This Sunday, which historically has been the saddest weekend in the National Football Leagueís season, we will be treated to a Pro Bowl game that actually has a chance of being watched.
Since 1938 the NFL Pro Bowl has taken place the weekend following the Super Bowl making the game irrelevant and sparsely watched by even the most dedicated football fans. This game, which is a glorified walk through for the leagues best players for almost no other purpose besides an extended vacation and a contract bonus, has been played in Hawaii for the past 30 years.
This year the game has not only been moved to the week before the Super Bowl, but the location has changed as well. The 2010 Pro Bowl will be the kick off event to Super Bowl week in South Florida and will transform the game into a more relevant public spectacle. This move is not only great for the game, which I have only ever watched about 20 minutes of each year, but for the league as a whole, which will benefit from additional publicity and will draw far more fans, reporters and viewers.
While these changes make the game more appealing overall, there are still issues that cannot be resolved.† The fact that this yearís Pro Bowl will not feature the NFL Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning and offensive juggernaut Drew Brees, who will be squaring off in the Super Bowl, makes the selection process less authentic. In addition to the absences of the leagueís top quarterbacks, five other New Orleans Saints and six additional Indianapolis Colts will be missing the Pro Bowl making room on the rosters for players such as David Garrard, Matt Schaub, Vince Young and Tony Romo. In no way should any of these quarterbacks be attending let alone playing in the Pro Bowl.
The NFL has begun to take the necessary steps toward earning significance. Many improvements can and should still be made, yet moving the Pro Bowl to the week before the Super Bowl and having it be played in the host city of the leagueís championship will definitely benefit the gameís success. While I cannot promise that I will be watching the game Sunday as diligently as the Super Bowl, I will at least be watching it. Why? Because itís football.