The NFL’s widespread popularity and ability to masterfully promote the most mundane league happenings as must-see television events is never more evident — or puzzling — than in the anticipation and interest in Thursday night’s three-hour celebration and analysis of the league’s 2022 schedule release.

Not to be overly curmudgeonly here — Who am I kidding? Get off my dang lawn — but please explain the appeal of watching this tedious “news,” especially when NHL and NBA playoffs are in full swing and the baseball season is developing into what could be a special summer with the Yankees and the Mets both off to first-place starts and a combined 43-19 record.

You do you, of course. Far be it from me to tell anyone what to watch or enjoy.

The Thursday night television lineup on NBC for years was billed as Must See TV, featuring favorites such as “Cheers,” “Seinfeld,” “ER,” “30 Rock,” “The Office” and so many others. But I’d personally rather watch reruns of the most overrated sitcoms of all time — “Friends,” for instance — or just about anything else on my hundreds of channels and multiple streaming services than listen to NFL Network talking heads tell us the significance of the first meeting between the Vikings and the Lions.