HBO does a great job with pretty much all of their television shows, especially the dramas. Look at the list of great shows, and it's a Hall of Fame of great television. One show that has been on for years, but rarely gets the credit it deserves is Hard Knocks. Maybe it's because the show follows a NFL team, and not enough people are into football. Or perhaps people don't think NFL players can have the depth of a Tony Soprano or an Omar.
On Tuesday night's episode of Hard Knocks all of that changed. Anyone who has watched a season of the show has witnessed a struggling rookie, or a vet trying to hold on be let go, and have to "turn in his playbook" But on Tuesday night, the nation witnessed the end of one of the most flamboyant NFL careers in history when Miami Dolphins Coach Philbin was forced to let Chad Johnson go.
As everyone knows Chad Johnson was involved in an altercation with his (soon to be former) wife. Johnson was arrested for allegedly headbutting her, and he spent the night in jail, before being released on bail on Sunday. On Monday evening, Chad Johnson was brought into the Miami Dolphins training facility where he heard the news about the future of his NFL career.
HBO announced on Monday they would air the footage of Chad Johnson being let go. And why not? It should have made for great TV, and boy did it ever. I knew Johnson was fired, and knew the outcome of the scene going in. However, that did not prepare me for the emotion I felt while watching it all unfold before my eyes.
If it was real or another Ocho Cinco act, I do not know. What I do know is I could feel the emotion coming through the screen, and I could feel the pain as if you could see the light going out inside of Chad's head, and on his career.
In the end, HBO was correct this made for amazing television, and one of the most compelling scenes I've ever seen.
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