“The Detroit Lions are a different team on Thanksgiving.”
My 8th grade English teacher once pulled me aside in the hallway to tell me that. It was the day before the 2001 game. The Lions hadn’t won a single game yet. I wanted to believe him, but even back then I was slipping into some of the now fully-developed cynicism that you see me demonstrate at this site every Tuesday.
The Lions lost the next day to the Packers, 29-27. Mike McMahon came off the bench at QB and very nearly lead an improbable comeback.