Hard Knocks For 2011 Is “Dead”
July 18th, 2011
Joe apologizes up front if his readers do not think this is Bucs news, but it is sort of Bucs related.
We have the first casualty of the 2011 NFL season thanks to the asinine lockout. It is the annual HBO series “Hard Knocks,” which documents life in training camp for a specific team.
In answering a question from SI.com’s Jimmy Traina on Twitter, the Watchdog himself, media columnist Neil Best of Newsday, announced to Twitterverse that Hard Knocks is “dead” for this season.
@JimmyTraina: Dumb question for media people: If NFL lockout ends this week will/can HBO do ‘Hard Knocks’ or is it dead this season?
@sportswatch: Dead.
The reason why this is partially Bucs news is that, after lobbying HBO to be part of Hard Knocks, the Bucs were invited by HBO to be the subject for this season but pulled out.
Of the many reasons given was the Bucs wanted to concentrate on football without distractions, as the team would have a lot of time to make up with such a young roster thanks to the asinine lockout.
After the Bucs politely declined the offer, several NFL teams also passed, for many of the same reasons.
Now Joe hasn’t had HBO since the moment The Sopranos went dark. So it’s no hair off Joe’s behind if the Bucs were not on Hard Knocks, or for that matter that Hard Knocks is “dead” for this season. But the bummer is that the NFL Network always rebroadcasts these series later in the year.
Not this year.
July 18th, 2011 at 11:59 am
Makes me wonder if the Bucs and several other teams gained prior knowledge of the lock out after lobbying to be on Hard Knocks and didn’t want to be on camera with a young, confused and marginally unprepped team mere weeks before season’s start.
July 18th, 2011 at 12:05 pm
I would love to see the Bucs do it………. next year or the year after.
Waaaaay too young this year for that distraction and then when the lack of offseason is added into the mix…. I am glad they didn’t do it.
July 18th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
The Bucs would be a good fit for next year’s Hard Knocks. Would be real entertaining.
July 18th, 2011 at 1:40 pm
i enjoy hard knocks..its sad but its cool next year the bucs may do it..with a full off-season
July 18th, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Hard knock is as dead as the Bucs Playoff hopes this year. It is too bad that both of these is a much needed exposure for this team.
July 18th, 2011 at 4:05 pm
WOW, buc_realist. wow.
July 18th, 2011 at 5:06 pm
I hardly watch HBO either. But I’ll be watching soon when they show the new George Harrison documentary in October.
As for the Bucs, just wait till 2012. Let’s show that we’re the real deal and make the playoffs first (which I believe we’ll do this year.)