No matter how you slice it, the Pro Bowl is not entertaining. Professional football is a grueling, purely physical sport that you can’t half play. For the most part, the players are banged up and exhausted from a long season and are not willing to duke it out for an added 60 minutes. Football has often been referred to as physical chess and anyone who follows the NFL closely knows how important play calling is to the success of any team. In the Pro Bowl, The linemen aren’t used to playing together, the receivers and QB’s are out of sync and vanilla play calls make it even less entertaining. No amount of players mic’d up or sideline interviews will make the on-field product any better. However, I think I may have found a solution.
Instead of having a full 11-on-11 game, why not make it flag football? 86 players made the Pro Bowl this year. Get 8 team captains, have a draft (just like the NHL did this season) and have a full day, 7 on 7 flag football tournament. All the players should be mic’d up and considering they won’t be in helmets and pads, the players will be more recognizable to fans and it might create a better experience for fans. The draft would be entertaining (I know I would be curious to see how guys draft) and let’s be honest, who wouldn’t enjoy seeing Michael Oher in coverage on Nick Mangold. They could make it interesting by having a big prize for the winning team, although I don’t think it should be a monetary reward.
The NFL needs to stop trying to make excuses as to why their all-star game is bad. It is actually a testament to how physically demanding professional football is. You can’t play half-assed and if you do, not only is it boring, but guys can get hurt. The potential for seeing Tom Brady picked off by Peyton Manning should be enough to sell this new concept.
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