“Most people don’t care if you’re telling them the truth or if you’re telling them a lie, as long as they’re entertained by it.” -Tom Waits
“Somebody dropped a ball at practice somewhere.”
“I don’t see the starting quarterback in team drills! Oh no…is he hurt? Oh wait, he just walks slowly.”
The NFL is king and training camp is often treated like a world premiere music video on MTV (that was once a thing). A chance to see the stars. A chance to see your idols doing their thing. It can also be a roller coaster of emotions for fans. The time between the NFL Draft appetizer and the regular season main dish can feel like an eternity. Nothing gets the football juices flowing like that first look at your promising picks and free agents, setting off a feeding frenzy of hot takes.
Social media plays a major role in how training camps are covered. Nothing gets the crowd going and invites firm predictions like that 5-yard out or wide-open catch downfield by your potential star rookie. At the very least, these quick videos have given us SOMETHING to see, even if it’s mostly dull practices.
In this age of high-engagement aggregator accounts like @dovkleiman and beat writers with tons of access, any slither of video can invite reactions, whether good or bad. It can also be confusing for some fans. Is our offense good or defense bad?
“Fan” is short for “fanatic,” and anything a supposed ally like a beat writer tweets is usually under intense scrutiny and sometimes comes with snark replies. But writers like S.I. Now’s Saints reporter John Hendrix is fighting back against overzealous fans.
So while fanbases have high hopes that sometimes fade away for many by the time Week 6 rolls around, remember: not everything is as good or bad as it seems. As a wise former Packer once said, R-E-L-A-X.
K.S. Brown is a two-time Emmy-winning veteran television producer and writer with stints at ESPN and NFL Network, among others. He’s a Louisiana native and graduate of Howard University. Follow him on X at @kbknowzbest