When it comes to football at Thanksgiving, things remain constant. Detroit Lions be at the start of the game, then the Dallas Cowboys will take center stage. The third competition is a little more flexible, but you know there will be something on TV when you settle in for the evening.
But in 2023, something new will be added to the equation. On Turkey Day, the six NFL the teams in action will all display a unique black and gold crest on their jerseys.
Are you wondering what it is? Let’s take a closer look.
Kirby Lee/NFL Photo Library
John Madden recalled on Thanksgiving jerseys
In the world of football, few names are more important than John Madden. He first made his name as a successful head coach – the annual NFL video game is still named after him. The Minnesota native also made a big impact in the broadcast booth, and he will be remembered in that capacity this Thanksgiving. Madden died in 2021.
On Thursday, the teams in action will all be sporting a black and gold patch on the front of their jerseys. Although things aren’t perfectly readable on TV, this detail shows a silhouette of Madden wearing his broadcast headset.
But that’s not the only tribute to the leading man. As the NFL noted in a press release, Thanksgiving will be the league’s second annual “John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration.”
Beyond the jersey badges, the draw will also feature a special piece. The “heads” side shows Madden, while the “tails” side shows a six-legged turducken. We will explain the latter in detail shortly.
There will also be tributes to Madden on television and radio broadcasts, and “each network will select one player from the game to receive a $10,000 donation from the NFL Foundation to be given to a high school or youth football program in his name, as the subject of youth football was important to Madden.”
The NFL’s statement included a quote from the iconic broadcaster that summed up his relationship with the holiday.
“There is no place I would rather be today on Thanksgiving than here, right now, at a football game,” he once said.
How about Madden’s six-legged Turducken?
Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images
As mentioned above, the reverse of the Thanksgiving coin depicts a six-legged roast turkey. And no, you’re not wrong; birds generally don’t have many legs.
The image, however, is pure Madden.
While hosting the Thanksgiving games, the broadcaster began giving out the “John Madden Turkey Leg MVP Award.” One year, however, Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith joked that his five offensive linemen deserved a turkey leg, too.
From there, the rest is history.
“Enter Joe Pat Fieseler, owner of a barbecue joint in Texas,” recounted ESPN’s Ryan Hockensmith in 2021. “He invented a six-legged turkey shortly afterward, and Madden started handing them out the following year When he announced his All-Madden team at the end of each season, Madden also made sure that food was a theme of the show: his favorite players were often big, forgotten linemen with big appetites. , so he thought the perfect star awards should be meat and gravy, not trophies and plaques. … He had become America’s forkman.
And lest you think Madden only likes turkey, the broadcaster has learned about Turkmen (a turkey stuffed with a duck, itself stuffed with a chicken) and shared this delicacy with the world of football.
There’s no better opportunity to remember the late, great John Madden at Turkey Day NFL games.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
