The good people at Max have gone and done it, turning their venerable and exceedingly binge-worthy Hard Knocks documentary series into a year-round affair. Time was, you’d get a few weeks of training camp, maybe a peek at the preseason. Now? There are so many behind-the-scenes Hard Knocks entries that it’s like they’ve handed us an all-access pass to the entire NFL calendar. With this new setup, Max decided to gift us a 365-day view of the NFL. And let me tell you, it’s beyond addictive. You kick things off with the Giants in the spring, wheeling and dealing in free agency. Then you sweated it out with the Bears in summer training camp. And just when you think you’ve had your fill, they start serving up the whole AFC North division’s worth of drama during the season.

I’m a Pittsburgh guy. Born and bred Steelers fan, black and gold running in my veins. But Hard Knocks does something to you. It makes you care about teams you never thought you would. It’s like when I was a kid, playing Tecmo Super Bowl on Nintendo. I’d start a season as the Steelers, sure, but before long I’d be fascinated by the Oilers, the Giants, the Falcons — teams I’d never given a second thought to before.

Let’s start with the Bears. They’ve got a new face of the franchise in Caleb Williams, the hotshot quarterback from USC. The cameras are there when he gets the call on draft day. You can see the guy’s eyes light up, knowing he’s about to step into the spotlight of one of the league’s most passionate fanbases. And you know what? It worked. The Bears just kicked off their season with a win over the Titans. I turned on NFL RedZone and found myself cheering for them. That’s what Hard Knocks does to you.

It reminds me of the old Tecmo days. You’d pick a team and suddenly know every player on the roster. Lawrence Taylor wasn’t just a name anymore. He was ROLB #56, with his 92% rating and those monster stats: 75 hitting power, 69 maximum speed, and 56 rushing power. You felt like you knew these guys personally. Hard Knocks does that same thing but with real flesh-and-blood players. Only you’re not just seeing Williams’s arm strength and accuracy ratings. You’re watching him interact with teammates, seeing how he handles the pressure of being the No. 1 pick. It’s like you’re right there in the locker room with him.

Even better, because you’ve seen so much up close and personal, it’s not just about the marquee stars. Take the backup quarterback battle among Austin Reed, Tyson Bagent, and Brett Rypien. Without this coverage, these guys would’ve been faceless Tecmo Super Bowl “QB2s” with mediocre stats. Now you’re seeing their struggles, their hopes, their families — Rypien is the nephew of Super Bowl MVP quarterback Mark Rypien, while Bagent is the son of all-time arm wrestling great Travis Bagent — and rooting them on from the comfort of your couch. It’s like when you’d play Tecmo Super Bowl as the Oilers and suddenly care about Cody Carlson, the backup to Warren Moon after Moon went down with an injury.

Take the Giants’ show. This wasn’t your typical training camp fare. Hard Knocks meticulously took us through the entire offseason: free agency, the scouting combine, draft preparations — the works. The big story? Saquon Barkley’s free agency. Talk about drama. One minute, Giants fans are in an uproar because he’s signed with the Eagles — Barkley’s hometown team and their biggest rival. The next, Barkley’s on X saying the Giants never even made him an offer. But then Hard Knocks drops a bombshell. They show general manager Joe Schoen saying he offered Barkley a three-year deal worth $12.5 million a year with $25 million guaranteed. That’s almost identical to what the Eagles gave him. It’s the kind of behind-the-scenes reveal that changes how you see the whole situation.

We also saw how the Giants dealt with losing Xavier McKinney, one of the best safeties in the league, to the Packers. We watched Schoen wheel and deal at the Senior Bowl, trying to trade for linebacker Brian Burns. There was a moment where Schoen’s talking to the Panthers general manager, former Pro Bowler Dan Morgan, and you can see the art of the deal in action. It’s the kind of inside information that used to be locked away in the war room or speculated about by reporters who either had inside access or made it up.

I still think back to the show’s 2012 season, the one that hooked me, watching East Carolina great David Garrard struggle to find a spot with the Dolphins. Here was one of my all-time favorite college players, as well as a guy who’d been to the Pro Bowl, and now he’s waxing philosophical about getting cut, about the end of the line. It sticks with you and makes you think about how fleeting it all is, even for the best of them. Garrard was the equivalent of “QB1” in Tecmo Super Bowl parlance once upon a time. Now he had lost his fight for a backup slot, and you were right there with him, feeling every moment of uncertainty.

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Back to the Bears, you had stories such as safety Jonathan Owens packing for Paris, off to watch his wife, gymnast Simone Biles, compete in the Olympics. It’s a reminder that these players have lives beyond the field — dreams and responsibilities that don’t show up in any stat line. All of that changes how you watch the games. When the Bears opened their preseason against the Texans, you weren’t just seeing nameless rookies trying to make the team. You were rooting for guys such as Austin Reed, who you’ve seen sweating through drills, nervously waiting for his chance to impress.

For a lifelong Steelers fan like me, it’s strange to care this much about the Bears, the Giants, or any team with a logo on both sides of their helmet. But that’s the magic of this long-running franchise. It makes these other franchises feel a little bit like your team. Hard Knocks gives us a connection to these athletes that goes beyond stats and highlights. It’s not always pretty — witness rookie Canadian tackle Theo Benedet, the rare player from a college north of the border, stripping down to his speedo during a team meeting to belt out “God Bless the USA.” And as with watching Garrard getting the unkindest cut a decade ago, it’s not always fun. But it’s real — and that makes for really good reality television and a better NFL fan experience.

Oliver Bateman is a journalist, historian, and co-host of the What’s Left? podcast. Visit his website: www.oliverbateman.com.