At Lady Geeks, we celebrate romance and love in all its forms. Found families, enemies to loves, parental love, we love it all! From Bridgerton to The Pitt, this site has championed fandoms far and wide. However, for the next few weeks, I’m taking us on a journey beyond the city limits of The Gilded Age, traveling northwest to Buffalo, New York, to discuss the found family of my favorite sports team, thanks to Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Buffalo Bills.
Probably outside Star Wars, Star Trek, and the MCU, one of the most widely recognized fandoms are sports fans. My dad was born and raised in Western NY, which meant when he eventually had kids, they would be Buffalo Bills fans, too. As I got older, the term “Bills Mafia” became the name of a fanbase who spent many years in the 2000s-2010s as a bit of a joke. I’m a Bills fan: I can say that, having spent much of my teen years defending my sports preferences to guy friends.
I’ve always had my sports side and my fangirl side. I could engage with Andor by writing reviews about it here. With football, I’d just watch the game, listen to some commentary, and move on with my week. There’s been little crossover. But then HBO announced the new season of Hard Knocks: Training Camp was going to be with the Buffalo Bills. As superstitious as I can get about sports (I call it being sports-stitious), I knew there was no way I couldn’t not engage with this season of Hard Knocks. So here I am — writing about a sports team I’ve always loved but have never had the opportunity to write about.
Every year, Hard Knocks selects a team to follow during training camp, the lead-up to the new football season. Then, the main HBO doc series follows a conference over the course of the regular season; last year, it was the AFC North, which featured the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers. Episode 1 of Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Buffalo Bills is a love letter to a diehard fanbase and a worthy introduction for casual sports fans to a team that almost made it to the Super Bowl. Whether it’s seeing players practice reps or watching players ride around on scooters as Chamillionaire’s “Ridin'” plays overhead, this roster of the Buffalo Bills is exhibiting their culture of authenticity and “being you here.”
The Reigning MVP Bookends the ‘Training Camp’ Season Premiere
The season premiere of Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Buffalo Bills is centered around this year’s MVP—Josh Allen. To many stepping into this world of the Buffalo Bills, Josh Allen is the most recognizable name for a team based in Western New York in this era of professional football. Perhaps you only know Allen because he’s married to Oscar-nominated actress Hailee Steinfeld (which, if that’s you, no judgment whatsoever!) Perhaps you’ve seen his face pop up when conversations around Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes would come up. Regardless, it was smart for Hard Knocks to use him as the entry point for general audiences and casual football fans. The current NFL MVP has a rocket arm, random tidbits about Galileo Galilei, and a golden retriever personality. What’s not to love about him?!
There’s an effortless charm to him as he walks out barefoot to kickstart this season (Did he draw inspiration from former WR Mack Hollins? I think so!) But it’s more than his friendly personality. To Bills fans everywhere, he is the reason why the Buffalo Bills’ window for a Super Bowl run has been open the past few years. Allen has given Bills Mafia hope that any year he’s the quarterback, it could be our year. Based on what was shown in Episode 1, those hopes continue to ring true.
It’s not just this current era of the Bills that Josh Allen is leading. He’s also ushering in the future of the Buffalo Bills, as construction continues for the new stadium. The season premiere ends with Bills co-owner, Terry Pegula, giving Allen a tour of the new stadium: New Highmark Stadium. This is the farewell season at Highmark, formerly named the Rich Stadium and the Ralph Wilson Stadium. While there’s nostalgia for this beloved stadium, the new stadium promises to establish a premier experience for the team and fans for decades to come.
Hard Knocks Spotlights Returning Fan-Favorite Players
Josh Allen might be the most recognizable Buffalo Bill, but he’s far from the only star to the Bills Mafia. A highlight of what Hard Knocks does so well is introducing the general audience to players that the world might not know about yet. For Episode 1, Hard Knocks puts special attention on OT Dion Dawkins and CB Tre’Davious White.
The Shnowman, Dion Dawkins, has made a name for himself in recent years—being an outspoken advocate for the Bills organization, as well as highlighting and honoring offensive linemen. The NFL recently announced that they’re introducing a “Protector of the Year” award, which will honor offensive linemen, and Dawkins should definitely be in contention for that prestige. What’s great about Hard Knocks is that despite how open he is to the public, Episode 1 unveils more of his home life and personal hobbies, which includes drifting. As a fan of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, I definitely approve of this activity! It is nice to see Dawkins with his family and what downtime looks like for him.
And then you have Tre’Davious White. After being away the last two seasons, Tre is back where he belongs as a Bill, and Episode 1 expertly captures this. Bills Mafia has loved him for years, so it was sad to see him as a Ram and Raven. Yet, White’s heart has always belonged in Buffalo. You see it in the way he interacts with the people at Pittsford Ice Cream. You see his dedication to the team as he runs up and down a hill after camp has ended for the day. You see his playful spirit emerge as he reunites with Dawkins’ kids on the sidelines. He’s a seasoned vet who appears completely at ease back at camp after two seasons apart. His quick conversation with GM Brandon Beane really captures it. Buffalo is where he belongs, and we’re happy to have him back.
