I don’t know about you, but I sat around and watched NFL action all day on Thursday.

That’s a departure for me since I’m usually doing something else on the penultimate working day of the week for many Americans (not this American, unfortunately). But this past Thursday was an exception since it was also Thanksgiving, one of the most awesome holidays of the year. You mix parades, football and lots and lots of food (particularly, simple carbs), and what adult could love any holiday more in the post-“I must go to bed early so Santa will come” era of their life? You don’t have to buy presents. You usually don’t have to work the next three days (four, if you hunt). You can get up and go holiday shopping very early the next morning (or not, if you’re sane).

Anyway, sitting around and watching the Lions’ traditional early game while I dream of stuffing myself with Turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and, well, stuffing is often the best part of my Thanksgiving Day. I can’t speak for anyone else, but anticipating the holiday feast is almost as much fun as eating it.

I’m usually eating at my mom’s when the Cowboys’ traditional “late” game is playing, and I’m often ready for a nap by the time the musical halftime act is doing its thing. (This year, it was country star Lainey Wilson, who is further proof of my theory that NFL quarterbacks, even down-the-line former backup randos like Devlin “Duck” Hodges, mostly win at life.)

I put the word “late” in quotation marks in that last paragraph because the NFL has had a third Thanksgiving matchup in primetime every year since 2006. There are no fixed host teams like the Lions (since 1934) and Cowboys (since 1966). Instead, the contest consists of the two franchises the league and NBC think will garner the highest ratings.

I normally don’t watch the primetime game. I like to reserve my Thanksgiving evenings for hanging out with family and watching a holiday-themed movie or show.

The primetime Thanksgiving game doesn’t feel like a tradition, yet. It feels gluttonous–like you’re eating an extra slice of pumpkin/sweet potato pie when you know damn right well you don’t have any more room in your tummy.

And that brings me to the main point of this article:

Did anyone ever complain about teams playing their games on Thanksgiving before the NFL made Thursday Night Football a weekly part of its schedule about two decades ago?

Seeing your team–in my case, the Steelers–play on Thanksgiving once a decade or so felt like a real treat back in the day–like a college football bowl game. I don’t remember fans or the media debating the short week and how it would hurt the teams involved.

I guess that’s because football on Thursday is fun as an exception but annoying as a rule.

I’m glad the NFL’s weekly Thursday Night Football package is on Amazon, a streaming service I do not subscribe to. It gives me a built-in excuse not to watch that game. The only exception is when the Steelers are playing on TNF and the matchup is shown on a local over-the-air station (as per NFL rules and home markets).

It just feels like work to watch NFL games on a Thursday night. I’m usually out socializing, anyway. I’m at an establishment with friends throwing down a few “sodas.” Sure, the game is often on in the background of said establishment, but we’re not normally paying attention to it.

Why isn’t TNF now a tradition on par with Monday Night Football or even Sunday Night Football? MNF became popular fairly soon after it debuted on ABC in 1970. It was a ratings hit and made stars out of Don Meredith and Howard Cosell. TNF has been around for a long time, but why hasn’t it gained a huge following?

I don’t know, maybe because even something as great as the NFL is only tasty enough to consume in measured amounts. Don’t get me wrong, it’s okay to overdo it now and then, but it’s not healthy to be a glutton all the time. Did you know that the Lions and Cowboys Thanksgiving games generate some of the highest television ratings of the regular season? That’s because the league has a captive audience. Few people are working. Most are hanging out with their families while eating and drinking. Food and football complement one another perfectly on Thanksgiving. In fact, much like the Thanksgiving leftovers, folks have no problem binging on football–pro, college and even high school–for four straight days (five, if you get off school/work because your teacher/boss hunts).

But, much like your eating habits after that long weekend, it just feels healthier to go back to a smaller amount of NFL action following your five-day binge-fest.

I’m five pounds heavier today than I was before Thanksgiving. My football appetite is also fairly satiated. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll binge as much of the sport as I can through Monday, but after that, yuck!

I’ll save the rest of my football viewing for Sundays and Mondays. Keep me away from Thursday Night Football. That goes straight to my hips.