Football thoughts

The Pro Bowl was last night, and I listened to it as I fell asleep. Here's a question: is there anyone who takes the Pro Bowl seriously? Most of the players weren't, and the announcers certainly weren't. Here's the next question: do we need to?

There's been a lot of talk this year (....at least, from the two Sports Illustrated writers I follow, and from NFL.com) about the relevance of the Pro Bowl and the perception of the Pro Bowl, etc., etc. A lot of players withdrew because of either the Super Bowl or injury. Players were still being named to the squads in the week leading up to the Pro Bowl. Is the Pro Bowl still important? Still necessary?

I don't follow any other professional sports league as avidly as I follow the NFL, so I don't know what reaction their All-Star games get. I know that MLB's All-Star game comes in the middle of the season, but I don't know anything about the NBA or NHL's All-Star games. I'm assuming they each have one. (Perhaps someone who does follow these sports can help me compare?)

Because that's all that the Pro Bowl is: an All-Star game. And it doesn't need to have this great import or significance. It's the best players of the season (for a certain level of "best" this year, admittedly), playing the game that they love to play, in a game that has no significance other than bragging rights. That's the point. The emotional investment, for players and for fans, isn't in winning or losing: it's just in the game.

And you could tell that, at least from the Westwood One announcers last night. They were just a bunch of guys sitting around, talking about football, and oh, yeah, there was a game going on too and wow did you see that play? I don't think they used those exact words, but pretty close. They were guys who liked football and each other. That was why they were there, and that came through over the airwaves.

(I suppose they're not airwaves if it's digital and online and stuff, is it? I'll stop obsessing over pedantry now.)

Last night's Pro Bowl was definitely an offensive battle: the defense was almost non-existent. And that's also okay: you'd hate either to have or cause a potential career-ending injury in the Pro Bowl (or a pre-season game: the same emotional attitudes apply). And, again, it's just a game for the enjoyment of the game. Not that I don't enjoy good defense, but highlight reels are made for long runs and beautiful spiral passes, with the occasional interception and kick or punt return thrown in. (I did hear that there was an interesting lateral play? I think one of the SI writers said something about Benny Hill....?)

I don't know how to "fix" the perception of the Pro Bowl; I don't know if it's better or worse to have it before the Super Bowl or in Miami instead of Honolulu. But I do know that it doesn't need all the hand-wringing that I've seen over the last few weeks. Maybe it's not the Pro Bowl's problem - maybe our expectations need to be adjusted instead.