The NFL Pro Bowl is in Las Vegas, starting on Feb. 2 and ending on Feb. 5. The Pro Bowl is an annual event to highlight the NFL”s best players. Players are nominated every year by a committee depending on how they played during the season, and every year the selections are questioned by fans. 

     This year, fans were partially upset about the Pro Bowl selections. Most of the fans were disappointed in someone not making the Pro Bowl but mostly agreed with the selection of players that made it, but thought other players were deserving as well. However, I think that the Pro Bowl needs to be even more exclusive. It is supposed to be made of only the best players, and I believe that some of the chosen athletes are not the play makers they should be. I believe most people are chosen based on name recognition, which makes sense for the profitability of the Pro Bowl, but I don’t think that is how the selection process should work. Instead it should be strictly off stats for the season. 

     Outside of the player selection, my biggest concern about the Pro Bowl is that it’s not entertaining. The big event they host is the Pro Bowl Game. All of the selected players from the AFC and NFC lineup on different teams and play a whole football game. They wear full pads and tackle, but it isn’t fun because the players don’t try to prevent injury and there is nothing on the line for the game. I have high hopes for this year’s take on the Pro Bowl game. This year they will be playing flag football instead of contact. This should be good for the players, and be a little different to watch for the spectators.

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     I also like how the NFL is highlighting previous stars as coaches for the teams. It is fun that the head coaches will be Eli and Payton Manning because they have a very entertaining brotherly rapport that a lot of people in the NFL community love. We’ve seen it be highlighted on the Monday night manning broadcasts, and many commercials. This is a great time to capitalize on their name recognition, and add an extra layer to the event that the players will enjoy. 

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     The only part of the Pro Bowl I genuinely enjoy are the skill games. It is fun to see the video game-like setups that the league creates to have skill competitions between the teams. The annual dodgeball tournament is a lot of fun. It is awesome to see these spectacular athletes play dodgeball because they make spectacular plays and get into the game. You can watch the game live, but the past few years I have watched it on YouTube after the Pro Bowl was over. As a golf nut, I am excited to see how they carry out the brand new long drive competition. I really hope they have some of the biggest and strongest NFL stars participating in the long drive competition because I want to know how far they can hit the ball. The person I really want to see competing in it is the LA Rams’ Aaron Donald. He is one of the biggest players in the league, and is a freak of nature. His pure size and strength should make him able to hit the ball far, but I don’t know if he will have the form he needs. Either way I need to see him attempt the long drive competition. 

 

 

                                                                                                      

 

 

 

 

 

     Overall, I don’t think the Pro Bowl is worth watching live. But if you decide to watch it live you can on ESPN, ABC, or Disney XD. I love that the league takes the time to celebrate the best players and that players get to have a fun event together instead of being competitors. I think it does a lot for the community within the NFL. However, it isn’t entertaining enough to commit an evening to the Pro Bowl. I encourage everyone to support their favorite players and watch skill games like dodgeball and the long drive competition on YouTube, but don’t waste your time with every event and game.