That’s why 18 of them — that’s one out of every five from the initial rosters — decided to bail on it. The Pro Bowl should be a showcase of the best players in the world, but instead, they skimp out on their effort and it’s a shell of the real game.
It won’t ever be perfect, but there are ways to make the Pro Bowl a better product.
Change the Economics
The players will want to win because they’re competitors by nature, but they need a serious incentive to give it that extra bit of effort. The winners of Sunday’s game received $45,000, while the losers got $22,500. So, essentially, the difference between winning and losing is a Honda Civic, and that’s not really the most enticing prize for 86 millionaires.
It would be easy to suggest that the losing team shouldn’t get paid, but then even fewer players would be willing to make the trek to Hawaii. If the NFL increased the purse — say, every player on the winning team would receive $100,000, while the losers only got $20,000 — the players would perform with a lot more urgency.
Schedule It After the Super Bowl
The second the Pro Bowl rosters were announced, each player proudly said they didn’t want to play in the all-star game. That’s not exactly good PR. Obviously, the selected players would prefer to advance to the Super Bowl, so that makes sense, but the very first thing that enters their mind is a negative thought.
When the Super Bowl ends, fans come to the disappointing realization that football is gone for about six months. The Pro Bowl isn’t exactly the most fun game to watch, but at the very least, it’s something. Fans can watch a half-hearted game with half-hearted interest, and then they can go quietly into the offseason.
Halftime Races
Since the players aren’t expending any energy during the game, maybe they’d show a little more effort in a pseudo-skills competition at halftime, which would be highlighted by a series of 50-yard dashes. Have one circuit for the fast players and another one for the big fatties. That’s guaranteed to be more entertaining than anything done by the Black Eyed Peas at the Super Bowl.
Opening Act
No offense to the Goo Goo Dolls — they seem like nice people — but how many football fans tuned in Sunday night to watch them sing a couple of songs before the game? Schedule a big act, and give them the stage for 20 minutes. Make the Pro Bowl’s opening act a must-see staple that fans and musicians would really care about, similar to the Super Bowl halftime show.
Amp Up the Viewer Interaction
Create some buzz by letting the fans have a hand in the game. Let them vote to determine a series of plays for each team, and have the fans submit questions for the sideline reporter to ask players and coaches during the game. Tell players to tweet from the sidelines. The NFL can use multimedia to create a lot more buzz, and it could help keep the television audience throughout the whole game.
Encourage Celebrations
Give an award for the best touchdown celebration. Bam, instant viewership.
