How excited are you that the Bears were chosen for Hard Knocks?

It seemed like a shoo-in that the Chicago Bears would be picked last year for HBO’s Hard Knocks, right up until the trade that brought Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets. Once Rodgers landed in the Big Apple, it gave the NFL a newsworthy and viable alternative, and the Bears were spared.

But this offseason, there is no team more compelling than Chicago.

It’s a franchise coming off a four-game improvement, with the first and ninth overall picks (Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze), popular veterans DJ Moore, Montez Sweat, and Keenan Allen, plus plenty of big personalities just waiting for a bigger stage, and then of course there’s the ravenous Chicago market that will feast on all things Navy and Orange.

Head coach Matt Eberflus was on staff with the Indianapolis Colts when they were featured on the show, and he expressed pride that his current team will be able to share their message with the HBO audience.

“I talked to the team about that because I’ve been involved in that before, and I believe NFL Films and HBO do an outstanding job of getting their message out of the team,” Eberflus said about their chance to be on Hard Knocks, “and we’re going to be proud of that message, because I’m proud of these guys and proud of this organization. We have a bunch of really good people in the building, not only the football players, but also the support staff.”

“We have guys that love football, that love each other, respect the game, and play it the right way. So we’re excited about getting that going.”

”We had a real positive attitude about it,” Eberflus said about doing the show in 2021 with the Colts, “and we knew that we had good people in the building, and our message was going to be who we are and how we operated. No one changes how they act, no one changes what they do. We just focus on our job. And they’re going to have the special interest stories that they do, which I think some of them are pretty good, and we have a lot of them here in this building, so I’m excited to see that.”

The Bears — all except Chairman George McCaskey — seem energized about the chance to be on the series.

Here’s what our team had to say when I asked how excited they were about the Bears being chosen for Hard Knocks…

Taylor Doll: I know I will be an outlier on this, but I do not like it. I am not really a fan of Hard Knocks in general for teams, but especially mine. I just think it adds extra attention, eyes, and pressure on a team that already has enough right now and historically hasn’t been able to perform under those conditions. We have seen things start to change in Chicago, and we hope the wins come next, but until they do, I will feel this way. In addition, I have seen how prime-time games and shows like this can twist and turn moments, and I just do not want more drama in Chicago right now. With all of that said, I would like to see how they do it and who they focus on.

Ken Mitchell: Not even slightly. I would have much preferred to limit the distractions while we bring in the new quarterback, but they didn’t ask my opinion.

Mason West: Well, let’s put it this way…

Scene: I was pulling into my driveway listening to Bill’s Adam Rank interview. I disconnected my phone, and my car switched to the radio, where I heard Waddle and Silvy’s breaking news sound bite. I figured I would listen to what it was before going inside. And that’s when they dropped the Tweet from Schefter. I yelled in elation, birds flew away from the nearby tree, and two dogs started barking.

The Bears have never been on Hard Knocks, and now we get to see behind the scenes of what is possibly the most talented offensive roster the Bears have ever had, with storylines galore. Hell yeah, I’m excited.

Jeff Berckes: Scale of 1-10, I’m at an 11. It’s the cherry on top of a great off-season and launches Bears fans into a new era.

Editor: Jeff and a rotating series of guest hosts will be live each night after Hard Knocks airs on our 2nd City Gridiron YouTube channel for a recap and reaction show.

Bill Zimmerman: I think this is great. I hope this continues to be a trend that the Chicago Bears step into modern times and out of the 1950s and embrace the idea that there are more media outlets than the Chicago Tribune. I think the distraction angle is a false narrative pushed by teams who are afraid to allow fans to see behind the curtain. This is a great thing for Bears fans, and they should be excited about it and embrace it.

Editor: Bill spoke with a person close to the situation, and we’ll have more details on Monday.

Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.: I love it. More inside info about my favorite team, even if it’s carefully controlled info, is going to be must-see TV. There’s already a buzz around the franchise thanks to the strong finish to their 2023 seaosn and the rookie quarterback, and a show like this will raise the Q-Rating of several other players and coaches.

Jack Salo: I don’t regularly watch Hard Knocks, so there isn’t a solid foundation there to get excited. That said, I will watch every episode of this as it airs. So, balancing those two gives me a solid 7/10 excitement. What’s more important is national excitement for a team on the rise that fleeced their way to a generational quarterback prospect.

Ryan Droste: My first reaction, honestly, was not positive. My inclination was that this will be a distraction and potentially disrupt the team’s development. We’ll call that my George McCaskey moment. However, the more I thought about it, I realized that we are living in an era where this kind of extra attention is expected. We’ve got one of the biggest college football stars of the modern era, who has lived with a camera in his face constantly, coming into the building as our quarterback — this shouldn’t feel abnormal for him to have a camera crew around. His development is probably the most important factor this year, and I truly don’t think he’ll be adversely affected by the Hard Knocks experience. In fact, he will probably relish the attention and create thousands of new fans via the experience.

Sam Householder: I was excited but not jumping up and down excited. I’ve never watched a full season of Hard Knocks and have seen, tops, 2 or 3 episodes. I’ve never had HBO. I am fascinated to see an inside look at Halas Hall. To see how Matt Eberflus really is inside the building, if he’s as corny and dry as he comes across or if there really is something more that will lead this team. I also want to see the interactions with George McCaskey (I bet he will try to stay away as much as possible) and see inside the meeting rooms.

Josh Sunderbruch: In a weird way, I was annoyed. I have loved all of the 1920 Football Drive stuff, which means I’m basically going to have to watch Hard Knocks, now. I can’t see myself not watching it. I’m not sure how I’ll fit it in, though, but I’m going to have to find a way. More seriously, though, I’m excited. This should be a fun inside look.

Jacob Infante: From a selfish perspective, I’m excited to have something to be invested in this summer. We’ve never had access like this to our favorite NFL team, so from the standpoint of being a fan watching the inner workings of the Bears, I’m very excited.