Browns Reportedly Linked to HBO's "Hard Knocks"

As reported by multiple sources, our Cleveland Browns are the supposed front-runners to be the team featured in HBO’s Hard Knocks series. The possibility of this might unnerve some fans but others, like myself, are praying this comes to fruition.

Hard Knocks has featured 8 different teams since 2001 with the Cincinnati Bengals being the only team featured twice (’09 and ’13). The show itself is a must watch for any aspiring athletes, general managers, coaches, and football gurus alike. It is essentially a behind-the-scenes look of one NFL team during their training camp and through their four preseason games.

The show will typically focus on several personable players, a handful of rookies (who may or may not be cut during the show), the coaches, general manager, and at times the owner. Last season of the show featuring the Atlanta Falcons, they showed us the hilarity and harshness of the widely unknown Coach Bryan Cox.

He was shown berating players after poor performances, cracking jokes with Coach Mike Tice, and dropping golden quotes like this one: “A man without some kind of habit, got a lot of skeletons” as he puffs on his unusually large cigar.

Now that the Browns could possibly be the stars of this show, I am more than excited. Imagine getting an inside look on your favorite sports team from the inside the locker room, the coaches office, meetings, every game and practice. Sign me up!

The reason for the Browns being the supposed front-runners is likely due to these five factors:

The Browns were asked last year and declined, as was allowed because Pettine was in his first year as head coach. This year they cannot decline if requested.
Johnny Manziel. Do I need to say more?
Mike Pettine, Ray Farmer, and Jimmy Haslam are all intriguing personalities. Haslam was once quoted as saying a homeless man told him to draft Manziel. Pettine is a true badass of a coach and Farmer is still dealing with text-gate.
The years of dysfunction within the organization. What makes good television? Drama. This is exactly what the Browns provide. Whether it be our rehabbing quarterback, our suspended wide receiver, the loud mouth owner or text-gate. The Browns are constantly dealing with all sorts of drama and disappointment, and that’s exactly what HBO and its viewers want to see.
The team as a whole is getting better and competitive. The Browns have talent although some people refuse to see it but it’s there. The Browns training camp will be tough due to Pettine and this will show the grueling parts of the NFL that not everyone sees.

Personally, I think all this would be very intriguing because I am a die-hard fan of this team. But I think all the reasons listed above are why football fans will have their eyes glued to the tube each Sunday night for Hard Knocks. Just imagine being able to listen to Manziel talking to coaches and other players on a day-to-day basis. Plus it will uncover hilarious personalities within the organization like a Phil Taylor who I don’t think most fans realize is a funny guy.

It is never official until its official but this news has me hyped and it should excite all fans of “the Land” and beyond.