NFL: Does Anyone Even Care About Hard Knocks Anymore?

When it comes to the NFL exposure for players is always key. Shows like Inside the NFL were big for promoting one of America’s favorite sports. Then along came Hard Knocks in 2001 to cover more than just weekly highlights. ESPN was already king of the weekly highlight segments so when Hard Knocks debuted on HBO to give fans a better look at their favorite teams in the offseason, fans loved it.

Here we are 22 years later and the show doesn’t quite have the luster it used to. The new car smell is long gone and we’re left with the old beat-up jalopy in the driveway. The show used to have appeal when it first aired as fans were getting an inside look at a professional sports team’s practice which many didn’t have access to. Now every other day on social media you can find exactly what happened, who was involved, and how it played out. We have information at our fingertips. By the time those episodes air, we’re past what has happened.

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Fans have instant access these days and they get it without the spin. Hard Knocks used to get inside scoops on stories for camp then use some clever editing to make it out to be a bigger deal than it actually was. It had intrigue. It had drama. We felt like we were in on something we probably shouldn’t have been. It made fans feel like they had exclusive looks at players that people who didn’t subscribe didn’t have. But Google and social media exist these days. Are fans still waiting to see what happened in the preseason by the time the regular season starts?

On top of that, by now most teams have been on Hard Knocks. With 32 teams in the mix in 22 years we’ve got a good look at how teams run. Not to mention not only do we follow these sports teams, but social media also has an inside look at the players themselves. You don’t have to wait for documentaries such as Hard Knocks to see what your draft picks are doing. Most of these young athletes are posting their own videos as well. Want to know what the latest draftees are doing, Log on to any platform these days you’ll get highlight reels from the team, the player, and the journalists who cover the team.

What is the point of Hard Knocks these days? If HBO wants to stay in the sports world, it’s time to pivot away from a stale show. Yes, plenty of people probably still watch it, but at the end of the day do they really enjoy it or do they just turn it on because they’re killing time before the season starts?