Nickelback Uninvited from Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Game

Nickelback are scheduled to perform at halftime of the NFL Thanksgiving Day football game in Detroit, but if Lions fans have their way, the band will never see the field. As of Friday morning, more than 25,000 disgruntled fans had signed a petition on change.org asking the Lions to remove the band from the schedule.

The petition reads in part: "This game is nationally televised, do we really want the rest of the U.S. to associate Detroit with Nickelback? Detroit is home to so many great musicians and they chose 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?"

"I'd rather drink bleach than listen to Nickelback and have them associated with Detroit," wrote one commenter. Despite the petitioners' strong feelings about the group, it doesn't seem likely the NFL would agree to make a change now that the invitation has been extended.

Nickelback have long been the targets of critics and fans unimpressed by their derivative grunge sound, but this petition has to be a new low for the band in terms of embarrassment. This comes two months after two newspaper writers from the band's native Canada begged the National Hockey League not to invite Nickelback to its season kick-off celebration.

Lions fans are especially ticked because Detroit has a rich musical history, with influential musicians like Kid Rock, Eminem, Bob Seger, and the White Stripes, not to mention all the great Motown acts of the '60s. Of course, there's another fabulous pop icon from Detroit with a huge following, but the NFL is reportedly reserving her for next year's Super Bowl.