If you’re anything like me, at this time of year, you can practically taste your favorite NFL Sunday snacks, smell that fresh autumn air that’s still too far away, and hear the sound of Scott Hanson on NFL RedZone announcing that football is back.
That’s right, it’s training camp season in the NFL, and that means all 32 teams are following their tried and true traditions as the season approaches.
Top Training Camp Traditions Around the NFL
Teams, fans, and the media alike have developed trademark ways that let us know kickoff is on the horizon. Let’s run through five of the best.
Green Bay Packers Bike Ride
You had to know this one would be on the list. Football isn’t truly here until we see hulking athletes on tiny bikes riding up to camp.
The Green Bay Packers open each training camp with players riding kids’ bikes, while children from the community walk alongside their green and gold companions and hold their helmets.
QB1 has arrived. 👊 pic.twitter.com/EWoM2nxQ8H
— Marques Eversoll (@MarquesEversoll) July 27, 2024
The tradition was started decades ago by the legendary Vince Lombardi in 1958 and has continued annually since. It’s now dubbed the American Family Insurance DreamDrive.
Fan Attendance
Football is for the fans. Without fans, there would be no game.
The NFL’s 32 teams annually let their fans have incredible access to each squad’s preparation for the upcoming season, allowing the most ardent supporters get their eyes on which rookies are poised to break out, what roles free agency newcomers are taking on, and who’s winning the most important position battles.
POV: The best entrance to practice 🙌 #SteelersCamp | @Patrickqueen_ pic.twitter.com/cdvf0AyBrF
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) July 27, 2024
Fan excitement at training camp is seemingly always at a fevered pitch, as supporters pile into bleachers in the hot summer sun to get a glimpse of what their favorite team has in store for the coming year.
Optimism is always running high this time of year (whether justified or not…), no matter the final standings from last January.
Rookie Hype
I’ll admit it — this one is partially on us, the football-loving media. Fans, media, and fantasy football aficionados alike are always in search of the next big thing. Often, that leads to analyzing, overanalyzing, and analyzing again slow-mo reels of rookie wideouts snatching passes off a five-yard out in 1-on-1 drills.
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Sometimes, the hype is justified, and these rookies immediately break out (see: Puka Nacua), and sometimes, the hype proves… premature (see: Quentin Johnston). But hey, we haven’t had real-live football in six months. We’re just excited, ok?
Position Battles
Who’s starting? Who’s riding the bench? Release the unofficial depth charts!
This is one of the few July-August traditions that is actually a harbinger of how things will look in September. NFL players are fighting for precious few game-day snaps, and how those players perform in training camp and the preseason often dictates where they’ll fall in the Week 1 lineup.
Whether it’s two young wideouts duking it out for that starting slot alongside an established superstar or a rookie linebacker making a surprising push to surpass his veteran counterpart for the last starting spot on defense, position battles are often the highlight of the training camp rumor mill.
Coach-Speak
Coaches love to say a lot while saying nothing. It’s one of the first things you learn in the “How to Be an NFL Head Coach 101” handbook.
#Bengals HC Zac Taylor has “a lot of confidence” in his RB room, but he wants to see how things shake out when the pads come on: pic.twitter.com/LHE0djOkdT
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) July 30, 2024
“This guy is in the best shape of his life.”
“That player has made lots of progress with the playbook compared to last year.”
“The staff wants to see how things play out when the pads come on.”
As football fans and pundits, we love it — and we hate it. It’s what fuels us to pay close attention in these humid summer days. We’re always searching for that nugget of truth within the swirl of coach-speak. It’s what we do.