By Stephen F. Holder, Times Staff Writer
Monday, May 16, 2011
If you want to watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' training camp this fall, you'll have sweat it out in person.
The team will not be appearing on the wildly popular HBO training camp reality series Hard Knocks, the team said today.
The show, which has run for several seasons on HBO, gives viewers an all-access pass to training camp, featuring both positive and negative storylines. The producers of the show look for engaging personalities and intriguing stories, and the Bucs — behind effervescent head coach Raheem Morris — seemed to have both.
The show is on shaky ground anyhow because of the NFL's work stoppage, but the network was moving forward with plans in case the opportunity to air the show presented itself.
Last year's show became a huge hit with fans as Jets coach Rex Ryan took center stage. The show featured the protracted contract holdout of star cornerback Darrelle Revis and Ryan's particularly salty language, but the Jets seemed to embrace both the good and the bad that came with the show.
The Bucs, in announcing their decision, said they hoped to "keep the focus on the field and what we hope to accomplish in 2011." That's, perhaps, a suggestion that the show would be a distraction — one of the main concerns of any team weighing this option. Another concern for the Bucs is their growing list of off-the-field concerns with a number of recent arrests. That list is highlighting by the pending charge of aggravated assualt with a deadly weapon against cornerback Aqib Talib, a case that could be playing out right about the time the show gets underway in August.
The Bucs told the NFL they would consider doing the show in the future if approached again.