The Lions are bad. They are really bad. But they are still part of the NFL tradition, and that shouldn’t be diminished just because they are bad.

Criticism for scheduling the Lions every Thanksgiving re-emerged this year, with even Mike Ditka — a classic football player if there ever was one — saying that the NFL should schedule two competitive teams on the holiday rather than the hapless Lions. Never mind the Lions have played a Thanksgiving game every year since 1934. Never mind the Lions won’t always be this bad. Never mind the Lions and Cowboys on Thanksgiving is part of the holiday tradition, just like the Macy’s parade and too much turkey.

The NFL has worked hard to preserve as much tradition as possible while still moving forward. When divisions were realigned earlier this decade, the Cowboys stayed in the NFC East and the Dolphins remained in the AFC East, despite the illogical geography. The Browns recatpured their career records when they became an “expansion” team. We still see United Way commercials on Sundays. These traditions, as well as the Lions on Thanksgiving, are what make the NFL unique in major pro sports — even baseball has abandoned much of its tradition. With all due respect to Coach Ditka, let the NFL schedule a super matchup for the new Thanksgiving night game, and leave the Lions alone.