Semi-Pro Bowl

The NFL is "King" when it comes to sports in America but the Pro Bowl comes in dead last compared to the All Star games from rival leagues

The verdict is in and after yet another Pro Bowl it's not favorable grade for the NFL.

On Sunday January 31, 2010 in Miami, Florida the NFL's version of an All Star game played out and for yet another year the performance was mediocre at best (and that's being nice). The AFC (American Football Conference) and NFC (National Football Conference) teams played to a 41-34 AFC win. However, to the chagrin of many this game was not a game at all but more like a soft scrimmage and most regular NFL viewers found themselves watching Lady Ga Ga and Elton John opening the 2010 Grammy Awards as a reprieve from the Pro Bowl game.

With over 30 players being selected to the Pro Bowl but declining the invitation or playing in next weeks' Super Bowl it was like watching a group of reserves playing flag football as opposed to an All Star game. This year the game preceded the Super Bowl for the first time in its history and was played in a location other than Honolulu, Hawaii for the first time since 1979.

Firstly the game being played in Miami was a change and a good effort by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodel for a change of venue, but one can argue "If it aint broke than don't fix it". The change of scenery was the wrong change to make as it resulted in many players saying thank you but no thanks to this years' contest. The aforementioned as well as the Super Bowl participants being unavailable for this years' game just led to an uninteresting, unenthused & unwatchable product. The defensive linemen and offensive linemen appeared to be contestants on 'Dancing with the Stars" as they danced around one another at arm's length.

Another problem with the game is defenses are not allowed to play any press man coverage giving quarterbacks and receivers an unfair advantage, this coupled with the fact that you can't touch the quarterback at all just leads to a completely watered down version of flag football in pads.

Which may actually be a good change for the Pro Bowl, since they are essentially playing touch football just make it a flag football game and make the highlight of the weekend a serious skills challenge with an accompanying 100 yard dash to crown the NFL's Fastest Man. This gives the fans an opportunity to see competitive football, albeit flag, and gives the players a chance to put their varied skill sets on display without the risk of injury. Money, injury and non guaranteed contracts are the underlying issues with the players (and I can't blame them) and the reason for the lackluster play in the Pro Bowl.

As it stands now the NFL falls far behind the MLB which has by far the best all star weekend, the NHL which comes in second with the game and skills challenges and the NBA which has various rookie and celebrity games and skills contests that precede their game. Next year the game returns to Hawaii for two consecutive years and then may move to a site within the coastal United States again which again may not be a welcomed change embraced by the players.

Therefore if Commissioner Goodel is considering any changes to the Pro Bowl just leave the location as is and focus on the game itself and its format. As "King of the Hill" fans expect a bit more from their beloved NFL than a contest with a good number of good yet unimpressive players playing touch football with pads; the NFL may be "King" but there is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to its lackluster version of an All Star game.

Sources:

http://www.nfl.com