Surprised to Love My Husband’s Favorite Show, Thanks to Simone Biles

Football? Not really my thing. But when my husband insisted we watch the premiere of this season’s Hard Knocks, I decided to give it a shot. This long-running HBO series documents the pre-season training camp of an NFL team each year. This season, it’s all about the Chicago Bears. They happen to be my hometown team, even if football isn’t a major interest of mine. “Fine, I’ll watch,” I relented, having caught up on my Housewives episodes. To my surprise, the first episode turned out to be quite pleasant.

One of the Bears’ players, Jonathan Owens, is married to none other than Simone Biles, the world-renowned gymnast. Hard Knocks is essentially the Love Island of American football, featuring storylines with an impressively quick turnaround. The events in last night’s episode actually took place just last week. This means, Owens was about to head to Paris to support Biles in her Olympic exploits.

In a tender moment, Owens packs for his trip to Paris, makes sure to bring a football, and FaceTimes Biles before his flight. He shows her their three shared dogs and she playfully advises him on getting to the airport on time, while being careful about international liquid carry-on rules. Eleven-time Olympic medalists—they’re just like us!

Despite her remarkable status, seeing the everyday human aspects of Biles’ life, and how Owens balances supporting her while handling his own physical and mental pressures, makes for an engaging watch. Owens even knows her floor routine by heart and keeps track of her points while watching from the sidelines.

When it comes to the balance beam, Owens admits he can’t fathom how Biles manages to do anything on that narrow piece of equipment, a sentiment I completely share about football. With four episodes left this season, I’ll be tuning in, hoping to see more of Biles’ post-Olympics glow and, maybe, even join in supporting the Bears. Go team (USA)!

Source: HBO