This afternoon I’m at the Detroit Lions Thanksgiving game — which, if you’re from Windsor, you know is basically a local holiday too.
Every year, thousands of people from our side of the border cross over for the tailgating, the atmosphere, the chaos… or just to be part of something fun before the winter really settles in.
Even if you don’t go to the game itself, the restaurants and bars in Windsor fill up early.
It’s a tradition.
A rhythm.
A yearly ritual.
I’ve been fortunate to attend a lot of these games over the years.
And until recently, most of them didn’t matter much.
They were often blowouts… the kind you put on TV while you focus more on the turkey than the score.
There was even talk at one point about taking the Thanksgiving game away from Detroit because it was always so painful to watch.
Here’s the funny part:
I’m not even a Lions fan — I’m a Miami Dolphins guy (don’t ask… I’ve made my peace with it).
But living here, seeing the loyalty and the decades of hardship that Lions fans have endured…
you can’t help but root for them.
Especially on Thanksgiving.
And this year?
This one actually matters.
A divisional game with real playoff implications.
The energy is totally different.
(And shoutout to one of our lending partners for making these seats happen — grateful for the strong relationships we’ve built over the years.)
The tradition is the same — but the meaning has changed.
Traditions Stay the Same. The Rules Don’t.
The Detroit Thanksgiving game runs the same way every year: same stadium, same date, same tailgating culture, same family routines.
But underneath that tradition, everything else evolves —how the game is played, the analytics, the technology, the strategies, even the economics of football.
If you think about football the way it was two decades ago, you completely miss how it works today.
And money works the same way.
Why the Middle Class is Struggling Today
For decades, the middle class thrived using a simple formula:
- Work hard
- Save consistently
- Avoid debt
- Pay down the mortgage
- Stick to safe choices
That used to work.
In a different era.
When saving actually built wealth.
When inflation wasn’t silently shredding purchasing power.
When governments weren’t running massive deficits.
When asset prices weren’t racing ahead of wages.
But today the playbook changed — quietly.
The tradition stayed the same:
“Save your money. Be conservative. Play it safe.”
But the rules underneath changed completely:
- The currency loses value faster
- Asset prices grow faster than incomes
- Governments print and spend aggressively
- Leverage is becoming a necessity, not a luxury
- OSFI’s 2026 mortgage rules will make investing harder, not easier
People aren’t failing — they’re playing a game that no longer exists.
Winning Today Requires New Rules
Just like modern football has evolved, so has modern money.
The people getting ahead today are the ones who:
- own productive, scarce assets
- understand how debt works in a devaluing-currency system
- think long-term
- build cash flow
- challenge old narratives
- position early instead of reacting late
Tradition is comforting.
But tradition doesn’t build wealth.
Understanding the new rules does.
If you want to talk through what this means for your own mortgage, investment plans, or long-term positioning, just reply to this email and we’ll set up a time to connect.
Talk soon,
Vince
P.S. GOOO Lions! And Happy Thanksgiving to our American friends across the river! 🦃🏈
