Do you watch the Pro Bowl?

[El Supremo]

[trotsky]

1. I think the Pro Bowl stinks, and here's why:

There's only 16 games in a season. Each one is important! You don't want to lose ANY of them if you can help it.

OK, granted, there are some exceptions like the last game of the season between a 4-11 team and a 3-12 team. If anything, they're trying to out-suck each other to get a better draft pick.

But the point is, there are far fewer of those than in sports like basketball or baseball or even hockey where a team could go on a 10-game slide and still be just fine! One individual loss is truly irrelevant in the scheme of things.

So back to football. You have a season of meaningful games, then a postseason of do-or-die games, and then... the Pro Bowl. Stats don't count. Final score doesn't count. Nothing counts, and worse, your favorite player could get injured.

It's the anti-football game. No drama or suspense.

[Hobarticus]

5. Hey, wish my employer gave me a free trip to Hawaii, too...

Maybe it's just a little bonus, a little somethin'-somethin' for the fan faves? Basically, that's all it is.

[hughee99]

2. I usually don't watch...

but if I do flip over to it for a few minutes, it's only to see the beautiful pictures of the island. I don't give a rat's ass about the game, I just hope no one gets hurt.

[Broken_Hero]

3. nope, thats my annual nose hair trimming day

I can't even remember the last time I watched one...perhaps...93?

[bigwillq]

4. Nope (nt)

[LSdemocrat]

6. Other: only if a significant number of my team's players are going

Otherwise, I would have to desperately want to watch TV and have nothing else remotely else worthwhile to watch.

[cboy4]

7. The only all-star game I watch and am genuinely

interested in is MLB's.

I can't remember the last time I turned on the Pro Bowl.

It's like, what's the point? The season is over.

[sniffa]

8. If I remember that it's on, I usually give it a glance.

This year I may watch to see of LaDainian Tomlinson plays. He may just get his speed burst back by then. :rofl:

[Awsi Dooger]

9. The Pro Bowl was by far the best all star game for nearly a decade

Circa late '80s to about '95. It was easily the most physical and intense game of the NFL season during that period.

That defies conventional wisdom but CW is pure ignorance in this case. I remember friends spouting the typical bullshit that it was a glorified flag football game, then being astonished when they actually watched. Check how low scoring many of the games were, despite the offensive firepower. Many of them were actually lower than they appear, other than defensive and special teams TDs.

This is what happened: When the NFC began to dominate the Super Bowl in the mid '80s, often by huge margin, the AFC used the Pro Bowl as a vehicle to ease the embarrassment. But the NFC had superior personnel in the trenches so AFC intensity level was not enough. Those Pro Bowls were a joy to watch, guys like Reggie White collapsing the backfield play after play. I literally felt sorry for the Pro Bowl QBs in that era.

This is hardly exaggeration. If you want a numerical reference point, the Las Vegas over/under on the Pro Bowl in that era always opened about 40.5 or 41. That is much lower than the typical Super Bowl. Then the wagering would drive the over/under down to the 38 range. The sharp bettors realized how defensively intense the game had become.

I'll never forget the year it changed. I guess that was early '95, the '94 season. Barry Switzer was the NFC coach, after losing the NFC championship game to the '49ers. Switzer as a college coach always treated all star games like a party, not caring about the result and allowing the players to frolic. He did the same thing in the Pro Bowl and all of a sudden the AFC rushed for a bizarre figure, something like 350 or 400 yards. Switzer was laughing and munching a hot dog on the sidelines. I got a cackle out of it even though I was losing my cash on the under.

In subsequent years, once the Super Bowl result became more balanced, the Pro Bowl returned to its previous level as a wide open friendly game. But it will always bust me up when commentators and fans try to insist that was always the case.

Here's the contemporary reference point: The Pro Bowl recently has featured over/unders in the high 50s and even well into the mid 60s on occasion. That's an incredible transformation.

Oh yeah, the question. Yes, I still watch. But primarily to see the Canes players.