Pro Bowl....NO Bowl!

How many Pro Bowl parties have you hosted or attended? (I’ll give you some time to think about it)  I’ve never been excited to watch a Pro Bowl, never watched the whole game, and never understood the “why” behind it. There is no incentive for players to go out there and play even half-heartedly. Then on top of that, it’s the week before Super Bowl. What’s the point in me voting for a player to play in the Pro Bowl whom I won’t even get to see in the Pro Bowl because he’s in the Super Bowl???

Well…NFL commissioner Roger Goodell must have finally read one my many letters I’ve sent him over the years because serious consideration is being taken into suspending the Pro Bowl! Goodell has previously voiced his displeasure with the lack of competitiveness in recent Pro Bowl games and now he might be turning those words into action.


Goodell believes the diminishing quality of play reflects poorly on the league and its players. Sources say Goodell does not hold any ill-will toward the players' lackluster effort because of player safety issues.

In February Goodell said that eliminating the game was under consideration. In an appearance on ESPN Radio's "Mike and Mike in the Morning" on Super Bowl Sunday, he said the league must address the quality of the game and even said he would consider eliminating it if it can't be improved upon.

The AFC beat the NFC 59-41 in the Pro Bowl last year; drawing boos from the crowd for the lack of effort and competitiveness.

Here's some of what Chris Mortensen had to say this morning on Mike and Mike in the Morning on the matter:

"The league is moving toward suspending the Pro Bowl, possibly this year. As one person told me last night, it is DOA, Dead on Arrival. At the same time, the league, I believe, will instruct teams to continue to put Pro Bowl incentives in contracts; if players have Pro Bowl incentives, to go ahead and pay them so they don't have a problem with the union.

"Right now, the Pro Bowl is on the calendar for the week before the Super Bowl, but there's no game site that is listed, if you look at it closely. The reason why is, after a lot of discussion, I think this commissioner Roger Goodell and other league people, and even some of the players, are basically saying, as Aaron Rodgers criticized last year's performance, that there's no reason to play in the Pro Bowl."

Spotted at | ESPN

Like me on Facebook