2010 Pro Bowl to be played in Miami.

[brakos82]

The Pro Bowl will be played one week before the Super Bowl in 2010 and both games will be staged in Dolphin Stadium, a person directly involved in the decision told the Associated Press on Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the NFL has not announced the move. It's not a new notion to have the game moved up to take place between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.

Source: cbssportsline.com

Well, now what dance is Mario gonna do?

[GlassHalfFull]

My quick reaction to this is that it is a stupid move. For sure it means that any player playing in the super bowl will not play in the pro bowl. Doesn't make any sense to me.

Anyone with insight as to why this is a good idea?

[gary]

Is this for good?

[Showtime100]

The Pro Bowl needs to go away with Pro Bowl Honors still given out. Now they want to put it in front of the Super Bowl. That destroys what little dignity the Bowl had left, what with the players from the Conference Champs not playing and all.

Turn it into a big poker tournament, I'd watch that just to see the players act a fool and have fun.

[brakos82]

Originally Posted by Showtime100

The Pro Bowl needs to go away with Pro Bowl Honors still given out. Now they want to put it in front of the Super Bowl. That destroys what little dignity the Bowl had left, what with the players from the Conference Champs not playing and all.

Turn it into a big poker tournament, I'd watch that just to see the players act a fool and have fun.

I think Andre would be great at poker. Ocho Cinco... not so much.

[Showtime100]

Originally Posted by brakos82

I think Andre would be great at poker. Ocho Cinco... not so much.

How about Terrell and his poker face, yelling at the dealer and crying after he gets his cards.

[brakos82]

Originally Posted by Showtime100

How about Terrell and his poker face, yelling at the dealer and crying after he gets his cards.

"B... bu... but that's my card!"

[WWJD]

Before the SB? That means any player involved in the actual SB game will not be playing in the Pro Bowl.

The whole idea seems really stupid to me.

[ChampionTexan]

Originally Posted by GlassHalfFull

My quick reaction to this is that it is a stupid move. For sure it means that any player playing in the super bowl will not play in the pro bowl. Doesn't make any sense to me.

Anyone with insight as to why this is a good idea?

I don't know if it's a good move, but it can't be a bad move, because as it stands right now, nothing in the world of sports is more boring or irrelevent than the NFL Pro Bowl.

I watched virtually the entire Chargers/Broncos game last night, even though I never really cared who won, and it was essentially over before halftime. I've watched preseason games between my two least favorite NFC teams because I found it interesting. I've watched pretty meaningless early season NFL games as opposed to World Series games because I enjoyed them more (O.K., maybe I channel surfed during timeouts). I guess what I'm saying here is that I really, really love watching NFL football games, yet I usually don't give the Pro Bowl a thought until I hear the final score, at which time, that thought is simply relief that I didn't waste any of my valuable time watching that piece of trash.

[mattieuk]

The only reason I've tuned into the Pro Bowl past 2 years is just out of the knowledge that it would delay the football vacuum for another week. But really, its a nothing game. It would be more fun to get the practice squads for the Superbowl teams to play against each other, with all team members downing a shot of Rum for every first down they give up. Dangerous but ultimately much more fun.

This pre-Superbowl is just stupid though...its just costing the Pro Bowl more of its best players.

[brakos82]

Originally Posted by mattieuk

The only reason I've tuned into the Pro Bowl past 2 years is just out of the knowledge that it would delay the football vacuum for another week. But really, its a nothing game. It would be more fun to get the practice squads for the Superbowl teams to play against each other, with all team members downing a shot of Rum for every first down they give up. Dangerous but ultimately much more fun.

This pre-Superbowl is just stupid though...its just costing the Pro Bowl more of its best players.

Nah... I like the poker idea better.

[Ole Miss Texan]

Miami!? horrible, it needs to be in hawaii.

BEFORE the superbowl!? just as bad of an idea.

I'm for the poker tournament... I got my popcorn ready but I aint seeing TO doing much.


[checks calendar] hmm, this isn't even April 1st yet...

[WWJD]

Some years back I was in Hawaii the same week as the Pro Bowl...all the guys do is party.

They absolutely don't take that game seriously. It's just a free trip and I guess they get a plaque or something for their den wall.

The Pro Bowl is about as nothing a game as there is.

[brakos82]

I think the QB's and some of the quieter players (Andre, Marvin H., etc.) would end up in the finals.

[RipTraxx]

People still watch the pro-bowl?

[kastofsna]

probably a bit of an economic move. they'll save money this way. plus with the Dolphins playing the conference championship in Miami next year, that's even more money being saved

[Hervoyel]

The Pro Bowl doesn't need to go away. It's a long time fixture in the NFL and just like the NBA and MLB All-Star games it has a place. It's just been allowed to wither on the vine for too many years. The fix is easy (but of course the NFL will botch it and screw things up worse than they already are).

First you start moving the Pro Bowl around like you do the Super Bowl. You "award it" to cities around the country and turn it into an event weekend like the Super Bowl. You could use it as a carrot for towns that didn't win Super Bowl bids for instance. They could add all those stupid NFL "junk sports" like punting contest and passing contests and "fastest man in the NFL" to this and play them up. Maybe do a saturday game of rookies to compliment the Pro Bowl. Do kind of a future stars thing and ESPN will show that thing in a heartbeat. Do a big convention/autograph weekend thing.

Second you take the fan voting out of the equation completely. Fans have no business voting for the Pro Bowl online where we can play homer, stuff the ballot box, or just get stupid and decided to try and sway the vote so that a bunch of undeserving players get voted in. Give the players, coaches, and GM's the power and then let the coaches of the actual squads add a few players to correct imbalances and oversights.

Then you give the players something to play for. Obviously a trip to Hawaii and some extra pay doesn't get todays star football player motivated enough for the most part. They need to up the amount of money they pay them to participate. Teams should focus more on the Pro Bowl as a contract incentive and require participation to earn it (barring injury of course). Players who refuse to participate in the Pro Bowl because they have better things to do should be made ineligible for it the following year and not be credited with having been "voted to the Pro Bowl" if they choose not to go. Mostly I think if you can make the game and the honor mean something then you'll have more participation. This goes back to not voting in guys who don't deserve it and making sure players who earn it get the nod.

They could be using it as a showcase but instead they've let it just turn into a joke. Sometimes I don't understand what these guys are thinking. It's like all the money is killing their brain cells at times.

[mexican_texan]

I always thought it should be during that horrible weekend between the Conference Championship and the Super Bowl.

[Ole Miss Texan]

I completely agree they should take away fan voting. Keep it to the coaches and players. Or if you want to keep the fans involved make our vote worth 10%, players 45% and coaches 45%.

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by Hervoyel

First you start moving the Pro Bowl around like you do the Super Bowl. You "award it" to cities around the country and turn it into an event weekend like the Super Bowl.

Brilliant--award it to the 2nd place team on the SB bid each year or some other criteria.

Second you take the fan voting out of the equation completely.

Absofreakinlutely.

Then you give the players something to play for. Obviously a trip to Hawaii and some extra pay doesn't get todays star football player motivated enough for the most part. They need to up the amount of money they pay them to participate.

I certainly wouldn't object to someone else paying more money. That said, how about making it serious to actually play?--if you get selected but don't play you don't get to keep the award or have any ramifications such as Haynesworth can't be franchised because he is a pro-bowler--don't play, wait for the tag again fat boy. Bet kitty tears boy doesn't make the pro-bowl as a rookie if folks had some incentive.

PS--I want another meaningless game brought back and it has been gone so long I have a hard time remembering it but I think it was the Super Bowl loser against the college champion team.