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5 ways to make the NFL Pro Bowl fun again

By Peter Panacy

Jan 26, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; General overall view of Camping World Stadium exterior. The facility, formerly known as the Orlando Stadium, the Citrus Bowl and the Tangerine Bowl, will play host to the 2017 Pro Bowl between the AFC and the NFC on Jan 29, 2017. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 26, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; General overall view of Camping World Stadium exterior. The facility, formerly known as the Orlando Stadium, the Citrus Bowl and the Tangerine Bowl, will play host to the 2017 Pro Bowl between the AFC and the NFC on Jan 29, 2017. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aug 6, 2016; Canton, OH, USA; Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Kevin Greene gives his acceptance speech during the 2016 NFL Hall of Fame enshrinement at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 6, 2016; Canton, OH, USA; Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Kevin Greene gives his acceptance speech during the 2016 NFL Hall of Fame enshrinement at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

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.

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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.