Is the Pro Bowl Fixable?

Today is the last Sunday before the Super Bowl which means it's the day of the dreaded Pro Bowl. While I believe all-star games are a necessity in all sports and something that each sport benefits from, the Pro Bowl is so painful to watch and it always lets people down. 

The idea behind the Pro Bowl is to have the best players in both conferences playing against each other. If you look at the original rosters for this Pro Bowl and compare them to the current rosters you would more than likely be confused as to what happened. Both rosters are completely different now because of injuries, fatigue (their team lost last weekend) and the Super Bowl. The idea that the two teams in the Super Bowl, who are usually the best two teams and send the most amount of players to the Pro Bowl, aren't sending the players they were supposed to because they play the following week hurts the game. We never get to see the best players all playing against each other in a game that matters because frankly this game happens at the end of the year and has no merit for the NFL season. 

The only sport that currently has an all-star game that matters is baseball. The MLB has it so that the league that wins the game ends up with home field advantage in the World Series. The NBA all-star game is basically a better version of the And 1 mixtape tour. The NHL all-star game is creative in that it's basically an old school pickup game where the captains pick the players that they want but the game doesn't actually matter and all that happens is scoring after scoring. The difference from those all-star games and the Pro Bowl is that all of those sports send their best players to the all-star game and very rarely (only due to injury) do they not play in the game.

While there may be no right solution for what the NFL might consider doing, there are a few options I could see the NFL doing. Everyone knows that these players aren't going to go out there and give it there all, so why even have them wearing uniforms and pads. I honestly think something that would be possibly be successful and worth watching is going the route of the NHL all-star game. I say you get two captains and allow them to pick their teams. 

Now here is the major twist... Instead of having them play a regular football game where everyone already knows it's a joke you bring back the old drills that they used to have the players compete in. You have passing drills, receiving drills, speed drills and an obstacle course to earn points. The last part of Pro Bowl weekend is the actual game that is played in a flag football style of play. This would make this all-star game more similar to that of the NBA and NHL and would make the weekend a whole event instead of just one boring game that no one cares about.

My 2013 Pro Bowl Prediction: This will be the last Pro Bowl ever played. I have no idea what they might do after this year, I just see this being the last game of it's type ever being played.