The Kansas City Chiefs have played on Christmas Day in each of the last two years, as the NFL continues to draw big ratings from its holiday schedule.
Much like how the NFL has two teams designated to play on Thanksgiving––the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys––the Chiefs were hopeful they could become a permanent fixture on Dec. 25 each year. The team submitted a request to the NFL in order to make that the Chiefs part of the league's Christmas Day tradition, but it doesn't seem as if it's going to come to fruition.
Making an appearance on the It’s Always Gameday in Buffalo podcast, NFL vice president of broadcast planning and scheduling Mike North addressed the request submitted by the Chiefs.
"I'm not sure that's gonna become a tradition quite the way Thanksgiving is," North said. "I mean, think about what it took for that tradition, right? The Lions since the '30s, the Cowboys since the '60s. We didn't commit to a third site on Thanksgiving when we brought that back about 20 years ago. We rotated that around. I imagine we're gonna keep rotating Christmas around, too."
"Never say never," North added. "Let's see what the next few years bring. But I don't think we're today gonna commit to a permanent third host for Thanksgiving, a permanent host for Black Friday or a permanent host for Christmas."
Given Kansas City's immense popularity, it would make sense for the team to want to remain in the NFL's spotlight on Christmas Day. But, equally so, it makes sense for the league to want to rotate teams that play on the holiday, giving them the option to spotlight whatever team is most popular at that time. While that currently is the Chiefs, and has been for a handful of seasons, it won't always be that way, and the NFL is ensuring it maintains flexibility in regards to its future Christmas Day slates.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL VP Addresses Chiefs' Desire for Christmas Game to 'Become Tradition'.
