In case anyone cares, there is a football “game” on today.
I use the term “game” loosely because I have long been of the opinion that the Pro Bowl doesn’t even remotely resemble a NFL game and that it serves no real useful purpose other than to generate money for a league that according to all indications, is doing good financially.
Why do I dislike the Pro Bowl? I’ll give you five reasons.
1. It’s not a true All-Star game.
The whole purpose of an all-star game is to feature the game’s top players. Yet every year, numerous players withdraw for one reason or another – injury, other plans, etc. This year, with the game being played the week before the Super Bowl, marquis players like Peyton Manning and Drew Brees have to withdraw since they’ll be playing in the one that counts the following week.
So the question begs to be asked: how can the NFL justify charging full-scale admission and promoting an “all-star event” when a fair number of the all-stars don’t even bother to show up?
2. It’s a hazard to players’ health.
Yes, yes, I know that the Pro Bowl is nothing more than a glorified exhibition game in which we see Football 101, but so too are exhibition games. And just as players can blow out knees or break bones in exhibition games, what makes the NFL powers that be any more confident that someone won’t suffer a serious injury participating in a game that’s really not necessary?
3. The game means nothing.
Ok, maybe it means something to the players who are voted in or who actually get to play as they probably get some time of incentive in their regular contract on top of the few thousand dollars – $45K for players on the winning team, $22.5K for players on the losing team – to participate.
And yes, they and their families get an all-expenses paid vacation. But when you break it down, what does the game really mean? Does it help anyone’s stats? Does it give the teams who send the most players to the Pro bowl any kind of advantage or incentive, such as maybe an extra draft pick? Does it help players like the giants, who will be coached by the Dallas coaching staff, their NFC East rival, with next year? No, no, and no.
4. It delays the inevitable.
Some players are just so giddy to be participating in the Pro Bowl that they’ll delay surgical procedures just to experience the full range of perks. Take for instance Dallas defensive linemen DeMarcus Ware and Jay Ratliff, both of whom are delaying off-season surgeries so they can participate in the Pro Bowl.
Now granted, neither surgery is considered major – Ratliff will have his elbow fixed while Ware will have bone spurs removed from his left foot. So maybe it’s me, but if I’m an athlete and I know I need surgery, I’d probably want to have tit done as quickly as possible after my season ends so I can get back that much sooner when my team actually needs me.
5. The Selection Process.
I’ve had numerous conversations with current and former players about the Pro Bowl both on and of the record, and the general consensus is that the Pro Bowl voting is a joke. The biggest gripe these players had was with the fan involvement.
One player pointed to 2008 when about a dozen or so members of Washington won the fan vote, a result of the Redskins encouraging their fans to vote for their own players instead of the best players.
Another player, an offensive lineman, wondered if the fans who voted really understood what separates a good offensive lineman from a great one. Still another current player opined that the Pro bowl voting is a popularity contest. He pointed out that in order to truly determine who the all-stars are, a defensive end, for example, would have to go against every offensive tackle in the league every year in order to truly distinguish who the best ones are considering that every player likes to think he can defeat his competition.
Another former player wondered how someone like Washington’s London Fletcher, a true All-star, never was voted in on the first go-round. Fletcher is indeed going to be participating in this year’s Pro Bowl, but as an alternate who took the place of someone who had to withdraw, which brings me to another player’s opinion about the replacement process in which he stated that he would never attend the Pro Bowl as an alternate because he viewed it was a slap in the face.
So what to do about the Pro Bowl then? I’m not naïve enough to see that the whole point of the game is for the NFL to make more money from the television contract and the sale of tickets and merchandise. I also realize that the game isn’t going to go away unless there’s more of a push from the players and the owners to get rid of it, and sadly, I suspect it’s going to take a catastrophic event for tit to come to that.
So here’s my solution. If I’m in charge of event planning, I issue an invitation to all of the “Pro Bowl” players and I have them participate in the annual NFL Experience event that runs all week leading up to the Super Bowl (and which I would venture to guess is as big of a money maker as anything). I also honor those who earned the nomination before the game instead of having some mini concert from some self-promoting “artist” with a new album coming out.
That’s my take. You can agree or disagree if you want; quite frankly, I’m not interested in engaging in an argument with anyone over it as last I checked, I am entitled to my opinion. And speaking of opinions, I went to Twitter to see what some of my followers thought about the Pro Bowl. ...
Travellingcari: Will definitely be watching Pro Bowl, but no way near as fun as last year. I live in Hawaii and weekend was a blast.
PaulBrunoSD: I will be watching even though they should have left it till Sunday after Super Bowl. Players risk injuries before the big game.
Agiv: Not watching the Pro Bowl.
Gregwilsonpr: Not watching Pro Bowl. Not real football.
DuncLuciak: No thanks. Pro Bowl reeks.
Charlesnchaos: Not I.
Cawilkes: Count me out
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Post Script.I've spent this space talking about why I disagree with the concept of the pro bowl, but I'd also like to comment about Minnesota offensive lineman Bryant McKinnie, who, for those not aware, accepted the league's invitation to play in the game, skipped a couple of practices allegedly because he was out partying all night, and then was kicked off the squad.
I realize that many NFL players might share some of my views on the Pro bowl and it not being a real game. However, what is most disappointing about the McKinnie story is that he made a commitment and failed to honor it. If he was that injured, as he claimed to be, he should have declined the invitation right from the onset instead of taking a spot and wasting the NFL's money to fly to Miami.
NFL players don't always realize it, but they're role models for their fans., especially the younger ones. If they don't want to be role models and they don't want to take this responsibility seriously, they shouldn't be in the game. McKinnie's total disrespect for not only the league but for his teammates on the NFC squad is a disgrace and I can only hope that he experiences some sort of repercussion other than not receiving the paycheck that came with being a part of the team.
