Monday’s news cycle brought the exciting announcement that NFL Films and HBO’s Hard Knocks series will, for the first time, chronicle an entire NFL division. The AFC North was selected, and it will be covered during the reality series “In Season” portion.
This marks the Baltimore Ravens’ first appearance on the popular program since its inception in 2001.
The Ravens were coming off the franchise’s first Super Bowl win at the time.
Once again, the Ravens are making Hard Knocks history, as they become one of four teams to be in the first divisional edition, complementing their status as the series’ inaugural team selected. According to both NFL Films and HBO, the production was “the first sports-based reality series” in television history.
For the first twenty years of the series’ history, the focus was on the training camp portion of the season only. Then, in 2021, the Indianapolis Colts became the first team to participate in the in-season edition.
This year will mark the first time Hard Knocks has an offseason edition, with the New York Giants selected as the subject matter. With the Ravens back on the show, some football fans have been flashing back to that inaugural season.
The video below features arguably the most iconic clip from that first season: Tim Anderson bringing down the house with his hilarious lampoon of Shannon Sharpe at the rookie talent show.
In honor of the Ravens being on Hard Knocks, throwback to this CLASSIC pic.twitter.com/h3DS8BmZq9
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) June 17, 2024
Watching Sharpe’s reaction, as he loses his mind with laughter, makes the bit much funnier. In the same episode, Todd Heap did a spot-on impersonation of coach Brian Billick, which was pretty hilarious as well.
If you want to watch the first full episode of the entire series, it is embedded here below: