The menu was pretty light from my first Thanksgiving in the NFL as a rookie with the St. Louis Rams. Instant mashed potatoes -- the kind of stuff that comes in the big red box. Easy to make. I handled that. A precooked turkey. Throw it in the microwave? Yeah, cool. I guess that works. And a case of Icehouse. Longneck bottles, too. You know, dress it up nice for Thanksgiving.

That's it. Dig in.

Gross? No doubt. But when four lonely rookies got together back in 2000 -- without family -- it was the best we could do. And we tried to have some sense of normalcy. Dinner, then turn on the Cowboys game, throw in a movie after. More beers. We laughed a lot. But it wasn't the same. Not even close.

The pecan pie Mom makes? Nope. Or the sweet potatoes with the marshmallows on top? Nah. And the family, the little kids running around, all the traditions you love about Thanksgiving? Didn't have any of that either.

I missed it. My teammates in St. Louis did too.

Matt Bowen's Thanksgiving turkey as a rookie didn't look quite like this. AP Photo/Matthew Mead

As you get older in the league, you become more accustomed to missing holidays at home. It will never be ideal, but it's also part of the gig as a pro. And your family adjusts too.

But that first one? Yikes. I had a hard time. It was the first Thanksgiving I ever missed. I played under the old college football schedule of the '90s. At Iowa, we would wrap up the regular season versus the Gophers the weekend before Thanksgiving before heading back to our respective homes for the holiday.

But when you're not there, it's the small things you miss.

We used to have a family Turkey Bowl every Thanksgiving in Peoria, Illinois, across the street from my aunt and uncle's house. Bad playcalling. Jump balls in the end zone. Quarterback scramble drills. Lots of turnovers. And some injuries. I busted up my dad's knee once. And the adults capped off the game with Old Styles, mudslides and vodka tonics. Me too when I turned 21.

"We tried to have some sense of normalcy. Dinner, then turn on the Cowboys game, throw in a movie after. More beers. We laughed a lot. But it wasn't the same. Not even close."

But our "celebration" back in a Creve Coeur, Missouri, apartment was much different. Yeah, something was off about that turkey. It didn't look right coming out of the microwave. And we forgot gravy. So, we used ranch dressing on the mashed potatoes. The Icehouse? We could've done better there.

Mainly, just wasn't the same as being surrounded by family.

Now, the cool thing about the pros is that everyone takes care of each other. Veteran players will open up their homes to the young cats. Some coaches, too. And everyone in the locker room makes sure that the guys have a place to go for the holiday.

Practice starts much earlier in the day and players are out of the facility usually around 1 p.m. You try to keep as many traditions intact as possible. From the Cowboys' late-afternoon kickoff to turkey around halftime, it's a welcome break from the grind. And you need that as a player.

But as the current NFL rooks will find out, it doesn't compare to being home.

ESPN.com NFL analyst Matt Bowen played seven seasons as a defensive back in the NFL.