With the future of the Pro Bowl in constant jeopardy and its popularity always in doubt, the NFL addressed the future of the game at league meetings in Phoenix on Tuesday. Among the topics discussed was changing the way the teams are assembled.
NFL considers further changes to Pro Bowl
The league discussed the future of the Pro Bowl at the annual meetings on Tuesday, looking at new ways to assemble teams.
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The Pro Bowl has been divided up as an AFC vs. NFC since 1970, but that might change in the near future. One option discussed was having captains pick their own teams through a draft. The NHL has operated its All-Star Game under this format since 2011. And while the draft itself makes for an interesting sideshow, it won't do anything to change the quality of the product on the field.
This is just the latest attempt to spark interest in the exhibition all-star game that has become the butt of many jokes for the lack of effort and high-scoring games it provides. In 2010 the NFL moved the Pro Bowl from Hawaii to Miami, and moved it up from the week after the Super Bowl to the week before. They moved the game back to Honolulu in 2011, but have kept it the week between the Conference Championship games and the Super Bowl; interest level has not increased.
In 2012 the big “fan-friendly” move was to let players tweet from the sidelines during the games. Surprisingly, this did not improve the quality of play. A draft would be just another cutesy move that would provide a modicum of entertainment, but if the NFL wants to “fix” the Pro Bowl, they’ll need to go a lot further.
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