John Matthews
WMAL.com
ASHBURN, VA — (WMAL) Turns out the Redskins will be on HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ this pre-season after all – at least in a cameo role.
The Redskins will host the Houston Texans – as well as HBO’s film crews – August 6th through 8th for joint team practices at the team’s Richmond training camp facility.
The Texans were selected to be the featured team this summer on the documentary program, which takes a behind-the-scenes look at training camp each year, showing how a team prepares – warts and all – for the upcoming NFL season. The Redskins were considered a finalist to be the featured this year, along with the Buffalo Bills, but neither team apparently wanted the spotlight on themselves. The show’s producers have said previously they did not want to have the league force a team to be featured.
Last summer, the Redskins set attendance records when they hosted the New England Patriots for part of training camp, and with the national TV glare on the Texans, their visit to Richmond could produce similar crowds. The Redskins’ deal with Houston was arranged after a similar joint practice visit to New Orleans was cancelled. The Saints backed out of that agreement when it was announced Houston would be featured on the TV program.
Redskins coach Jay Gruden is no stranger to ‘Hard Knocks’. Two summers ago, his profanity-laced tirades were a featured attraction when his team at the time, the Cincinnati Bengals, were featured on the program. Gruden has said the HBO film crews are thoroughly professional, but he would refrain from recommending the experience for the Redskins given the media glare it would bring to the team.
Last year, the Redskins required fans to get free tickets to the Patriots practices on the team’s website. No announcements have been made yet concerning tickets for the Texans practices this summer.
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