New York, November 22, 2004 – NFL games on Thanksgiving Day have been an annual tradition since 1934. The Thanksgiving Day Parade has been a holiday staple in New York for the past 77 years. This year, the two join together for the first time as the “NFL Thanksgiving Classics” float debuts in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

NFL greats TONY DORSETT (Dallas Cowboys) and LOMAS BROWN (Detroit Lions) will be on the float representing the NFL’s annual Thanksgiving Day host teams while legends JOE NAMATH (New York Jets) and HARRY CARSON (New York Giants) represent the parade’s host city. Youth football players and mascots representing all 32 NFL teams will ride the float as well. The NFL Thanksgiving Classics float includes turf, bleachers and a super-sized living room.

The float represents the Thanksgiving tradition of experiencing football on all levels – from backyard “Turkey Bowls” to high school rivalry games to NFL games in Dallas and Detroit.

Each of the four teams playing on Thanksgiving Day will wear classic uniforms. In the early game at 12:30 PM ET on CBS, the Indianapolis Colts will wear their 1956 jerseys while the Detroit Lions will be outfitted in the jerseys the team wore from 1935-48. At 4 PM ET on FOX, the Chicago Bears in their 1946 jerseys will face the Dallas Cowboys wearing their 1962 jersey.

For the second year, both Thanksgiving games will be played with a special football – “The Duke”. Using the boyhood nickname of New York Giants President WELLINGTON MARA, “The Duke” was used in the NFL from the 1930s through 1969. Manufactured by Wilson, the Thanksgiving Duke will be inscribed with the teams, date and stadium of the game. Fans can purchase it on NFLShop.com.

Recent Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee BARRY SANDERS will be honored before the Indianapolis-Detroit game along with Lem Barney and Billy Sims. In addition, Sanders is featured in a pair of Thanksgiving-themed television advertisements.

In the first spot, produced by the NFL creative group, scenes of a backyard football game with a child wearing Sanders’ No. 20 Lions jersey are interspersed with Sanders’ highlight footage as the voice of Vince Lombardi narrates. In the second spot, Sanders is a surprise Thanksgiving dinner guest in Reebok’s “NFL House” campaign featuring 11 star NFL players.

Also during the Thanksgiving games, there will be a pair of 90-second spots highlighting the NFL’s “Join the Team” initiative.

NFL.com will feature the classic logos of all NFL clubs as well as historical information and coverage of the Thanksgiving Day games.

With over 60 million viewers across the country and three million spectators lined up along the streets of New York City each year, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a national icon that has grown into a world-famous holiday event. For 77 years, the Thanksgiving Day Parade has marked the official start of the holiday season. The parade proudly marches down a 2.5-mile route in New York City with over 10,000 participants.