Pro Bowl still boring despite changes

A few years ago, the powers that be decided to move the Pro Bowl, the NFL All-Star game, to the week before the Super Bowl. The move brought hope to the NFL who hoped to raise the TV ratings for the Pro Bowl. Did it work?

You tell me. Are you planning on watching the Pro Bowl this weekend? Yeah, me neither.

Normally I am not one to take time to write about something that needs to be bashed, but this time every year I always get this way about the Pro Bowl. This game was supposed to be about celebrating the end of the Super Bowl with the best players from all teams.

Now that the game is before the Super Bowl, everyone is looking ahead to the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl means everything; the Pro Bowl means nothing.

There won't be any Pro Bowl parties. No one is going to call up their friend and say, "Hey the Pro Bowl is this weekend! You in?" In fact, even the most dedicated fans forget about the Pro Bowl.

Maybe the game would be better if the NFL actually let the players … well, play. Did you know that it is illegal for a linebacker, corner or safety to blitz? That's right, it's illegal to blitz.

So if the NFL limits each team's play options, why would they expect us to watch it?

Our lives are busy, and we have things to do. Watching the Pro Bowl just does not make anywhere remotely near the top of our list of things to do. Let's help the NFL out a bit, shall we? First of all, lets make the Pro Bowl just like any other game. Don't limit what teams can do.

Despite the efforts to keep players safe, that's just boring.

Once the players can actually play, how about moving the Pro Bowl back to when it was originally? It's not that big of a deal, but for those of us who are sad to see the Super Bowl end, it would give us something to look forward to until free agency.

Now for the biggest issue against the Pro Bowl: It doesn't mean anything. Let's change that. Let's give the Pro Bowl meaning.

Instead of each big-city owner trying to get the Super Bowl to come to their stadium, how about we let the decision be random in one conference?

The conference that wins the Pro Bowl will see in the Super Bowl in one of its teams' stadiums. While this is not an economically favorable idea, it still gives players extra incentive to win.

Now that the NFL has received some useful tips to make the Pro Bowl more interesting we will see if they use it. If they try to implement some of them, the game might be better. If not, well, the Pro Bowl would be a good time to go shopping for your Super Bowl party.