I know the NFL preseason got underway on July 31 with the Hall of Fame Game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit Lions, but for me, the real sign that football is near (aside from the calendar) is the return of HBO’s Hard Knocks. Premiering tonight, August 5, Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Buffalo Bills airs on HBO starting at 9 pm ET/PT, while streaming simultaneously on HBO Max.
Let’s be honest, preseason games are barely watchable unless you’re an absolute football nut (admittedly, I’d probably classify as a semi-nut as I’ll usually skim through the first half of Philadelphia Eagles preseason games). They have no actual stakes, and at least half of the players that take the field are never going to be heard from during the actual season unless things go horribly wrong for a team. But Hard Knocks, for myself and many others, has become a tradition to get us warmed up and excited for a new season.
