# The Steelers finally have a Thanksgiving game! **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 19, 2013, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151 "2013-04-19T18:13:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/1 "2013-04-19T18:13:32Z")
Woo hoo! The first time this Century I get to watch them with a belly full of Turkey. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/2 "2013-04-19T22:38:01Z")
Wait, wasn’t the game where the officials flubbed the coin-toss call a Steelers Thanksgiving game? (You know the one: “Call it in the air.” “Tails.” “The call is heads…”) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/3 "2013-04-19T23:01:19Z")
We still won, IIRC. Woohooo!!! And today is Troy Polamalu’s birthday. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/4 "2013-04-19T23:49:25Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > And today is Troy Polamalu’s birthday. Odds are he’ll either hurt himself cutting the cake, overrun the party by a few yards, or let the cake get behind him for a touchdown. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/5 "2013-04-19T23:49:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wait, wasn’t the game where the officials flubbed the coin-toss call a Steelers Thanksgiving game? > > (You know the one: “Call it in the air.” “Tails.” “The call is heads…”) It was and that game was in 1998. That was their last one. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/6 "2013-04-20T04:49:46Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > We still won, IIRC. Woohooo!!! And today is Troy Polamalu’s birthday. The Steelers lost that game. Don’t you remember the bitching and complaining after the game, how the refs blew the coin flip and it cost the Steelers the game? As for a Thanksgiving game, I can live without them. They are tough to win with such little turn around time, and especially if you are the road team. I don’t know if they are at home for the NBC game, or are one of the visitors for the Lions or Cowboys, but I would rather not have them on the schedule. Don’t the Steelers also open the season on London? I need to check the schedule, obviously, but if true, they have a terrible logistic schedule. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/7 "2013-04-20T06:49:48Z")
Are you sure? I could have sworn we won that one. Maybe I’m thinking of another game. ---
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/8 "2013-04-20T21:02:50Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Are you sure? I could have sworn we won that one. Maybe I’m thinking of another game. Man, I still hate Phil Luckett. ---
**Author:** ![azraiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@azraiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/azraiel)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/9 "2013-04-20T21:29:22Z")
> [@LateComer](#): > > Man, I still hate Phil Luckett. Why? Because he made the right call? Because he was pilloried by those not in possession of the facts? Because his employer wouldn’t back him when it knew he was correct? Why exactly do you hate Phil Luckett? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/10 "2013-04-20T23:24:37Z")
Geez, I want to keep my turkey down, not barf it up! 😃 I still wonder to this day why the NFL has so resolutely stuck to the “traditional” teams playing every Thanksgiving, year after year. It’s boring. Give the Lions and Cowboys a break and rotate all the other teams in there. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/11 "2013-04-21T01:02:27Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Are you sure? I could have sworn we won that one. Maybe I’m thinking of another game. Of course I’m not sure! That was turkey day, and I’m sure I fell asleep before the game was over. Let me check… HA! According to Wikipedia “The Lions scored a field goal on their first possession of the overtime to win the game.” > [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Geez, I want to keep my turkey down, not barf it up! > > 😃 > > I still wonder to this day why the NFL has so resolutely stuck to the “traditional” teams playing every Thanksgiving, year after year. It’s boring. Give the Lions and Cowboys a break and rotate all the other teams in there. This. I think it would be great to see teams other than the Cowboys and Lions every year. There are 32 teams, and we get stuck with two NFC teams with silver and blue colors. :dubious: the WORST part, though, is a guarantee that I will see Jerry Jones on thanksgiving. When is that old goat going to go away? And better yet, why does every Cowboy game HAVE to show Jones in the stands or on the sidelines? I hate that guy. Probably as much as any Cowboys fan. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/12 "2013-04-21T02:00:42Z")
> [@azraiel](#): > > Why? > > Because he made the right call? > > Because he was pilloried by those not in possession of the facts? > > Because his employer wouldn’t back him when it knew he was correct? > > Why exactly do you hate Phil Luckett? This deserves to be repeated. Luckett isn’t the greatest official in the world, but he made the [right call](http://www.footballzebras.com/2012/11/21/5313/) that game. Back to the real topic, it is a little odd that the Steelers haven’t played on Turkey Day for so long. I’ll be rooting for them, because screw the Ravens. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/13 "2013-04-21T02:10:01Z")
Got a video clip that supports that claim? Because it sounded pretty unambiguous to me when I was watching it. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/14 "2013-04-21T02:54:41Z")
