With the NFL season less than 24 hours away, HBO’s Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Miami Dolphins will come to its conclusion tonight. As with most season finales, the show will be full of drama, intrigue, and possibly a surprise twist.
It seems as if the producers of the show felt it was not enough to present the pain of players, and staff, as they awaited, or delivered, news regarding the 53 men who would be moving forward with the team. They must not have felt the redemptive quality of Sunday’s practice-squad signings made for gripping TV. Clearly, the awkward support between quarterbacks was no longer worthy of the viewers’ attention, even though David Garrard returned to the practice field for the first time since losing his starting position to a freak knee injury, just to be released by the team the day before the 2012 season officially gets under way.
No, those focal points appear to have been short of the captivating theater HBO wanted to unveil in it’s season’s final show. So, in an effort to truly provide NFL fans what they truly want and need, Hard Knocks presents: Chad Johnson: The Exit Interview.
It has been three weeks since Johnson was charged with Domestic Assault for allegedly head butting his wife during an argument over a condoms receipt, and the last the nation saw of him was his humiliating dismissal from the team, by an unsympathetic Joe Philbin.
The final shots of Episode 2 carried images of a broken man, making his way out into the world alone, no wife, no job, no avatar on the quick play of Madden 13. The man who was once Ochocinco, now simply uno…and instead of letting this be the way the story ended, someone decided the people must have another dose of the NFL’s former Clown Prince.
To my knowledge, this is the first time I have heard of Hard Knocks going back into the show for added content. I could be wrong, but it seems as if they are turning away from the blueprint, simply because they know this will get viewers to tune in. Honestly, after seeing the Dolphins lose all four of their preseason games, how many people do you think were going to watch tonight?
The details of the interview are not hard to guess, and I am sure the world will be watching right along with me, but what I want to know is what you think about this turn of events. Did HBO sell out the integrity of the show for ratings? Does this matter to true fans? What about this seems right, or wrong? Please feel free to leave a comment below and add your voice to the conversation.
*Update*
So the rumors were worse than what HBO actually aired. I thought the show actually did a nice job showing how Johnson was humbled by the experience. Personally, I had hoped he would have a come back year with the Dolphins, and so I now hope someone gives him a chance. We all make mistakes in life. Let the guy show if he can still be the Chad he used to be.
Jeff Everette is a featured columnist for www.RantSports.com, covering the NFL and NBA. You can follow him on twitter @jeverettesports, or subscribe to Jeff Everette-www.RantSports.com on both Facebook and Google+ for all of his latest articles, opinions, and rants.
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