Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN/WGR Sports Radio 550) - From Hallmark to HBO, the Buffalo Bills are set to be featured plenty in the limelight this coming football season.
The National Football League and HBO announced on Wednesday that the Bills have been selected as the team to be featured this summer on HBO's "Hard Knocks" television series.
The annual series typically follows one team throughout training camp and the preseason, giving fans the ultimate behind the scenes look of how a team prepares for the NFL season. The series was first introduced in 2001 when the program focused on the Baltimore Ravens training camp following their win in Super Bowl XXXV.
This season of Hard Knocks will premiere on Aug. 5, while a separate in-season edition of Hard Knocks will also feature teams in the NFC East.
Related
WGR Bills beat reporter Sal Capaccio feels the Bills being the featured team of this year's Hard Knocks will be huge for the organization.
"I'm surprised that they are the team, because there were a lot of rules in place where the Bills couldn't be the team, and the indications were from Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane over the last several years that it's not something they'd be really totally interested in doing. But the rules have changed, and the other hand, I'm not surprised. It's the league MVP, Josh Allen, it's a team that's advanced very far, obviously they're going to be in the Hallmark movie," said Capaccio in an interview with WBEN. "There's a lot of things that tie the Bills to being really in the limelight this year, prime-time games, things like that. But it's significant for the branding of the team, and for people to get an inside glimpse of the Buffalo Bills."
In the past, Capaccio points out that many teams, including the Bills, have expressed no interest in wanting to be the featured team on Hard Knocks. At the same time, HBO and the NFL do not want to recycle the same teams all the time. That's why the league adjusted some of its rules recently to put teams like the Bills a little bit more into play to be featured on these shows.
"It's about what the league wants to do, and in conjunction with the teams, so a little surprised only because it was never something that the Bills, really, truly were out there, that they wanted to do," Capaccio noted. "And I think I remember Brandon Beane saying one time that they treat their 'Embedded' like that, their Embedded series, where they can get a glimpse of that so that way they don't have to do something like that, because their fans get a good look at them anyway."
One aspect of the Bills being featured on Hard Knocks that Capaccio will be following is what story lines HBO will be looking into.
"Is it something with Josh Allen, the reigning league MVP? We all know Josh is great, but how much does that resonate because you know already about that? Usually what Hard Knocks does is they take a player, somebody who might be a fringe player, battling to get on the roster, and they highlight that player. Is that something they're going to do in this particular series? Is it a group? Is it Damar Hamlin, and what he went through, highlighting him? There's a lot of different story lines you could take with the Bills," Capaccio said.
Capaccio is also going to be watching for how much they do behind the scenes and out-and-about in the community.
"The Bills have training camp in Rochester, at St. John Fisher in Pittsford. It doesn't always have to be about what's going on on the field. Most of it is, but a lot of stuff is filmed off the field," he said. "They're not here in Buffalo. They get a day or two, so I'm sure that will be a part of it. And then, of course, we're a part of the broadcast, the preseason games. Those are featured in Hard Knocks, so that'll be interesting to see how they take that approach."
John Cimperman from Barnstorm Sports and Entertainment feels Wednesday's announcement is a demonstration of the national following for the Bills.
"The Bills have a very strong brand, one that's obviously built around 'Bills Mafia', also built around kind of this underdog, blue collar brand that the Bills have. So I just think it reinforces the following that the Bills, obviously their players, and the brand has nationally," said Cimperman with WBEN.
"Beyond Josh, there's a lot of players on this team that don't quite get that notoriety, and I think this will give some of those players a chance to get in the spotlight a little bit. And hopefully they do it in the right way."
Cimperman was also surprised by the announcement from the NFL and HBO a bit, but feels the Bills are the right team to be highlighted as part of the series.
"To the head coach and the general manager's credit, they really have been tight to the vest, and they try to stay out of the limelight. So there is some risk involved, it is different. But I think the team they've assembled doesn't have the egos and maybe some of the, let's just say, more volatile personalities that maybe a few years back the team had," Cimperman said. "I think the chemistry and the makeup of the locker room provides a little less risk, and I think a little more latitude for the organization to do things like this."
Meanwhile, Tim Clark from the Buffalo Niagara Film Commission believes the Bills being featured on Hard Knocks is a significant announcement.
"The Buffalo Bills play such an important role in raising our notoriety in Hollywood and beyond. I will tell you that between Hard Knocks, the Hallmark movie that's being shot right now and another project that was shot a few weeks ago, that I can't go into publicly yet, the Bills are going to be all over the networks this season," said Clark with WBEN. "It's very reminiscent of the 1990s era, and it's kind of exciting, for sure."
Unlike Capaccio and Cimperman, this announcement does not surprise Clark one bit.
"Josh is an MVP and so forth. If you talk to the Hallmark people, they will tell you they're so excited about doing this movie this year with this team. I just think Josh and Sean McDermott and the entirety of the team have such high profiles in the league now that I think the networks and the movie companies take notice of that," Clark said. "I'm glad that we're doing it, but I'm really not shocked, because we deserve it."
Clark adds the additional limelight with the Bills can be a positive on Buffalo and Western New York, even though training camp is set to take place in Rochester.
"It is the Buffalo Bills, so that name is just going to be repetitive. People are not really likely going to equate the fact that the training camp is in Rochester with the Buffalo Bills, on a national audience," he said. "What I would also tell you is the Bills are extremely hot right now, and will continue to be. And I think Hollywood and the networks have taken notice of that, and I think there's probably more to come."
In addition, Clark notes a good economic boost will come from Hard Knocks, as HBO will likely employ a lot of people out of Buffalo for their crew.
Dates for Bills training camp at St. John Fisher University in Pittsford have yet to be announced by the team.
Related
