With Seahawks on ‘Hard Knocks’ we looked at 5 most viral moments

The Seahawks are the subjects of this year’s season of “Hard Knocks” on HBO.

The show is currently being filmed at training camp and the first episode will air on Tuesday at 9 p.m. The show began in 2001 with the Baltimore Ravens, and this season will be the Seahawks’ first appearance, and the first time the show has followed the reigning Super Bowl champions since the first season with the Ravens.

The show has produced numerous iconic moments throughout its 25 years on air, and time will tell if the Seahawks will enter those ranks.

Here are five of the most memorable moments from “Hard Knocks” history.

5. Bob Wylie hates stretching

Bob Wylie, the Cleveland Browns’ offensive line coach, was featured in the 2018 season complaining about stretching. At first, he’s complimentary because he can sit down while the players stretch, but then spends minutes ranting about how stretching is a waste of time. 

“Did you know World War I and World War II — all those guys that fought in that war, right — they did pushups, jumping jacks, situps, climbed the wall and ran. But none of this fancy (expletive). And they won two world wars. Two world wars! By doing jumping jacks, pushups and situps. Two world wars. You think they were worried when they were running across Normandy about (expletive) stretching? Are you kidding me?” Wylie said.

The 2018 Browns went 7-8-1, their best record since 2007, and a major improvement from an 0-16 campaign in 2017. Wylie’s contract with the team was not renewed after the season and he spent the next few years with the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League.

4. Antonio Cromartie struggles to name all of his kids

The New York Jets provided a slew of content in their 2010 “Hard Knocks” season. In a cutaway interview, cornerback Antonio Cromartie spoke about focusing on being a husband and father off the field. A clip showed one of his young daughters running toward him, giggling. 

He then began listing the names and ages of all of his children. He missed one of the names and hesitated on a few as well. At the time there were eight Cromarties listed, now there are 14 Cromartie kids. Cromartie, his wife Terricka Cason and their six kids together were featured on a USA show called “The Cromarties” which ran for one season from 2017-18.

Cromartie re-signed with the Jets in 2011 with a four-year deal worth $32 million. He played for the team until his release in 2014.

3. Vince Wilfork’s overalls

When the Houston Texans were featured in 2015, Vince Wilfork took the opportunity to embrace the Texas spirit and showed up to practice in nothing but overalls, a cowboy hat and boots. Wilfork’s entrance earned immediate laughter from his teammates as he kept a straight face. Cornerback Kareem Jackson said he hadn’t seen shorts like Wilfork’s in a while “except for on babies.” Even coach Bill O’Brien couldn’t keep in his laughs as Wilfork did the walk-through in his getup. 

Wilfork wore custom overalls with his name on the back to play in JJ Watt’s charity softball game in 2016. He later spoke to DeMarcus Ware for a Texans online video series and said that he has a 100-acre ranch and that’s how he dresses when he bales hay, feeds his animals and fishes.

The Texans went 9-7 that year, winning the AFC South, and lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Wilfork and the Texans won the AFC South again in 2016 and then the two-time Super Bowl champion announced his retirement and signed a one-day contract with the New England Patriots in 2017. 

2. Ravens rookie talent show

The Baltimore Ravens starred in the debut season of “Hard Knocks” in 2001 and made their mark right away. The rookie talent show featured impressions of several players and coaches, most notably Tim Johnson’s impression of Shannon Sharpe. Johnson had been signed as an undrafted free agent and didn’t play for the Ravens that season but still has a legacy with the team. He mimicked Sharpe’s voice, mannerisms and dress with a UNC bucket hat pulled down almost covering his eyes. The impression left the team cracking up, with Sharpe himself jumping around the room and laughing with Ray Lewis who was next up to be impersonated.

The Ravens entered the season as the reigning Super Bowl champions and wound up finishing 10-6. The team lost in the AFC divisional round to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sharpe and Lewis were both Pro Bowlers.

1. Rex Ryan’s “let’s go eat a (expletive) snack” speech

The Jets’ 2010 season featured more than just Cromartie. Another scene shows the team schedule for Aug. 26’s day of camp. The schedule lays out their sets of meetings for the day. At 8 o’clock, the defense and offense have separate meetings, then at 8:30 a full team meeting. Finally, the plan for 9 just says “snack.” Coach Rex Ryan addresses the team in their meeting with an impassioned speech, saying he can’t be the only one leading the team. He rails on the team, saying, “What are we waiting on? Do you want it or not?” He addresses team behavior, saying, “There’s a difference between having fun and being a jackass.” He claims that the team “can be a world champion but not like this.” 

Ryan finishes his speech by saying, “Do we understand what the (expletive) I want to see tomorrow? Let’s go eat a (expletive) snack.” He walks out the room silently as players begin to get up and follow him. 

That Jets team went 11-5. They finished second in the AFC East and their season ended against the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game. 

Honorable mentions: Rams’ William Hayes believes in mermaids but not dinosaurs (2016), Lions coach Dan Campbell’s passionate speeches (2022) and Texan JJ Watt’s intense workouts (2015).