Autumn leaves serve as the first indication of that one holiday crammed with cranberry sauces, honey glazed hams and enough turkey to keep us full for an entire month, Thanksgiving. However, there is more to Thanksgiving Day than stuffing our faces, unbuttoning our pants and watching helium-filled balloons parade down the streets of New York on our flat screen televisions.  
For that reason, we at The Signal developed a sports agenda to help break the Turkey Day cliché, and prepare you for game day. 

• 8:00am: Dust off your old baseball cleats, throw on your favorite old football jersey, slap on enough face paint to make Gene Simmons jealous and practice your Heisman pose because its Turkey Bowl time!  Turkey Bowl is a traditional, un-officiated, “backyard” flag, tackle or two-hand touch football game played with friends and family and is one of the best ways to burn some calories before the Thanksgiving binge.  It is highly recommended to wake up early to find a park or an open grassy area before they all get snatched up. This is your moment to spend quality time with your loved ones and is also your chance to prove that someone made a huge mistake for cutting you from the junior varsity team back in high school. 

• 9:30am: Kick your feet up and relax, the first of three NFL Thanksgiving Day games is about to kick off.  The Philadelphia Eagles travel to Detroit to face the Lions. The Lions have been playing football on Thanksgiving day going back to 1934 and are looking for a big win at home, while the Eagles are coming in looking to rain on their parade. With star players like Calvin Johnson, Mathew Stafford, and DeMarco Murray on the field, it is bound to be an exciting match up.

• 1:30pm: By this time, the aroma of food is more than likely beginning to spread throughout your home. What better way to use your time than to watch the second NFL game between the Carolina Panthers, and the Dallas Cowboys. Much like the Lions, the Cowboys have been traditionally playing football on Thanksgiving Day going back to the 1966 season. The Panthers have come on to an impressive start while the defending NFC East Champion Cowboys have struggled thus far this season due to a few key injuries. With Cowboys star quarterback Tony Romo set to return from an injury and Panthers quarterback Cam Newton playing at a potentially MVP level, this game will most definitely be a watch worthy shootout.

• 5:30pm: In case you feel there isn’t enough football going on, one of the NFL’s oldest rivalries will be unfolding when Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears visit Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. So sneak into the kitchen and cautiously pick at the stuffing, because you’ll need food in your stomach to get you through this barnburner.

• 8:30pm: Its time to get your best stiff-arm ready because you will need everything you learned from the early morning Turkey Bowl jukes, the evening NFL tackles, and the afternoon food picking hand slaps. It is time for the real contact sport, the Black Friday sales lines.

From backyard football to late night deal saving, your Thanksgiving Day should be an active and exciting holiday with your loved ones. Keep us in the loop by using the hashtag #Turkeydaywiththesignal on social media and be sure to have fun and safe Thanksgiving holiday.