a team as much identified with Thanksgiving Day football as anyone, are doing something about it this year. They’ll provide 2,500 meal kits, including whole turkeys, at six sites in Metro Detroit. Each kit will deliver about 26 pounds of food so more families will be able to enjoy a warm, complete meal around the table. Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys will serve traditional Thanksgiving fare to suite holders, club areas, and the press box at AT&T Stadium.
Thanksgiving in the NFL isn’t just about the games. It’s a time to spread joy to the community, get creative, and have fun in the spirit of the holiday. And for proof, look no further than Lions and Cowboys — two teams committed to this area via their local activities.
A Culinary Overview of Thanksgiving Delights
Culinary contributions to this Thanksgiving spread are exceptional. The NFL has prepared an extensive menu that includes 3,200 pounds of mashed potatoes, 110 gallons of gravy, 2,200 pounds of stuffing, and 55 gallons of cranberry sauce. Plus, these fans will enjoy 720 pounds of green beans and 500 pounds of corn on the cob.
Dessert is no less remarkable with 3,700 – that’s right, 3,700 – slices of pie all prepared and poised to be dished out. In addition to the meals, 4,000 Bloody Marys will help wash down the shore delicacies, bringing a colorful jolt of life to the jubilant shore celebrations. This enormous spread of grub exemplifies the league’s commitment. They just want to ensure that fans can have a happy holiday while celebrating their squads from their comfy couches.
Detroit Lions players will not meet for one big team dinner on Thanksgiving Day. Instead, they often partake in a home cooked meal the night before their contest. This makes it easier for them to focus on their performance without sacrificing family traditions in the midst of the holiday season.
“We always play on Thanksgiving, but I think it’s kind of nice because if you have a game on Sunday, you’ve got to practice on Thursdays,” said Amon-Ra St. Brown. “But if you have a game at 12:30, we play and then after that we’re free and we can hang out with family the rest of the day.”
Players Reflect on the Thanksgiving Tradition
The traditional Thanksgiving Day game has become a natural rite of passage for every NFL player to witness and partake in — something that never gets lost on the players. Former player Lomas Brown shared his fond memories:
“Because look, it wasn’t just that Thursday night … I would put on weight over the holiday because a brother would throw down because you didn’t have no more responsibility after that game until next week.”
This feeling is shared among most players, who are excited to return home to their families and celebrate Thanksgiving together right after the game. The tradition has grown over the years and decades, and it remains one of the central pageantries to the game that players and fans both love.
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy expressed his excitement for playing on Thanksgiving:
“Man, I’m shook. Just thinking about the old Super Bowls, Steelers and the Cowboys …”
These reflections underscore just how critical Thanksgiving is for the NFL. In doing so, they illuminate its profound, impenetrable ties to American culture.
Community Impact Through Food Distribution
The Lions’ new program of distribution meal kits to stations throughout Metro Detroit is a stern testament to the pride the organization holds in community service. The meal kits make it possible for local families to celebrate with a classic Thanksgiving meal. They too have shown the importance of giving back during the holidays.
Click here to see how this year’s meal distribution will impact thousands of lives within the community. The Lions’ actions show just how much NFL teams can—it’s just to be impactful outside of football.
Tyler Smith, a player for the Cowboys, commented on the significance of such programs:
“I’ve never seen anybody do that before.”
This quoted example goes to show how rare and special these community efforts are across the landscape of professional sports. And by delivering meals to the most vulnerable in our communities, NFL teams can inspire goodwill and better connect themselves to their local communities.
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