Fixing the Pro Bowl

As we invest some time in articles for the main site, I wanted to comment on the Pro Bowl. The MLB All-Star game was last week, prompting many talking heads to complain about this or that and say it needs to be fixed in a variety of ways. Let’s be clear about something, the MLB All-Star Game is far and away the best of the all star games. It’s the most historical, the most fun to watch, and you are GUARANTEED that a player from your favorite team is playing. Some pundits hate that rule, but growing up, I loved it. Why watch an All-Star game if not to see guys from your team. Even when the Reds were bad, I loved knowing that they were going to have an all star. The HR derby is so vastly superior to the slam dunk contest that it barely merits mention. The HR derby involves stars, the dunk contest involves no-names and rookies no one knows. Jordan and Wilkins are not coming back people. Give it up.

The main problem in the Pro Bowl is that it takes place after the Super Bowl. Some players have been off for a month. Most guys just want not to get hurt. There is no real crowd to speak of. Someone might get hurt. If you want to fix the pro bowl I suggest the following:

1. Reduce the pre-season to 3 games and extend the regular season to 17 games. The 17th game would be a permanent inter conference rivalry game. Broken down thusly:

Colts and Bears

Ravens and Redskins

Jets and Giants

Patriots and Packers

Jacksonville and Atlanta

Miami and Tampa

Steelers and Eagles

Cleveland and Detroit

Cincinnati and Carolina

Titans and St. Louis

Texans and Cowboys

Kansas City and New Orleans

Raiders vs 49ers

San Diego vs Arizona

Denver vs Seattle

Buffalo and Minnesota

Each year these teams would play during the 17th and final game of the season.

2. Schedule the Pro Bowl at a rotating site during after week 9. All teams, minus pro-bowlers would take a mandatory 5 day vacation (no practice, no work outs). This would help with injuries during the season and hopefully counter balance any injuries that might occur during the game. The game would take the place of the pointless and irritating week between the conference championships and the Super Bowl.

3. The conference that won the Pro Bowl would win home field advantage for week 17. If the AFC wins the Pro Bowl, all the AFC teams would host the extra game. The gate, including luxury boxes sales for the final game, would be split equally, but it would provide real motivation for the squads to try and win the game. It wouldn’t affect playoff positioning within the conference because all teams would have the same number of home games.

The Pro Bowl would instantly vault in to one of the most watched games of the sports year. There would be tremendous buzz and excitement around it. Each team having a guaranteed game with a geographic rival would be tremendous for the league as well. I realize that a couple of the matchups are forced, but most of them are tremendous games that only take place once every 4 years these days (unless you count the pre-season, which I don’t because pre-season football sucks).

So there you have it, a revitalized Pro Bowl, a better preseason, and a yearly Colts/Bears show down. What could be better?