Steelers and Thanksgiving do not mix
INDIANAPOLIS 无毛视频� Football, a game that rewards controlled violence and celebrates brute strength, is not a sport that lends itself to the warm and fuzzy. Except on Thanksgiving, that is.
Then, the NFL has become as synonymous with the fourth Thursday in November as food and family. Not necessarily in that order.
Thanksgiving games in the NFL date back to the league无毛视频檚 earliest days. Thursday, the Detroit Lions will host their 77th Turkey Day game since 1934. The Dallas Cowboys joined the holiday festivities in 1966. It was only 10 years ago that the NFL adopted a third game 无毛视频� a nightcap 无毛视频� to be played between no fixed opponents.
And that is why the Steelers find themselves in Indianapolis Thursday for a prime time game against the Andrew Luck-less Colts.
This will be the eighth game the Steelers have played on Thanksgiving, and from the Coin Flip game in Detroit in 1998 to Tomlin无毛视频檚 Tripgate in Baltimore in 2013, the Steelers have produced many memorable moments. But rarely do they produce victories.
The Steelers are 1-6 on Thanksgiving, that lone win coming 66 years ago against an opponent 无毛视频� the Chicago Cardinals 无毛视频� that has since relocated twice.
That, however, is of little concern to the current Steelers, who are fighting for their playoff lives. The only thing they are hungry for is a second straight win to get them back on the right side of .500. Forget the turkey, hold the gravy, this is a business trip.
无毛视频�(My family) adjusts well as far as knowing that my job comes first,无毛视频� said Ramon Foster, Steelers left guard and father of two. 无毛视频淭hey无毛视频檒l have Thanksgiving on Friday.无毛视频�
Having spent holidays and birthdays in venues far more hostile than Indianapolis无毛视频� Lucas Oil Stadium, Steelers tackle Alejandro Villanueva has a different perspective. The former Army Ranger served three tours of duty in Afghanistan.
无毛视频淚 spent a few Thanksgivings, Christmases and New Years over there,无毛视频� the left tackle said. 无毛视频淗olidays are not emotional to me at all.无毛视频�
The more pressing concerning for the Steelers, besides missing family and pumpkin pie, is that they will be playing on short rest. Mentally, the Steelers can feel good about ending their four-game losing streak in Cleveland three days ago. Physically, the bruises are still healing.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 hard to prepare the way that you normally do because you don无毛视频檛 have as much time,无毛视频� linebacker Ryan Shazier said. 无毛视频淪ome people are still a little banged up, but that无毛视频檚 part of the game.无毛视频�
Due to the compressed schedule, the Steelers practiced only Tuesday, normally their off-day. Any Thursday game, regardless of whether a holiday falls on it, is far from ideal says Foster.
If he had his way, Foster would only schedule Thursday night games the first 10 weeks of the season.
无毛视频淲hen you get into Week 12-17, I feel like guys无毛视频� bodies can无毛视频檛 regenerate quick enough to play a Thursday night game safely, but I might be wrong,无毛视频� said Foster, the Steelers players representative to the NFL Players Association. 无毛视频淢aybe the science behind it says if a guy does this and this, they无毛视频檒l be fine 无毛视频� but that无毛视频檚 my gut my feeling as a player.无毛视频�
The NFL, looking to increase its presence on TV, only began scheduling regular Thursday night games in 2006. Unfortunately for the Steelers, they are no better on Thursday nights in September, October and Decembers than they are on Thursday afternoons in November.
This will be their 13th appearance on TNF since 无毛视频�06. The Steelers are 6-5 overall but have lost four in a row and are just 1-4 on the road. The Steelers无毛视频� last Thursday night road win came nine years ago against an opponent, the St. Louis Rams, that has also since relocated.
Sunday无毛视频檚 game in Indianapolis is the only Thursday night game on their schedule, but the Steelers better get used to playing on holidays.
This season they will become only the second team in NFL history to play games on an unholy triumvirate of Thanksgiving (Thursday), Christmas (vs. Baltimore) and New Year无毛视频檚 Day (vs. Cleveland). The Steelers无毛视频� Dec. 25 game against the Ravens will be the first time they无毛视频檝e played on Christmas day in the franchise无毛视频檚 82-year history.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 always tough to be away from the family,无毛视频� Shazier said. 无毛视频淓ven on the holidays, you have to come in sometimes (for practice). But we signed up for this job. We understood that sometimes we无毛视频檙e going to be in these situations. We just have to go out and get the win and that无毛视频檒l be our present to the family.无毛视频