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The Perils of “Reality” Television: Previewing the Chicago Bears on HBO’s Hard Knocks

| July 26th, 2024

Fan and media access to NFL training camps is a double-edged sword. On one side, access is fun. Fans seems to genuinely enjoy going to camp practices and reporting what they see on their social feeds. Media members know how voracious the fan hunger is for new NFL content and gets tons of mileage out of their analysis of 7-on-7s and late-practice red zone sessions. And if you have video?!?! Click click click click click click click click click.

But one must always remember that we are in an era, despite this unprecedented access, of intense franchise secrecy. The access is measured, controlled. Teams are not going to show a single supporter or reporter anything that could potentially put them at a competitive disadvantage when they start keeping score in September. And that is what makes the prospect of the Chicago Bears appearing on HBO’s now ubiquitous Hard Knocks series this summer a complicated endeavor.

Hard Knocks Schedule

  • Episode 1 – Tuesday, August 6, 9 p.m. ET
  • Episode 2 – Tuesday, August 13, 9 p.m. ET
  • Episode 3 – Tuesday, August 20, 9 p.m. ET
  • Episode 4 – Tuesday, August 27, 9 p.m. ET
  • Episode 5 – Tuesday, September 3, 9 p.m. ET

Hard Knocks is reality television, and not since the days when Herm Edwards and Rex Ryan were involved has it been particularly good reality television (if such a thing exists). Reality television thrives on big personalities and fabricated drama. The ripped, Australian deckhand and the one-arm chef both like the busty second stew! But only one can make out with her in the hot tub! Which one will it be? (For those of you unfamiliar with Below Deck, those sentences will be gibberish.)

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Two Days in Dallas: History, Discourse and the (Potential) Role of Sport

| July 19th, 2024

Our Uber driver from DFW to the Hotel ZaZa was named Alan, and he punctuated almost every sentence with a drawn out, eloquently drawled, “Yeahhhhhhhhhhhs.”

My uncle and I asked him what kind of weather we should expect in our two days in Dallas, and he was ready with his answer. “Boys, it’s going to be about 97, but don’t worry, it’s going to feel like a hundred seven. But, hey, that’s Dallas.” Then, a beat. “Yeahhhhhhhhhhhs.”

Strange though it may sound, it had been a dream of mine to see Dealey Plaza since I first saw Oliver Stone’s JFK in the fall of 1992 at ten years old. The film had remained a favorite of mine for thirty years but this fall, taking a course called Visual Historiographies, I reconnected with it, now academically. (If you’re interested in my thoughts on the film’s historical relevance, you can read my piece, Ask the Question_The Historiographic Project of JFK.) It turns out my uncle had also found himself down an “Oswald didn’t act alone” rabbit hole, and the trip materialized over some late-night Guinness on Memorial Day weekend.

It did not disappoint.

Before moving on to some broader thoughts, a few striking observations from the scene of the crime.

  • One need not be a conspiracy theorist to recognize that if Oswald were the lone gunman, it is illogical for him to pass on shooting Kennedy when the motorcade was directly in front of him on Houston Street, and instead waiting for the turn onto Elm and the FAR more difficult shot(s). As far as I’m concerned, the multiple shooters theory begins there.
  • Dealey Plaza is a remarkably condensed space; it is a small plot of land. The picket fence at the grassy knoll, where many believe the kill shot emanated from, is no more than 100 feet from where the president was killed. It is also ideally positioned for that shot.
  • We spent a few hours in the plaza on our first day and decided that evening to return for a few hours the second day. It was the right decision. There is an immense power to the place but it’s less an emotional power (Auschwitz, the Normandy beaches), than an intellectual one. Dealey Plaza makes your mind race. It makes you question everything.
  • If you’re planning to visit, skip the touring trolleys. Experience the Sixth Floor Museum at the Book Depository and map the remainder of your journey alone. Stand behind the picket fence and above the street on the overpass. Have a car drive you to Oswald’s boarding house, and then take the short walk to the site of the Tippit shooting. Then get a car to the Texas Theatre, where Oswald was arrested. Go inside. Have a drink at the bar. See the physical theater where Oswald was arrested. There’s more value to doing these things on your own because it allows you to properly discuss each stop.

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