The Lions were the talk of the football world last August when they were the subject of HBO's Hard Knocks series. We got a ton of fun quotes and goose bumps type moments. There was hope, at least from some, that the Lions would return for the in-season version of Hard Knocks in 2023. Sadly that will not will more than likely not be happening. 

It's not for a lack of trying on HBO's part. Per The Detroit News, HBO reached out to the Lions about doing another season with the team. Lions president Rod Wood recently talked about taking the year off of Hard Knocks in an interview with the Detroit Free Press though.

“Probably going to take a year off. … So the two teams that have done it the last two years (the Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts), it didn’t work out too well for them, either. Both those coaches are (gone).”

While its not set in stone that the Lions won't be back this year, it seems like a forgone conclusion that they will miss out. I think this is a missed opportunity. Not just for the fans and HBO, but for the Lions too. Here's what everyone is missing out on.

HBO

HBO is missing out on good programing plain and simple. The more recent seasons of Hard Knocks had kind of fallen off in recent years. That might be why their ratings had taken a hit. 

The Lions season had everyone talking. Football fans from all over loved it and some even started calling the Lions America's new team. That didn't really stick. So relax Cowboys fans. You're still America's team despite the disagreements from most of America. 

I'm not just saying these things because this is the team I've cover for the last decade, I'm saying it because it was just genuinely good TV. There was a lot of heart ono this show and it was super infectious. 

Plus, I don't know many people who have watched the in-season Hard Knocks who weren't fans of the team that was on the show that season. Having the Lions back might have drummed up major interest from everyone in the football loving world.

Lions

Look, the Lions probably don't care all that much that they won't be followed around by HBO cameras. If anything, they're happy about that. It can be a nuisance as we've seen from other teams that have shown their displeasure about being on the show while being on the show. 

Still, I've been watching this team all my life. This was the first time that I could remember that people cared about the Lions and they weren't just the laughing stock of the league. There's been no other time that the city of Detroit and it's love for this team, despite all the pain they've had to feel, has been on display in a beautiful and meaningful way. Usually it's displayed in a really poorly animated ESPN graphic featuring a car breaking down.

The Lions will be able to tell their story on the field and that's fine, but their ability to tell the story in depth in front of the world probably helped them more than we could ever know. Every player in the league got to see the personality, the heart and the culture of this team on display and if they're an impeding free agent, they more than likely loved what they saw.

Fans

I use the word fans to describe everyone who loves football. Not just Lions fans. While Lions fans will miss out the hardest, they at least have great team ran programs like Inside the Den to get their fix on some of the stuff they got out of Hard Knocks. Still, it was great to see your team represented in a good way in front of everyone wasn't it? 

Football fans are going to miss out on a good story. It's as simple as that. The Lions have been the laughing stock of the league for decades and now they're a team on the rise. They could have got to see that story play out in a much more in depth way. Now they jus have to watch the Lions rise like everyone else, on Sunday. 

Featured image by Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK