This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Slow-moving footage, metered narration, and sparkling soundtracks help make NFL Films an iconic chronicler of football acts extraordinary and mundane.
Thursday’s Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, surely saw the Houston Texans and Chicago Bears conspire on more of the latter before Mother Nature intervened.
With the Bears starring in “Hard Knocks,” HBO’s annual summer collab with NFL Films, however, the best sights and sounds from the game arguably are yet to come. For a Chicago fan base giddy about all the attention coming its way, Thursday’s storm-shortened exposure was only the beginning.
Maybe next time, Bears faithful will get to see Caleb Williams.
With most starters from both sides held out of the exhibition—namely Williams, the Bears’ starting quarterback and No. 1 pick—the doings from Canton offered little suspense. Reserve quarterback Brett Rypien, nephew of National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame enshrinee Mark, passed for 166 yards and three touchdowns.
The Bears won 21-17 in a contest called with 3:31 remaining in the third quarter. An ESPN screen crawl said the game was “terminated” while offering the time and score particulars, though it didn’t seem apparent the weather put anyone out of work.
Kickoff return enthusiasts have taken temporary leave as special teamers adjust to new rules.
Really, the most intrigue from Thursday may lie in how “Hard Knocks” treats the game when its Bears edition debuts Tuesday. It’s sure to carry far more pageantry once NFL Films and HBO crews do their stuff, with a touch of what populates many Bears games on TV: talk of grit, tradition, and defense.
“We’re all excited to have a team that’s been around since the start of the NFL,” NFL Films senior producer and director Shannon Furman told NBC Sports Chicago last month. “It’s a deep history. We’re going to try to include some of that in the show this summer.”
With former Bears Steve McMichael, Devin Hester and Julius Peppers set for Hall enshrinement this weekend, that old shoe will continue to fit for some time.
Texans fans are starting to appreciate nostalgia, too. Now a franchise for two-plus decades, Houston will have a Hall of Famer to toast and boast about this weekend as wide receiver Andre Johnson gets in.
As usual, the Hall of Fame game honored the “Do your job” mantra of since-dismissed New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, serving notice that NFL action — or at least “telecasts,” in deference to preseason — have returned after 5 ½ months away.
Football’s extraordinary and mundane, plus everything in between, will be the norm on many screens across the country and globe until Super Bowl LIX signs off from New Orleans on Feb. 9.
Still, for this first week of preseason games, the brain trust behind the X (nee Twitter) account @TheSimpsonsNFL gets the award for greatest poignancy.
