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NFL Needs to Revamp Pro Bowl Instead of Getting Rid of It

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Mark J. Rebilas -- USA TODAY Sports

Mark J. Rebilas — USA TODAY Sports

In a game that was of no consequence to the NFL season, Team Irvin defeated Team Carter 32-28 in the latest edition of the Pro Bowl.

Not even the diehard football fans care about the outcome of the game, but the Pro Bowl is in the perfect place on the schedule.

There was talk a few years back about doing away with the Pro Bowl. Football fans said it was one of those meaningless All-Star contests that didn’t mean anything. Why even hold it?

Thankfully, the NFL didn’t listen to the naysayers. Instead, it tweaked the Pro Bowl so it had a little bit of fun to it. Instead of Team AFC against Team NFC, the teams were drafted by two former players. Once all the players were selected, the game was played, and then it was on to Super Bowl week.

There used to be a time when the Pro Bowl was played after the Super Bowl. The game was an afterthought then to even the most obsessed football fans. Whoever made the decision to move the Pro Bowl to the week kicking off the Super Bowl was a genius.

The Pro Bowl is in a great place right now. It kicks off the whole week of mind-numbing festivities leading up to the Super Bowl.

If it were up to me, there would be a few more tweaks to the competition. Add a “Punt, Pass and Kick” style competition for the quarterbacks competing in the Pro Bowl. Maybe they compete to see how far a football can be thrown downfield, shot put or javelin style? Maybe a punter boots a ball, with longest kick declared the winner.

There has been talk of a rookie game, where first-year players go up against each other. Who wouldn’t have wanted to see Johnny Manziel fall flat on his face again?

Whatever is done in the future, the Pro Bowl also got something else right. It was announced this week that Hawaii will serve as home base for the Pro Bowl for the next three seasons. As much as the players love playing at the site of the Super Bowl, a trip to Hawaii is a great reward for the players and an economic boom for the state itself.

Until then, the Pro Bowl has been revitalized — think of baseball without the All-Star Game or hockey without the NHL All-Star Game. The fun of the skills competitions, the slam-dunk contests, the Home Run Derby — that’s what adds a little value to these contests.

The NFL is slowly getting it right. But it isn’t quite there yet.

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