As an old-school football fan, I hate changes to the game. However, I am standing and applauding the massive overhaul on the Pro Bowl done by the NFL on Wednesday.
The traditional AFC vs. NFC Pro Bowl is no more as the NFL has taken a page from the NHL‘s playbook and will now use a fantasy draft-style All-Star game. Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders will help the top two vote-getters pick their teams with no conference affiliation, so the teams will be more dynamic than ever.
Again, changes to the game typically are horrible ideas, but this is a terrific way to revamp the most boring All-Star game in all of sports. I mean, it’s bad when the All-Star game of the most popular American sports league gets no viewership or attendance. And it’s in Hawaii! What the heck?!
Other changes will be extra two-minute warnings in the first and third quarters, clock changes to speed up the game and defenses will now be allowed to use Cover 2. Not monumental changes, but definitely ones that will make the game more popular.
Kudos to the league for finally doing something to try and breathe life into this dead event that hasn’t been popular since…well, ever.