Training Camp with the Buffalo Bills Introduces Bills Mafia to Incoming Players
Even with the returning faces of Dawkins and White, there are some new faces joining the Bills for camp this year. WR Josh Palmer was one of the big trades from the offseason, having been a Charger for four seasons. Due to this, Episode 1 shows how he and Josh Allen are building their communication. Learning each other’s tells is crucial in order to make the big plays possible in a loud stadium of screaming fans. Seeing them run a play a couple of times and hearing them both express how important communication matters to them in Episode 1 could be the start of a beautiful partnership between Allen and Palmer.
Another new face this season is the Bills’ first-round pick is CB Maxwell Hairston. The University of Kentucky player made a big impression with his speed and athleticism. Unfortunately, within Episode 1, the rookie gets injured. Thankfully, it’s an LCL sprain, so he’s on a week-to-week basis as he recovers. More than that, Hairston has the support of Tre’Davious White and CB Christian Benford, who are seen praying for him after he gets injured. I can’t pretend to know the team culture of every NFL team, but the way the Bills players show up and support each other is special.
Hard Knocks Has Yet to See James Cook
For everything lovely there was to see with my team in good spirits at camp in Episode 1, as a fan, there was a giant elephant present in the room. For the average viewer, I’m sure you didn’t notice anything off, but for Bills Mafia, we’ve been on the edge of our seats all offseason regarding the contract negotiations between the organization and our elite RB James Cook. Quick recap: Cook has been an instrumental part of the Bills’ running game since the back half of the ’23-’24 season. The phrase “Let James Cook” has become a mantra. However, during this offseason, much of the drama surrounding the Bills (besides recent injuries and suspensions) has been whether the Bills would pay the price Cook wants.
Cook’s contract is up at the end of the ’25-’26 season, so it’s not a question of whether or not he’s on the team. I do think it is telling how little we see #4 in this first episode of Hard Knocks. It certainly doesn’t help that fans know he’s skipped two days of practice within the last week. He has cited the reason why as “business”. A major complaint about Hard Knocks as a whole is how involved the organizations are on the editorial side. Maybe we’ll see more of this Cook drama play out in Episode 2, or… maybe the Bills will try to sweep it under the rug on Hard Knocks until the Buffalo Bills and Cook come to a compromise. As a TV fan, drama keeps the plot rolling. As a fan of a sports team from the “City of Good Neighbors,” I’d rather have a boring season of Hard Knocks and everyone hug it out. Only time will tell what I’ll get.
Don’t Stop Billievin’: There’s Something Romantic About Football
At the end of Episode 1, the narrator, Liev Schreiber, says, “Last season’s heartbreak is over.” No, it’s not. It’s never fully gone for a Bills fan. Yet, what Episode 1 of Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Buffalo Bills does do is make me hopeful again for this new season. I’m not thinking about the what-ifs or what could’ve been. In Episode 1, I see a team committed to a culture of “Everybody Eats” and being good neighbors to each other. I see a team hungry for the Lombardi Trophy to bring back to Buffalo. I see the beginnings of what could be a legendary football season, and I’m excited for the rest of you to join me along for the ride.
Before I knew the word “fandom,” I knew football. In fact, I’d say that my first fandom probably was the Buffalo Bills. I was born into a Bills family during the run in the 1990s when the team went to the Super Bowl four years in a row, and subsequently lost each time. I met legendary quarterback Jim Kelly when I was a kid, and he signed a hat for me. I learned the rules of football during what was known as “the drought”—the 17 years between playoff appearances, a time when it was very uncool to say you were a Bills fan. One of the few boyfriends I’ve had, I made him watch a Bills game even though his team was a division rival (it clearly wasn’t meant to be). I fell out of keeping up with the NFL after four years at a college that did not have a football team. I had been in Los Angeles for about a year when the Buffalo Bills drafted Josh Allen. I got the call from my dad, who said, “You should start watching games again.” As time went on, the team started getting better, I started paying attention more, and my friends started to give me less of a hard time for being a Bills fan.
Writing about football is new territory for me. When I asked if I could write these reviews, I wasn’t fully sure what I wanted to write about. All I knew was that I loved this team so much, and I felt the words forming before I even knew what they were. Hard Knocks isn’t the series for the typical demographic here. But there are millions of female football fans who love this sport—the euphoric highs that come from victory, the heartbreak at the end of a playoff run, the attachment to players and their love of the community, and the hope of winning it all. When you have a team that you actively root for, it’s hard not to get swept up in the emotions. To quote Charli XCX, everything is romantic, and that includes football.
What are your thoughts on Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Buffalo Bills Episode 1? Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Warner Bros.