I might be thinking of the time the ref overturned an interception during a playoff game. He made the wrong call, but we still won the game. ---
**Author:** ![azraiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@azraiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/azraiel)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/15 "2013-04-21T23:55:44Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Got a video clip that supports that claim? Because it sounded pretty unambiguous to me when I was watching it. [Sure.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVOLbysZAoY) Listen closely at the :03 mark. Run it back a few times if you need to. You can clearly hear Bettis call “heads” first. And then read [this](http://web.archive.org/web/20110715170309/http://www.referee.com/sampleArticles/2001/SampleArticle0101/headsortails/headstailstext.html) article that reports on the situation, and note that _Pittsburgh’s_ KDKA heard both calls. By rule, the first call is taken. Think about you and anyone you know enunciate when changing a choice in a very time sensitive situation: “Yellow. BLUE! BLUE! I mean Blue!” The second choice is loud and emphatic, and why it stand out so clearly on the video. Bettis did indeed call “tails”. And he’s not lying when he says “I said tails!” What he didn’t know at the time was that the first call stands (and thank Og the NFL changed the coin-toss procedure as a response). It’s just that he said “heads” **first** , and that was the call required by rule. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/16 "2013-04-22T00:09:03Z")
> [@azraiel](#): > > [Sure.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVOLbysZAoY) Listen closely at the :03 mark. Run it back a few times if you need to. You can clearly hear Bettis call “heads” first. > > And then read [this](http://web.archive.org/web/20110715170309/http://www.referee.com/sampleArticles/2001/SampleArticle0101/headsortails/headstailstext.html) article that reports on the situation, and note that _Pittsburgh’s_ KDKA heard both calls. > > By rule, the first call is taken. > > Think about you and anyone you know enunciate when changing a choice in a very time sensitive situation: “Yellow. BLUE! BLUE! I mean Blue!” The second choice is loud and emphatic, and why it stand out so clearly on the video. Bettis did indeed call “tails”. And he’s not lying when he says “I said tails!” What he didn’t know at the time was that the first call stands (and thank Og the NFL changed the coin-toss procedure as a response). > > It’s just that he said “heads” **first** , and that was the call required by rule. I don’t hear Jerome “Fat Fuck, Fat Fuck” Bettis saying “heads” at all. All I hear is “Tails! I called tails!” ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/17 "2013-04-22T00:17:45Z")
Wait, a Steelers thread that I didn’t start? Amazing. I’d rather they didn’t get the Thanksgiving game, myself. That’s a family day for me. And a Baltimore game to boot, which my Maryland relatives will be ready for and I cannot possibly miss. At least tell me it’s the late game… It IS! 8:30! I certainly give thanks for that. Depending upon how the early part of the season goes, that might be the only thing I’ll be thankful for. ---
**Author:** ![azraiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@azraiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/azraiel)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/18 "2013-04-22T01:47:11Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I don’t hear Jerome “Fat Fuck, Fat Fuck” Bettis saying “heads” at all. All I hear is “Tails! I called tails!” The “heads” is clearly audible at :03. Not only that, but he himself said that he called “hea-tails.” Did you read either of the articles? IMO, saying “I said ‘hea-tails’” is tantamount to admitting he called ‘heads’ first, but he was trying to save face after the ref explained the ruling to the coach. “I didn’t actually say ‘heads’–I said hea–…” Which is bullshit. There’s a full pause between the “heads” and “tails” calls. Though again, I don’t for a minute think Bettis was lying. In most real-life circumstances I am imagining, changing a call in air would be permissible. Just not in this case. I honestly believe that he thought he called ‘tails.’ He just didn’t do it by the rules. FWIW it’s worth, I’m not generally a fan of pro football. I care enough to note Cowboys’ results (from a childhood infatuation–they had cool helmets) and I’ll watch the occasional Chiefs game (geographic proximity). I have no dog in this fight. The facts are out there. Anyone who honestly believes that Phil Luckett screwed up is either in need of a hearing screen or is enough of a Steelers fan that their brain automatically filters out any contrary information. ---
**Author:** ![azraiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@azraiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/azraiel)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/19 "2013-04-22T01:59:27Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I don’t hear Jerome “Fat Fuck, Fat Fuck” Bettis saying “heads” at all. All I hear is “Tails! I called tails!” ETA: Do you hear “hea–tails!”? If you don’t, there are two possibilities: either Bettis was lying about what he called, or you’re only hearing his emphatic correction. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151/20 "2013-04-22T12:21:05Z")
On the NFL’s on website where they have [video](http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-videos/09000d5d80cc8200/Bettis-calls-tails) of the incident they refer to it as a mistake by the referee (but for some reason don’t show the video). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-steelers-finally-have-a-thanksgiving-game/656151.md?page=2)