Broderick: How come this Thanksgiving feels more like Groundhog Day?

The calendar says Thankgsiving is this week, but it seems more like the second day in February if you ask me.

So much about the sports world in the past year seems like something we have seen over and over again, much like what has defined Groundhog Day after the Bill Murray movie changed that holiday forever.

It will be yet another Thanksgiving Day where we sit down and watch a bad Detroit Lions team most likely lose.

That's definitely a sad song that continues to play on repeat for Lions fans.

Later this weekend, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will try once again to beat Ohio State. Does anyone think that will actually occur this year? You know what they say about the definition of insanity ... .

Back in March, Tom Izzo and the MSU basketball team made it to the NCAA tournament (barely) — which it's managed to do in each of the past 23 years.

And just last week, locally, it was the volleyball state championships in town at Kellogg Arena. And yet again it was St. Philip playing for a title. The Tigers won yet another state crown — making it 22 championships — more than twice as many as any other Michigan school that plays the sport.

For all those things, same story, different year.

And much like the repetitive nature of the movie "Groundhog Day," on this late Thursday in November we again have a Thanksgiving column in the sports section.

For more than two decades, the Enquirer has handed out its Golden Turkey Awards to those in the sports world who have offered up somewhat "turkeyish" behavior that has frustrated us, upset us, or just made us laugh because of its ineptness (we nearly retired the honor and renamed it the Matt Patricia Award, but the former Detroit Lions head coach left town before we could get the name changed at the engravers — you know, it's so hard to get things done quickly since COVID.)

But as tradition would dictate, it is the new Lions football coach that gets our first Golden Turkey Award. Not wanting to let anything to chance, Detroit's Dan Campbell came out strong with some strange behavior that surrounded the biting of knee caps when he was first introduced a the new Lions head coach. True blue fans were willing to let that slide, citing passion. But now, as the team is heading to another historic winless season, it seems we should back-order some Golden Turkeys for the coming year. He has, what, six years on his contract? Probably won't last that long, but it never hurts to be ready.

Sticking with the Honolulu & Blue theme, we could keep on going for the rest of this column with Golden Turkeys in the Detroit Lions category. Jared Goff (maybe the worst starting QB in the NFL?), the Ford ownership group (no Super Bowls appearances since taking over - 58 years and counting). But, lets focus on a non-Lion, doing the most Lions thing ever. A Golden Turkey Award for Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, who beat Detroit by doinking the ball on the goal post and over, making the longest field goal in NFL history (could only happen at a place called Ford Field.)

And with that, I have already had my fill of turkey. There has been so much negative energy coming out of the past few years, with a global pandemic, that we are going to spend the rest of this space being positive — in the only way Detroit pro sports fans can.

Yes, the Detroit Tigers were still bad last. Still a sub-.500 team last summer, but a Pumpkin Pie Award still goes to new manager A.J. Hinch for giving us hope. There is not too many Major League Baseball towns that will look at a 77-85 record and believe the team is on the verge of the playoffs — but that is what is happening in Detroit. With a young pitching staff, even younger players on their way up from Toledo, it is 'Pie' in the sky hope that drives Tigers fans this holiday.

And, the same is true for the NBA team in Motown. The Pistons were bad once again last year. So bad, Detroit earned the No. 1 choice in the NBA draft and took Cade Cunningham. And, that alone, earns the Bad (hopefully, not for long) Boys a Pumpkin Pie Award.

The Red Wings, too, had a high draft pick earned by ineptitude. And Detroit is skating at just around .500 this year, but there is excitement once again around the team, so a Pumpkin Pie for Stevie Y and what he is doing for his old club.

Which all shows that what someone is thankful for, has a lot do with their circumstances.

One thing this Thanksgiving makes me even more thankful than usual: Sports are back. Our circumstances in 2020 showed us that we didn't know how much we missed sports until it was gone.

Everything feels a bit new since last spring, with stadiums opening up and a more normal football season this fall. After the darkness of 2020, due to the pandemic, we didn't want to experience those days over and over again — when each day did seem like it was just a repeat of the last in true "Groundhog Day" style.

So thankfully, we seem to be past all of that.

And, even if we, again, have to watch a winless Lions team (with one tie) play on Thanksgiving Day, we do get to do so with our families this year. And for that, we can be thankful.

Stay healthy, and Happy Thanksgiving.

Contact Bill Broderick at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter @billbroderick

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Broderick: How come this Thanksgiving feels more like Groundhog Day?