A brief history of the awfulness of Tuesday football – Bleeding Green Nation

The Philadelphia Eagles-Washington Football Team game has been moved to Tuesday in wake of WASTEAM failing COVID test after COVID test as the omicron variant spreads. Please get vaccinated if you havent already, and if you have but havent gotten your booster yet please get it.

From a purely football standpoint, this sucks. We can go into the fairness of rescheduling a game because of one team, or how we know that there are players who faked vaccination cards, or how WASTEAM went from being publicly scolded by their coach to get vaccinated to being over 90% vaccinated, or how the league said it wouldnt reschedule games if there was an outbreak by unvaccinated players and that the first WASTEAM player put in COVID protocols has outright said he is unvaccinated.

This sucks because Tuesday football has historically sucked.

1941: Cleveland Rams 10, Chicago Cardinals 6

Yes, you read that right. The Rams used to play in Cleveland and the Cardinals used to play in Chicago. Coincidentally both would go on to play in St. Louis.

Was it a good game?

It was for the Rams, they wouldnt win another game all year.

But no, this was not a good game. These teams would finish in last and next to last in the NFL West in 1941. If you combined their offenses they would have finished tied for 3rd in scoring.

1944: Philadelphia Eagles 28, Boston Yanks 7

Yeah thats right. The Boston Yanks. Their home stadium was Fenway Park. They ceased to exist after the 1948 season so that the owner could get a tax write off. That sounds more realistic today than a Boston team playing in Fenway Park naming themselves the Yanks.

Was it a good game?

Of course it was, the Eagles won. Seriously though, this game stunk. The Yanks only mustered 66 total yards. 25 of those were on their only TD, which was scored by a guy named Ted Williams. I am not making this up.

1945: Brooklyn Tigers/Boston Yanks 28, Pittsburgh Steelers 7

No, this wasnt a threeway. During WWII teams had issues filling out full rosters, so they combined efforts. In 1943 the Eagles and Steelers teamed up, they were memorably but unofficially called the Steagles. In 1944 the Steelers teamed up with the Cardinals. They were not called the Stardinals, thankfully. In 1945 the Brooklyn Tigers and Boston Yanks combined, splitting their home games at Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium, they were simply known as The Yanks. I would have gone with The Tanks.

After 1946 the NFL got tired of scheduling games on a Tuesdays, so they just scheduled them only on Saturdays or Mondays.

Was it a good game?

It was not. There were 10 total turnovers in the game, which even by 1945 standards was a lot, there were 6 turnovers a game on average that year. The Steelers were dreadful in 1945, their 7 points in this game was the third highest of the season. This game was so forgettable that the box score says the Steelers scored on a passing TD but their season stats show no passing touchdowns for the entire season.

1946: New York Giants 16, Boston Yanks 0

This was the last NFL game to be played on a Tuesday for nearly six decades.

Was it a good game?

No. The Giants shut out the Yanks to start their season, it would end in the NFL Championship Game. The Yanks also started their season with this game, they would go winless in their first 8 games.

1946: San Francisco 49ers 34, Miami Seahawks 7

1946: Cleveland Browns 34, Miami Seahawks 0

Yeah thats right, the Miami Seahawks. Did you know? Theres not actually a Seahawk bird. The osprey is at times called a sea hawk. As mascots that dont actually exist go, its a minor offense, even if its been repeated.

How come Ive never heard of the Miami Seahawks you might ask. There are two reasons. One is because this game, and the next three, were played in the All-America Football Conference, which existed from 1946 to 1949 before the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and Baltimore Colts were merged into the NFL, while the Los Angeles Dons were merged with the NFLs Los Angeles Rams. The rest of the teams were told to piss off.

The AAFC needed to be different to stand out. One way they did so was by not being a Sunday league. Of their 14 games, the Seahawks played just two on a Sunday. Six were played on a Friday, four on a Monday, and two on a Tuesday. Such a variety of days wasnt unusual. Nor was it entirely by design. Some teams shared stadiums with other, more established college teams or MLB teams and thus werent able to get first choice on dates.

Were they good games?

Ill put it this way: the other reason you havent heard of the Miami Seahawks is because they folded after one year.

1948: Cleveland Browns 14, Baltimore Colts 10

This was the final AAFC game to be played on a Tuesday, in 1949, the final year of the league, the AAFC had moved to a predominately Sunday schedule.

Was it a good game?

Im going to say yes. These were two of the best teams in the league. The Browns dominated the AAFC, going 47-4-3 and winning the AAFC title in every season. In 1948 they went 14-0. The Colts finished 7-7, but that was good enough for the third best record in the league (which sums up how bad the AAFC was as a whole) and tied for first in the East division. At kickoff both teams were division leaders, and featured two star passers: Otto Graham for the Browns and YA Tittle for the Colts. A close game between two of the best teams in the league is easily the best Tuesday night game there has ever been.

2010: Minnesota Vikings 24, Philadelphia Eagles 14

After the Miracle at the New Meadowlands the week prior put the Eagles in playoff contention, the league flexed this game from 1pm to the night game. They shouldnt have. A blizzard developed days before the game, and was scheduled to hit around the end of the game. Rightfully worried about safety, the league decided to postpone the game to Tuesday. Had they just left it at its original 1pm slot, everyone would have been home before the snow really hit.

This was the third straight game the Vikings had changed on them because of snow. The Metrodome roof collapsed due to heavy snow, and the Vikings played their remaining home games at different stadiums.

Was it a good game?

Joe Webb.

2020: Tennessee Titans 42, Buffalo Bills 16

The first COVID-19 Tuesday game, it would not be the last. The Titans had an outbreak of COVID, and the league pushed the game to Tuesday. The Titans were also fined for violating protocols after it was discovered that players held their own practice after being explicitly told by the league not to.

Was it a good game?

It was last year and you almost certainly dont remember it, so no. Josh Allen threw two interceptions that set up the Titans in the red zone and Andre Roberts fumbled a kickoff return that also set up the Titans in the red zone. Matt Barkley played.

2020: Baltimore Ravens 34, Dallas Cowboys 17

Was it a good game?

Of course it was, the Cowboys lost. Seriously though, this one stunk too. Andy Dalton needed 48 attempts to pass for 285 yards. At least it was over quickly, finishing in under 3 hours thanks in part to Lamar Jackson having more rushing attempts than completions, and he completed over 70% of his passes. The Cowboys offense crossed midfield only four times, three of those ended with a missed field goal.

Never play games on a Tuesday.

Continued here:

A brief history of the awfulness of Tuesday football - Bleeding Green Nation