Pro Bowl, be gone – By Colin Davern, Contributor
The Pro Bowl, the NFL’s version of an all-star game, has been around since 1950. The game was once a fun event to watch with the players showing off their talents. Now, it’s a snoozefest where most of the players don’t try at all, and care about the game as much as the dwindling number of fans who watch it.
With this season’s game being cancelled due to COVID-19, it’s time for the league to do away with the game altogether.
Not only do the players not care all that much about their performances, but half the originally invited players don’t even make the trip. Nobody on either Super Bowl team participates, and many of the others just don’t care to gear up for a useless game to risk injury. The honor of being named to the Pro Bowl roster means more than actually playing in it.
With so many subs playing in the game due to original invitees passing on playing, it removes the original point, which is to showcase all the best players in the league playing in the same game. The quality of play is also dreadful once the game actually starts. The game is practically two-hand touch football, with players trying to avoid getting hurt more than actually playing.
One of the last chances the Pro Bowl had at relevance was the game being played in Hawaii. Playing the game out there changed a lot, with the selected players having a legit reason to go play in it. Who’d say no to playing a football game in the Aloha State?
Before the 2016 season, the NFL announced that the Pro Bowl would be coming back to the mainland U.S., which effectively made it a useless affair. The game has been played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando the past few years, and it was going to be played at the brand new Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas before the pandemic. The odds are slim that this will help make the game worth watching again. The city already has an NFL team, so it’s not like the participating players won’t ever play there anyway, unlike Hawaii.
All-star games across the sports industry have seen a huge drop in popularity in recent years, and the Pro Bowl has been the strongest example of this. It’s time to scrap the game few will miss watching.
Keep it! – By Brandon Younan, Contributor
Although the Pro Bowl is highly criticized, it is one of the most fun football games to watch throughout the entire season.
Many fans hate that it is played at the end of the season, fearing it will cause more injuries. However, we have to remember that in this violent sport, injuries happen often, and adjustments are necessary to keep players safe. That is the same reason that the Pro Bowl doesn’t typically feature players that will participate in the Super Bowl.
The Pro Bowl also lengthens the NFL season. As fans, we get to see our teams 16 times a year unless they make it to the playoffs, and even then, there is a chance that your team will be eliminated.
The Pro Bowl fixes that issue. More times than not, your team will have at least one Pro Bowl selection, allowing you to see them one more time in a relaxed and fun environment.
It should also be noted that the offensive creativity in a Pro Bowl game is unmatched. We get to see all of the different players line up together and put on a show. Fans get to see wide receivers throwing deep passes; defensive players lining up on offense; offensive players on defense; and different quarterbacks possibly coming in on the same drive to switch things up. The possibilities are endless, and it is fun to watch a free-flowing football game.
Another reason fans should watch the Pro Bowl is that we get to hear players “mic’d up,” and who doesn’t enjoy hearing their favorite player trash-talking the guy lining up across from them?
Pro Bowl selections highlight the great season each of these players had, and why should we take that away from them?
Although there could be some changes made that would bring more purpose to the Pro Bowl, if the players are happy and excited to be there, that’s all that matters. We should be just as happy and excited to watch them.
