Once upon a time, the Pro Bowl, also known as the NFL‘s all-star game, was fun. It took place a week after the Super Bowl, and served as a nice cool-down before the off-season. There were fun side-activities like throwing and catching competitions, and it was cool to see dream match-ups. Peyton Manning and Tony Gonzalez were never on the same team during the regular season, but they were a dynamic duo in Hawaii. Things have changed.
The Pro Bowl Needs to Go
Location
For the best part of the last thirty years, the Pro Bowl was an AFC vs. NFC game that took place in Hawaii. Young players were gifted a free vacation with their families so they could go play some laid-back football. Now, that’s not the case.
Not only is it not a AFC vs. NFC matter anymore, but the game isn’t even in Hawaii. Over the last few years, the game has been played in Florida and Arizona. No offense to either of those places, but they’re not Hawaii. How are fans of the Miami Dolphins or Arizona Cardinals supposed to get excited to play a meaningless game in their own stadium?
Pointless Game
The Pro Bowl has always been meaningless, but at some point, there was some semblance of significance. It was AFC vs. NFC, and players were able to defend their conference. It’s true that most players couldn’t care less, but at least there was a story. Why should players risk their bodies playing a game that means nothing? That leads to the next subject.
Star Power
The games would be a lot better if any of the NFL’s superstars actually wanted to go. Every year, the NFL’s elite are voted into the all-star game, and every year, they opt not to go. Last season, 86 men were voted “Pro Bowlers”. When it was all said and done, including replacements, the total ended up being around 133, the highest total ever.
Tom Brady has been voted into the all-star game 11 times, but he hasn’t even shown up at the event since 2005. You’re not actually seeing the best players in a fantasy football game, you’re seeing the fourth string alternates, which have included the likes of Andy Dalton and Alex Smith.
The Voting Process
The voting process for the Pro Football Hall of Fame is awful. In order for a legend to be immortalised, a group of sportswriters, none of whom have ever taken a snap in the NFL, have to mostly agree. This process is so flawed that legends like Ken Stabler were kept out of the hall of fame for decades because a couple of writers had personal issues.
As terrible as that is, the Pro Bowl voting process is even worse. All a fan has to do in order to vote for their favorite player is to type a hashtag on social media. They can do it on Twitter, in the comment section of Instagram, or by going through the NFL.com website.
So instead of getting the best of the best, the Pro Bowl is nothing more than a popularity contest. If a fan were so inclined, they could vote for their favorite players until the keys fell off their computer. This isn’t the best, or even a good way to determine who the best players in the NFL are. The Associated Press already release All-Pro teams, there isn’t really a demand for a Pro Bowl game anymore.
Ratings
Despite outdrawing the playoffs of some other major leagues, the ratings on the pro bowl are declining. Every year, the ratings get worse and worse, and despite their success, eventually someone will pull the plug. The most popular man in the world, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, even has issues with the game, saying “I think our biggest standard has to be what we expect from the NFL and what our fans expect from the NFL. If it’s not quality, it’s not a real competition that we can be proud of, we have to do something different. That’s my number one priority right now. I’m open to new ideas, I’m open to how we do it, but it’s not the kind of game that I think we want to continue to have in its current format, based on what we saw last week.”
In summation, the Pro Bowl is the worst all-star game in sports, despite what the numbers say. The TV networks are still making money, so the game might not go away any time soon, but it absolutely should. It’s a shadow of what it once was, and even then, it wasn’t all that impressive.
