The Pro- Bowl:Flag Football at its Best

When I was a kid growing up in the 1950s and becoming a Steeler fan for life, my dad took me to a couple of Pro Bowls, which were then played at the Los Angeles Colosseum. In those days, the NFL consisted of two divisions, the East and the West, and the two teams winning those divisions played for the NFL title. That was before the Super Bowl.  Being a Steeler fan, I, of course, rooted for the East and looked forward to seeing Steelers like Ernie Stautner (below) on the field for the East.



Eventually, the game was moved to Hawaii as an incentive for the selected players to actually show up and play. By then, they had figured out that while they coveted the honor of being selected,  actually playing in a meaningless game and risking injury didn't make a lot of sense. I myself had long lost interest in the game. The only thing that mattered to me was how the Steelers did in the regular season. I have not bothered to watch a game since who knows when.

Last year, while flipping the channels, I came across the Pro Bowl by chance and watched a few minutes. I realized very quickly (like the first play) that any semblance of real tackling had disappeared. Ball carriers were simply run out of bounds or the whistle was blown  as soon as a "tackler" managed to wrap his arms around the ball carrier. In essence, it was a cross between flag football and touch football. So here is my question: Why is this game (now in Orlando) even being played?



This game has become a joke, now with pre-game "events" like players competing in dodgeball, no less. One Steeler fan blog, Behind the Steel Curtain, is calling it, "the dreaded Pro Bowl". How appropriate. Even the NFL can't figure out what to do with it. Should it come before or after the Super Bowl? Since it now comes before the Big Game, players from those two championship teams do not participate.

In truth, the only major sport all star game that holds any resemblance to the actual game is baseball, which has managed to hold on to its tradition (except for that dopey home run derby). In the NBA All Star game, there is no defense, just three point shots and elaborate slam dunks with the final score practically reaching 200 points for each team. The NHL all star game is absent things like cross checking. (Who wants to risk an injury in mid season?)

As for the Pro-Bowl, I think it's time to put this old dog out of its misery.