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No Thanksgiving Turkey For Nickelback In Detroit

Greg Asciutto |
November 5, 2011 | 2:58 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Nickelback frontman Kroeger (Creative Commons)
Nickelback frontman Kroeger (Creative Commons)
In this era of economic turbulence and class warfare, the city of Detroit has been a poster child for social degradation and industrial collapse. The once-booming automotive metropolis has been crippled by poverty, crime and mass emigration; according to the 2010 census, its population has decreased by 25 percentage points since 2000.

Despite its woes, Detroit now boasts one of the nation's most successful professional football teams: the forever-lowly Lions currently stand in the NFL's winner's circle with a 6-2 record and promising young core of playmakers. The Lions have an age-old tradition of hosting a game on Thanksgiving; this year, in their 72nd Turkey Day game, the Lions will face the Green Bay Packers. 

Although their team is competitive and winning, fans are crying that neither they, nor their city, can catch a break. And why is this, one might ask? According to a fan-made petition which boasts almost 40,000 signatures, Michiganders are enraged that promoters booked the Canadian band Nickelback to perform at halftime on Thanksgiving.

The official petition letter, which is too comical and passionate to be condensed into excerpts, reads in full:

This game is nationally televised, do we really want the rest of the US to associate Detroit with Nickelback? Detroit is home to so many great musicians and they choose Nickelback?!?!?! Does anyone even like Nickelback? Is this some sort of ploy to get people to leave their seats during halftime to spend money on alcoholic beverages and concessions? This is completely unfair to those of us who purchased tickets to the game. At least the people watching at home can mute their TVs. The Lions ought to think about their fans before choosing such an awful band to play at halftime.

So why the hate for Nickelback? Per a comment on the petition website, "Nickelback's music doesn't even reflect a musical genre that has ever been popular in the city. It is not rock and roll, it's a nasty hybrid of the worst manufactured music on the planet."

The fans have a point. Nickelback is not symbolic of the Motor City in any way, shape or form. Its musical roots and soul rest in Motown, a genre which reflects the pain and beauty of the city and its history. MTV News combatted: "To be fair, maybe Aretha Franklin, Bob Seger, Kid Rock, Jack White and/or Ted Nugent passed on the Lions' offer," listing the city's most iconic musicians with the exception of Mr. Marshall Mathers.

As far as Nickelback is concerned, they're getting free publicity for their upcoming album, "Here and Now," the band's seventh. Chad Kroeger's hair isn't turning gray from the stress, but if it is, another coat of blonde bleach should do the trick.

Reach reporter Greg Asciutto here.

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