Considering how lackluster this exhibition game is, why not take a look at five moderately humorous ways to make the contest more entertaining.
Editor’s Note: This is a revision of a Niner Noise article written years ago. But since the Pro Bowl is so lackluster, these ideas still stand. Enjoy!
Raise your hand if you’re excited for the NFL Pro Bowl.
Anyone? Anyone?
Yeah, that’s the kind of reaction expected when we talk about the league’s annual All-Star game no one cares about.
True, the NFL has tried a bit of everything to make the Pro Bowl more relevant and exciting. The game is now played between the conference championships and the Super Bowl to keep the Pro Bowl from being an afterthought.
And the league has tried different formats too. Remember Team Rice versus Team Sanders?
Yeah, a fantasy football format didn’t work here either. Neither will the move from Aloha Stadium in Hawaii to Orlando, Florida.
In truth, the Pro Bowl stinks. It’s boring. No one plays defense, so one might look at it as nothing more than a flag football game.
Let’s change things up a bit, shall we? Here are five ways the NFL could make the Pro Bowl more fun for fans.
And yes, we get a bit creative.
No. 5: Host the Pro Bowl on Hall of Fame Weekend
OK, so this might be more realistic of an option than the others. So let’s get the “boring” one out of the way first.
By the time the Pro Bowl rolls around, NFL fans want to see one thing and one thing only — the Super Bowl. They’ve gotten their football fix after 16 weeks of regular-season action and a drama-filled postseason. The Pro Bowl is little more than pee-wee football played by pro-level adults on a quasi vacation.
But fans’ thirst for football is extreme in August, right? Just think how excited you get for the first preseason game of the year. And that’s preseason!
The Hall of Fame game (typically the lone game before the four-week exhibition stint) takes place on Aug. 2 this year.
Get rid of it. Instead, host the Pro Bowl then.
Sure, there are injury concerns and worries about players getting ready for meaningful football. And all those collective-bargaining issues would have to be hammered out.
Still, one can guarantee the Pro Bowl would garner more attention at the beginning of August than in January or February.
No. 4: Make the Pro Bowl a Madden Tournament
What’s the knock on the Millennial generation these days? They play on their smartphones and high-tech devices all day, right?
Hey, if gaming is a part of that, why not embrace the idea of turning a failing exhibition-football game into a different kind of tournament?
That’s right, Pro Bowlers. You won’t be donning pads or helmets on game day. You’ll be loosening up your thumbs and fingers in preparation for an all-out Madden NFL 18 tournament.
Fans could tune into the tournament and watch the action like how the league broadcasts highlights and real-time scoring on NFL Network’s NFL Red Zone.
What you’d have is NFC stars facing off against each other, while the AFC stars do the same.
The winner for each conference would square off for the ultimate Madden prize.
Heck, this would be more interesting to watch.
No. 3: Swap Offenses and Defenses
Just imaginelinebacker Von Miller lining up to throw a pass. What if we could watch wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. try his lot as a pass-rusher?
Here’s the scoop — players must abandon their original position, and side of the ball, for something else.
It would be too difficult to master (aside from injuries, of course, but this entire slideshow is based on non-injury stuff). A wide majority of NFL pros played different positions back in high school and, at times, while at the collegiate level.
Sure, the game would be sloppy. But who cares? It’s not as if the Pro Bowl is great and watchable as it is now.
So let the players change things up a bit and try out some different positions on the other side of the line of scrimmage.
No. 2: Play the Pro Bowl in Throwback Uniforms
I’m not just talking about those ugly Pittsburgh Steelers or Green Bay Packers throwback jerseys. No, we’re going back further.
Way back.
The Pro Bowl is boring. But a good chunk of us would be more inclined to watch if the uniforms were, well, a little more retro.
By retro, let’s get rid of anything resembling a modern NFL game and go way back. Like the time where football games featured leather helmets and no facemasks.
Kind of like these.
Change up the look of the game. Make it a throwback contest, but throwing it back as far as possible.
You’d watch it… admit it.
No. 1: The Annual Pro Bowl Softball Game
Forget football. Who wants to watch an amped up game of flag football anyway?
Change it up, and the No. 1 way to do so is to make the Pro Bowl an annual softball game between the NFC and AFC.
Why? Well, why not?
Watching Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott run around the base paths would be entertaining. So would be watching some of those big offensive linemen do their best Babe Ruth impression too.
Break it down by division — AFC West versus the NFC West and so on. Put together your brackets, and there’s a good chance Vegas odds makers would have some fun too.
The winner, of course, would be able to raise a bunch of money to a charity of choice — because all celebrity softball games raise some sort of donations — but the game would be a nice change-up from the boredom seen during the regular Pro Bowl.
But, unless you’re content with the Pro Bowl as is, it’s certainly worth exploring ideas how to spice it up.