10 Reasons We'd Rather Be Watching NBA Games Instead of the NFL on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is here, ladies and gentlemen, and with that comes a seemingly endless supply of turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, pie and of course, the age-old favorite, football.

Yes, football and Thanksgiving go hand in hand like spaghetti and meatballs, like Thelma and Louise, like Bonnie and Clyde or Jim and Pam, but is it right for everyone?

Sure, I get my jollies on watching 22 grown men slamming into each other at full speed as much as the next guy, but I'm a basketball guy by trade, and I'm a basketball guy by heart, and this Thanksgiving, I'd rather see a little round ball on my television instead of another round of football games.

Blasphemy, you say? Un-American, you say? Well chew your food before you start throwing these accusations around, because this is America, and I have the right to choose my sport of choice on Thanksgiving.

So, while I'm sure most of you out there are having a hard time wrapping your head around why anyone would have this feeling, maybe I can convince a few of you.

Shake Things Up a Bit

Every year on Thanksgiving we see the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions in some form, whether they play a rivalry game or just some random game against someone else in the league.

Well, I say what's wrong with seeing the Dallas Mavericks and Detroit Pistons (OK, so nobody really wants to see the Pistons right now)? Seeing Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd would give me far less indigestion than having to listen to people continue to gush about Tony Romo anyway.

Rooting Against LeBron James as a Family

As most of my family is either from Ohio and has been exported out of the state, or still lives in the state to some extent, you can imagine that there are quite a few people around the giant Thanksgiving dinner table that have an opinion or two on LeBron James.

I'd much rather hear my food-drunk uncles rant about LeBron and his antics than go through another year of listening to what the Bengals need to do to get back to their glory days of the '80s.

Nickelback on Thanksgiving?

I'm not a fan of Nickelback, but I'm also not one of those people who are going to go around and go on a 15-minute long rant about why you should hate them, too.

However, one thing I am sure of is that putting these guys on during halftime of the Lions game is a travesty.

One of the most American traditions we have, next to blowing crap up in the summer, is Thanksgiving, and the NFL is celebrating that by forcing a Canadian band down our throats? Great job, guys.

Dull Games

I'm a sports fan in general, you guys, but when there's a blowout in any sport, I'm pretty much guaranteed to start flipping around channels. Sure, there's still some excitement here and there in any sport, but when the outcome looks all but guaranteed, my attention span shortens.

That's why the NFL's recent crop of Thanksgiving Day games has left me feeling sour. Since 2004, the average margin of victory for each game has been nearly 20 points, and we've had just two games in that time span that has been decided by a touchdown or less (Dallas vs. Denver in 2004 was 24-21 and last year's Cowboys-Saints game was 30-27). Expand that number to 10 points or less and you only add one game, when the Chiefs beat the Broncos 19-10 back in 2005.

The Games Aren't Rivalries

This year's set of games pretty much goes along with Thanksgiving Day games over the history of the NFL, as there is no real bad blood between any of the teams.

In fact, the only storylines you have for these games are that Detroit-Green Bay is a divisional game and San Francisco-Baltimore is the first matchup between the Harbaughs. Otherwise, they're just football games.

I've always wondered why the NFL doesn't schedule Super Bowl rematches for Thanksgiving, or why Dallas-Washington has only happened three times since 1990 on Thanksgiving day, but hey, they must have some reason, right?

Drunk Uncle Chuck

One of my favorite parts about basketball on Thanksgiving recently (they do usually have it, for those of you who've noticed) is that they've held the games on TNT.

Where there are TNT basketball games, there's Charles Barkley. Adding Chuck to your Thanksgiving celebrations is never a bad idea—he's just like another wacky uncle who gets riled up over the most pointless things.

Plus, you can tell that the fact that he's working on Thanksgiving, a day that round mounds of men everywhere enjoy more than any other day of the year, just gets under his skin, and he's always a bit testy. 

Better Holiday for Sports Than Christmas

The fact that the NBA has put all their thought and effort into marketing Christmas as their day to compete with the NFL's Thanksgiving day games is baffling to me, and it just seems forced.

Who honestly wants to wake up Christmas morning, open their presents and then head out to the arena to watch a game. Plus, in between traveling, feasting and dealing with relatives, who has the time to actually sit down and watch a game.

Thanksgiving is a sedentary holiday. You get to wherever it is you're going to eat and you sit there all day, then you go home and sleep in front of your television. It's the American way. Christmas, however, usually involves a lot more travel and a lot more spending time being jolly, maybe even a trip to church. 

Break from Tradition

Even on Thanksgiving, a holiday steeped in tradition, it seems like a fine time to break away from tradition. After all, a deep-fried turkey is non-traditional, but all too delicious. Plus, where would we, and John Madden for that matter, be without a little turducken?

Why then must we insist on watching football on Thanksgiving? Why not break that tradition and watch a more fast-paced basketball game?

No More Talking Turkey

If there were basketball games coming on today instead of football games, or even alongside football games, you'd better bet I'd be one of the happiest people in the world.

Why, you ask?

Well, imaginary Internet person asking me questions, if there were NBA games on the docket for today, that would mean there would be no lockout going on, therefore ending my now nearly five-month long torture. 

Can't We Have Both?

Just like the pilgrims and indians did hundreds of years ago, why can't we put our differences aside and agree that we love one thing, and that one thing is sports.

Sure, after the meal was done and the pilgrims started to learn to survive on their own they started killing the indians, but that's beside the point.

Thanksgiving is about sharing, charity and just being friendly when it's not about gorging yourself with football and stuffing, so why not be more friendly with our sports?

Cut the NFL back to two games, have the traditional noon game to watch while the turkey is in the oven, then have a few basketball games on the docket. Finally, end the night with another football game under the lights to be enjoyed from the blissful state of a food coma.

Whether you want to see football or basketball on television today, both or neither, I appreciate you guys all the same. Have a happy and charitable Thanksgiving. Now get off the Internet and go tell your family how much you love them, and if you don't, then just grab a beer and watch some football, because there's no basketball coming any time soon.

If you are one of those twitterers, you can follow me @JDorsey33.