The annual NFL Pro Bowl Games commences tomorrow, Tuesday, 3 February and will be held at the Moscone Centre in San Francisco, California. This is the first year that this event will be included in the Super Bowl festivities rather than it’s own standalone event.
What are the Pro Bowl Games?
The Pro Bowl Games are a day of mini games and a flag football tournament between the ‘best’ players from the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC) that have been voted for by the public.
Fan voting usually begins at the end of November with the roster being released at the end of December, however the rosters usually change quite a lot due to player participation the playoffs and or players purely declining the opportunity to play.
The Pro Bowl Games will be livestreamed on ESPN, like they usually have in the past.
Why are people unhappy with the Pro Bowl Games?
Many believe the Pro Bowl Games are a ‘joke’, a ‘disgrace to the game’ and ‘not a real honour’, and that is down to a few factors.
One of the main factors is the fan voting process, a lot of the time players who are best in that position won’t even be included in the roster, such as New York Giants offensive tackle, Jermaine Eluemunor, who is one of the best players in his position, yet has never been included in a Pro Bowl roster.
Fan voting has led to some interesting inclusions throughout the years, with this year being the first year that two quarterbacks from the same team have been included in the roster, Joe Flacco and Joe Burrow from the Cincinnati Bengals, two players that only played half a season each and in a team that did not even make the playoffs.
Another reason is that players simply just opt out of participating a lot of the time, leading fans to be disappointed that they can’t watch certain individuals, and at the same time making supporters question the credibility of the games due to the fact they don’t even want to participate.
Should the games still go ahead?
Whether the games should still go ahead is a matter of opinion, but if you want to keep fans happy, then you drastically have to change the format.
For example, the NBA All-Star Games happen midway through the season, with less players declining the opportunity to play as it is not considered a joke event.
The reason the NFL Pro Bowl Games are considered a joke is due to the fact it’s flag football and a bunch of mini games, with players not taking them seriously and just being there to entertain a small crowd.
To try and make things better, it may be a good idea to make the Pro Bowl Games a full game, as fans want to see two teams of the best players compete against each other in a genuine contact football game.
Another thing the NFL need to do is change the voting process. You should not be able to just vote anyone, the NFL should make a list in each position of the ‘best’ players which fans can then pick from and make the credibility of participation much higher.
In my personal opinion, I like the Pro Bowl Games, but the format needs tweaking slightly so players that should not be in the games aren’t included so it doesn’t lose credibility.
The NFL needs a way to honour its best players of the year, and they just need to find the sweet spot to make it a genuine honour.
