Whether you center your entire day around the game or it is what is on in the background while you mindlessly scroll on your phone after dinner, football is as much of a Thanksgiving tradition as turkey in many households.

But, why?

Thanksgiving Day Games Started With College Football

Long before Thanksgiving football was an NFL thing, it was a tradition among college teams.

According to CNN, the Intercollegiate Football Association started hosting its championship game on Thanksgiving Day in 1876. Four years later, the association named New York as the permanent home of its final game of the season, helping cement football as a holiday tradition.

"That took football from a sporting even to a social one," CNN reported. Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day Football Game Fans Getty Ima

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