Pat McAfee is far from the only person singing the praises of the new season of Hard Knocks. Episode one drew rave reviews from most fans and media pundits. On his show Tuesday, McAfee said a lot of the credit for that goes to Dan Campbell.
McAfee called him “the living embodiment of the sport of football” and said it is clear that his involvement gives this season of Hard Knocks potential to be the best we’ve ever seen.
“Behind the scenes, he’s a hard working guy that has love for his players, that wants to do something for a city that hasn’t had a winning season in a long, long, long time,” McAfee said of the coach. “The players all seem to be all the way bought in. It’s magical. It seems to be a recipe that seems to be created for for success for Hard Knocks majesticy. That is a real word.”
It hasn’t been universal praise though. Although he feels the exact opposite, McAfee says he has seen some backlash to all of the love that episode one received on social media. Some of it is coming from Detroit, where critics say the first episode didn’t show much that was meaningful.
“There has been people, I guess around town that has been judging Hard Knocks because they thought the first week was infomercial fluff for the Detroit Lions.”
Pat McAfee pushed back on the idea that nothing of importance was happening. Competing for a roster spot is hard, and every successful rep is a step closer to a guy achieving his dream. On top of that, football is wildly unpredictable. Any play can result in a season-altering injury.
That doesn’t mean everything needs to be presented with dramatic music and a somber tone McAfee said.
“I’m sorry we’re having entertainment! You’re allowed to have fun. Not everything has to be serious.”
The second episode of Hard Knocks will air Tuesday on HBO and HBO Max. A new deal with NFL Films will allow The Pat McAfee Show to use all of the video and audio the crew wants to from each episode. That means they will likely have plenty to say about the dramatic and the mundane moments on Wednesday, when Campbell is actually scheduled to sit down with McAfee on the show.
