Three ain't the magic number

The NFL has further strengthened its grip on the American audience with addition of a third Thanksgiving game. So if you can't rip yourself away from turkey and family to watch the Lions, and the late Cowboys game isn't enough, there is now a night game available to consume even more of your family time.

I know, I know, we don't have to be around family for all 24 hours on a holiday. True enough. But I think there ought to be a limit to football on a holiday. You have an appetizer with touch football in the morning (shirking your dinner-prep duties in the process), catch the first half cocktail of the Lions before dinner, blow the next three hours on main course of the 'Boys, then count down the next 60 minutes for until whatever game the NFL has carved up for your dessert platter.

Football's fun and it has always gone hand-in-hand with Thanksgiving in my lifetime. The Lions and Cowboys have cornered the market for decades on TV on Turkey Day, so it's only fair another couple owners get in on the dough. But I see the same problem here as with the college bowl system. There's too many games, too much money-grubbing. What's the point to all those bowl games? So a bunch of teams can end the season on a win? No. It's so schools can get more money from the bowls. But the fact of the matter is the sport doesn't need it. A playoff would be more practical in terms of determining a winner fairly.

But I digress. The main point is football has taken over the airwaves in the autumn already. It's the American sport and it leaves little room for much else in our free time. This football season, let's take a break. Let's skip a few games we know ultimately we're going to zoning out to as an excuse to crash on the couch, drink a beer and scratch ourselves. We get that in plenty during the games we care about. Let's use that extra time to spend with our family. Play a game, fly a kite, walk the dog, whatever suits your fancy to diversify yourself and keep us tuned into life.