Pro Bowl Now Officially a Joke

This weekend is the Pro Bowl, and the hype around the game couldn't have ever been lower than it is this year. This year is the first year the Pro Bowl has been held before the Super Bowl. It's usually a week or two after the Super Bowl. Also, this year is the first year in a long time that the Pro Bowl has been held on the Continental United States. It's usually in Hawaii but is in Miami this year. These are both attempts by the NFL to make the Pro Bowl relevant in the eyes of football fans. But, in my opinion, these changes are having the opposite effect and are making the Pro Bowl officially a joke.

First of all, I'm just going to go out on a limb and say that moving the Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl is the stupidest thing the NFL has ever done. Sure, they wanted to make it earlier so people would still be in the football mood before the Super Bowl, which would make them richer and would, IN THEORY, make the game more popular. But they couldn't be further from the truth. For starters, the Saints and Colts Pro Bowl players can't play in the game because they are in the Super Bowl. This sucks, because when a team makes it to the Super Bowl it usually means they have great, Pro Bowl players on their team.

Secondly, not having the Pro Bowl in Hawaii is stupid as well. Players look forward to going to Hawaii at the end of the season, not Miami. Sure Miami is a great city, but the Pro Bowl and Hawaii were made for each other. It's fun to watch a Pro Bowl game in Hawaii. Seeing the coaches wearing necklacees and the players with a calm cool attitude in the middle of a Hawaii day. This is one thing I sure will miss when I watch this year's Pro Bowl.

You know the Pro Bowl has fallen when players are declining invites to play in the game. Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger are just a couple who declined invites but there were others. Brett Favre likely won't be playing in the game. It used to be that it was an honor to play in the game, but now players are treating it like it is a joke. And, as far as I'm concerned, it is. Sure I'm still going to watch it, but I couldn't be more disappointed in the NFL than I am now.

"Above: Pro Bowl logo, http://mysportsjournalism.com/"