The Tampa Bay Buccaneers turned down an invitation to be the team featured on HBO's Hard Knocks this summer. Immediately the search for a new team began, and football fans surprisingly wanted the Detroit Lions to be on the show. It's not often the Lions draw much interest nationally, but with an up-and-coming team and lots of promise, fans wanted to get an inside look at Jim Schwartz and company.
↵Unfortunately for the fans who voted for the Lions, they will not be seeing their choice end up on Hard Knocks. The Lions were actually offered a spot on the show, according to Adam Schefter, but they declined. The Denver Broncos also declined an invitation to be on the show.
↵A year ago, Schwartz said he wouldn't want the Lions to appear on the show because of the distraction factor and because he didn't want to give the rest of the league a look inside the franchise. Lions players echoed his thoughts on the matter last week when asked about being on the show. Some didn't want the cameras being a distraction and others didn't want the coaches' assessments of players on the team to be shared with the public.
↵While I would have loved to see the Lions get more national attention and get a look behind the scenes of the Allen Park training facility, I certainly understand the decision to turn down the offer to be on Hard Knocks. The Lions are on the cusp of making some big-time progress as a franchise, and the last thing they need is a distraction like Hard Knocks screwing things up.