SEATTLE — Only the NFL can make a schedule release date one of the most highly anticipated events of the year.
On the one hand, you have a league that's just releasing dates and times for its games and making an entire prime-time show celebrating random days like Oct. 2 and Nov. 5.
On the other hand, families across the country and beyond need to know those numbers so they can work a game or two into their vacation plans.
You gotta love it.
If you're fortunate enough to go to a Seahawks road game, you finally get to see what time of year that game will be played.
Will you be freezing in the Meadowlands in December? Will the Hawks be playing on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day? How many times will your beloved Seahawks be on national television? Those are the pressing questions we now have answers to.
Before I go any further - that's where you, the football fan, have a lot in common with me the sportscaster. As a guy who loves football and is fortunate enough to follow the Seahawks on their road games, I had May 11 circled on my calendar for a while.
And now that we have a lot of the answers we were looking for, let's break it down.
Opening the season at home against the Rams has its intrigue, starting with Bobby Wagner facing his old team while playing for his old, old team. Unless the Rams are vastly improved, that should be a win.
I thought having the Seahawks and Lions square off on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit would have been a fun matchup, considering they're practically old pals given the Lions did the Seahawks a solid by beating Green Bay on the final night of last season so the Hawks to get into the playoffs.
Although I did spend the last month telling anyone who would listen, "I have a feeling the Seahawks are going to play on Thanksgiving."
After all, they had two shots with games at Detroit and Dallas on their schedule. The wildcard on Thanksgiving was the night game, and that's where the NFL put the Seahawks - at home Thanksgiving night against the 49ers - a game you can see on King 5.
If all goes well for both teams, that will be a monster game, and finally a great matchup to wrap up Thanksgiving Day.
One week later, the Seahawks will play on national tv again when they take on the Cowboys in Dallas on Amazon Prime. You know the execs at Amazon said "Can we get a few less Texans games and a few more meaningful games?" I'm all for it. There was rarely anything intriguing about Thursday Night Football last year. Good move by the NFL to help out their newest partner.
The nice thing about THAT Thursday night game coming after the Thanksgiving Thursday game, is the Seahawks and Cowboys each don't have to deal with the short week of preparation.
I will say that's part of a brutal stretch of the Seahawks' schedule.
In consecutive weeks, they will face the 49ers, then the Cowboys and 49ers on the road, followed by the NFC Champion Eagles at home before they head to Nashville Christmas weekend to take on the Titans.
Now honestly, I'm not exactly thrilled about spending a Dolly Parton Christmas in Nashville... but 9 to 5 has never described this job.
But Christmas Day for football fans is usually the best way to describe "NFL schedule release day."
So, I hope you all got what you wanted, and here's hoping the Seahawks leave you a playoff ticket or two under the tree.
Watch: KING 5's Silvi Says playlist