Bears Take a Pass on HBO’s Hard Knocks
With the NFL lockout winding down, there are signs of returning to business as usual around the league. One of the rites of training camp has become HBO’s outstanding series Hard Knocks, which follows an NFL team throughout training camp and offers fans a look behind the curtain and into the meticulous preparations for an NFL season.
Since the lockout cast doubt over training camps and even a 2011 season taking place, HBO is now trying to put together this season in short order but the feature team hasn’t been selected. According to MediaBistro.com, a handful of teams have turned down the offer to be spotlighted:
"More than a half-dozen teams (Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Detroit, NY Jets, Chicago, Denver, Minnesota) have reportedly turned down HBO’s offer for a variety of reasons."
Of course the Bears turned down this golden opportunity to let fans get to know this team. It’s because the Bears still use an old WWII-era handbook as a guide to public relations and marketing.
What better venue to offer fans a chance to get to know the real Jay Cutler, still trying to emerge from the NFC Championship Game debacle that has continued since late January until now on a low boil? Where could people get an opportunity to know the Lovie Smith, the coach who has earned his players’ undying loyalty even though we fans find him a boring bordering on brain dead at times?
Let us have a peek inside the meeting rooms where Mike Tice and Mike Martz wrestle for control of the offensive philosophy. Let’s follow position battles along the offensive line, linebacking corp and safety to name a few. Let’s watch the young wide receiver corp as they continue to try to learn how to run routes while getting command of Martz’s voluminous playbook. Let’s meet the Bears’ version of The Turk, the guy who comes to find players getting cut to take their playbooks back. Let’s watch Jerry Angelo show of his “genius-ness” for all the world to see. Heck, let’s me the McCaskey family.
This is a golden opportunity that the Bears shouldn’t pass up!