With the Super Bowl being played last weekend, everyone thinks the NFL season is over. But this weekend, the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl game was played in Hawaii.
The NFL’s all-star game falls into the same trap as the NBA’s, NHL’s, and MLB’s does, where no one watches nor do they care about it. It is only a reward to the players who have had an exceptional individual year.
The game itself is pretty boring. The coaches of the game are the losing coaches in the AFC and NFL Championship games. These coaches run their offense, meaning only a few formations and plays go into the offense. There are no blitzes allowed by the defense, meaning the teams can only rush four players. There are no block attempts on extra points or field goals, and usually no blocked punts (one in 2004). When a player gets hit with force, the play is frowned upon.
Players are picked to go to the Pro Bowl by the fans and based on their individual performances that year. Unfortunately, more and more players every year decide to opt out of the game and do not show up. Big name players such as Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Brett Favre and LaDainian Tomlinson decide not to go, either due to injury or to personal reasons.
Unfortunately, you cannot play the game in the middle of the season like most of the other all star games due to the chance of injury. Skill challenges are done, but often not shown or shown at difficult times. There is no purpose for the game, like there is in the MLB (World Series home field advantage for the winning side).
The NFL is in a tough spot. Out of all the professional sports, football has the greatest chance of injury. There are no incentives for one side to win, and the game is played after the season, meaning people forget the game is on most of the time. While the fan doesn’t want to see injuries in a fun game, the fan does want to see football played at its best, with only the best players in the league.