Listeners are invited into a heartfelt discussion as Darin Hayes opens the podcast with a tribute to the victims of the devastating wildfires in California. The emotional weight of his words resonates deeply as he reflects on his own experiences with loss, reminding us of the fragility of life and the strength of community in the face of disaster. This segment not only serves as a poignant reminder of the human impact of such crises but also sets the stage for a broader conversation about how these disasters can disrupt the fabric of everyday life, including the world of sports. As the episode transitions to focus on the upcoming NFL playoff game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Minnesota Vikings, Darren connects the dots between the current wildfires and the decision to relocate the game, marking a rare moment in NFL history where a postseason game will be held at a neutral site.

Darin's narrative skillfully intertwines the present with the past, as he draws parallels to the only other neutral site game in NFL history—the 1936 championship between the Boston Redskins and the Green Bay Packers. He elaborates on the circumstances that led to this decision, highlighting George Preston Marshall's controversial choice to move the game due to poor ticket sales in Boston. This historical context enriches the listener's understanding of how economic factors and community sentiment can influence major sporting events. Through engaging storytelling, Darren paints a vivid picture of the era, discussing the dynamics of the game and the significance of that championship match during the Great Depression.

As the podcast unfolds, Darin emphasizes themes of resilience and community, encouraging listeners to support those affected by the fires while also celebrating the spirit of football. He highlights the bravery of firefighters and the strength of communities coming together in difficult times. The episode concludes with an optimistic tone as Darren invites listeners to engage with the positive aspects of football, reinforcing the idea that even amidst calamity, there are stories of hope, unity, and the enduring power of sports to uplift the human spirit. This blend of contemporary issues with rich historical narratives creates a compelling and thoughtful exploration of the intersections between sports, community, and resilience.

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We want to open up the show with the prayers and the thoughts, positive thoughts about the folks out in California that are just going through these devastating fires from these Santa Ana winds that are just stoking up, losing homes, losing cities, losing communities.

And, you know, that is just a devastating part.

I know.

First off, by losing everything I had in a fire some 30 years ago, it's still hard to this day to go back and think about that.

Thank God, in my situation, there was no loss of life, but we also lost a football game for a home team that deserved it in the NFL.

This has only happened one other time in history.

And this devastating news out west gives us the opportunity to go back in history and look at the other game.

It's all coming up in just a moment.

This is the Pigskin Daily History Dispatch, a podcast that covers the anniversaries of American football events throughout history.

Your host, Darren Hayes is podcasting from America, America's North Shore, to bring you the memories of the gridiron one day at a time.

Hello, my football friends.

This is Darren Hayes of pigskindispatch.com welcome once again to the Pig Pen, your portal deposit of football history.

And like we said, you know, we're really thinking strongly and positively for those folks and praying that folks out in California that something, some rain or something happens, the firefighters are brave and fighting through this, can finally get these fires under control and ended because what a devastating situation that is out there.

And it's causing, you know, not only for the communities that are being lost and the firefighters and their families that are worrying about them being out there in danger, but all the communities around that the smoke is going and affecting their lives as well.

So we think about them today, but we also have a football game.

The Los Angeles Rams and the Minnesota Vikings.

Rams won their division and they earned the right to have a home game, even though the Vikings had a better record.

Totally different subject, but the NFL has chosen that division winners mean something and you will get a home game.

Well, that game has to be moved because of all the smoke and the danger to fans coming in and everything else going into.

It's.

The venue is just too close to where the fires are going on and they don't want to interfere with what the firefighters can do and people fleeing, you know, roads tied up and everything like that.

But this is only the second time in NFL history in the Hunter 105 years of the NFL.

Well, I guess maybe more like 90 some years because there was no postseason games in the first 13 years of the league.

But so it's been almost, almost a century ago.

Only one other time it's happened and we have an opportunity to talk about that tonight.

Now they took turns who the home team would be, the east or the west for the championship game.

And this particular year the Boston Redskins won the east and it was their choice to have the home game.

Well, George Preston Marshall, their owner who has had some very, I guess nefarious history and we've gone to some of the extremes on what he has been involved with throughout the career.

We're not going to talk about the bad here.

Well, he had the opportunity to have a game in Boston where they were playing their home games at Fenway park against the Green Bay Packers.

Well, he had bad ticket sales all year long.

It was a struggle the entire time up in Boston.

Ticket sales were slumping again.

George Preston Marshall said the media was against them and maybe they were and the fans and the team just didn't get along.

But they had a very good team.

They made it to the NFL championship.

Well, Preston Marshall decided to sort of, you know, stick it to the town of Boston.

Said you know what, you don't even deserve to have an NFL championship game.

We're going to play in a city that's neutral and that was the Polo Grounds in New York City.

And George Preston Marshall's decision because of four ticket sales and he wanted a get ticket sales because he took part of the gate and so did the packers in the Polo Grounds, big city, biggest city in the United States at the time, most people possibility to come in and buy tickets to go to this game.

And I think it was a fairly good turnout and it really was not a bad game.

But it really wasn't a good game because the final score was the packers winning big 21 to 6.

And it was sparked by Arnie Erbers aerial attack.

He had a touchdown pass to hall of Famer Don Hudson.

And Milt Gattonbein also scored another touchdown and the third touchdown was engineered by the packers, set up by a couple more pass plays and then they ended up running that that touchdown in to make it 21 to 7.

And each packers player, the winning team got the great sum of 250 for winning that championship game.

So that's just a bit of history we thought we'd share with you, get you in your weekend, enjoy the games and enjoy Hope your team is still in it.

Hopefully my team will still be in it by the time we're through with this weekend, but we got some good games coming up here in college season is full swing with their playoffs going on as well.

So until next time everybody have a great, great iron Day.

That's all the football history we have today folks.

Join us back tomorrow for more of your football history.

We invite you to check out our website pigskindispatch.com not only to see the daily football history, but to experience positive football with our many articles on the good people of the game as well as our own football comic strip clete marks comics.

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Special thanks to the talents of Mike.

And Gene Monroe, as well as Jason Neff for letting us use their music during our podcast.

This podcast is part of the Sports History Network, your headquarters for the yester year of your favorite sport.

You can learn more@sportshistorynetwork.com.