The Buffalo Bills are trying to get to the Super Bowl.
They are not trying to get on "Hard Knocks.''
And yet here we are, this high-profile team that is easy to envision being a TV darling ...
And so it is.
Whether the Bills like it or not.
Oh, and P.S: They do not like it.
The Bills have now implemented multiple changes to the roster and tinkered with spots on the coaching staff. Last season looked like their best chance yet before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs yet again in a game decided by razor thin margins.
Now comes another chance ... and it's all going to be on TV.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Wednesday that the Bills will be the next team to participate in "Hard Knocks." The show will follow the team at training camp this summer at St. John Fisher University.
And to the credit of the people who run this franchise?
They hate getting this so-called "honor.''
From Bills reporter Tim Graham of The Athletic ...
"The Buffalo Bills do not want to be on 'Hard Knocks.' They are not proud to be chosen for 'Hard Knocks.' They did not seek to be featured on 'Hard Knocks.' They loathe the idea of 'Hard Knocks.' Nobody from One Bills Drive told me this Wednesday because they didn’t have to. I’ve covered the entirety of this administration and have had myriad conversations with coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane about the HBO show since they arrived eight years ago."
Goodell also announced the regular season version of the show would focus on the NFC East franchises including the New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys. ... and from where we sit, they sould "loathe'' it, too.
And here's why: The presence of the cameras, in meetings and in hotel suites and in the locker room ... requires drama. So drama will either be exposed or created. It becomes an artificial setting.
Players, scouts and coaches become "actors.''
And this is not how to win a Super Bowl.
Oh, and the one "actor'' who is sort of involved around here, Josh Allen sweetheart Hailee Steinfeld? HBO will kill to get her on camera. A lot.
This is the first time the Bills have been selected for the series since its inception in 2001. HBO has announced a premier date of August 5 for this season.
The Bills have several marquee matchups with rival AFC contenders on the schedule and will play their final season at the historic Highmark Stadium. That will come after the training camp period of course, but the show will undoubtedly build up the tension as the team prepares for those obstacles.
There will be much to watch. And much for the people on-camera to hate about being watched.