It took some time and wacky ideas, but the NFL Pro Bowl 2018 Skills Challenge was kind of awesome. Has it topped major sports in terms of All-Star festivities?
In terms of opinions, the general consensus on the NFL Pro Bowl was unanimous and firm. Nobody liked it, and if they did, that opinion was kept quiet. But everything has finally changed!
Upon further review, the NFL Pro Bowl 2018 Skills Showdown was awesome and cool. The entire weekend of football activities, including the Pro Bowl game itself, turned a major corner. No longer can we say it simply stinks, because it doesn’t. The NFL is onto something here. Something fun!
Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the NFL Pro Bowl 2018 in today’s NFL Sports Debate.
Todd Salem:
I have an unpopular opinion to share. I’m coming around on the NFL Pro Bowl weekend! This used to be the worst weekend of any of the professional sports’ all-star time off. Now, the NFL has become legitimately fun!
I must clarify one thing. I didn’t watch any of the actual Pro Bowl game this past Sunday. But how about that skills challenge earlier in the week! Football, which used to be last by a mile, is now in the discussion with the rest of these sports for awesome skill weekends.
Baseball has the home run derby. Basketball has the slam dunk and three-point shootout. Hockey of course has its whole skills competition with obstacle courses, faster skater competitions, hardest shot, etc. Now the NFL is on this level.
The drone drop, passing competition, and best hands are all solid games to watch. Watching football players play dodgeball is also surprisingly awesome. Otherwise, who would have known Graham Gano was actually athletic? That obstacle course with the parachute run was super fun too. And then we have kicking tic-tac-toe! Get out, what a sweet idea!
Kicking tic-tac-toe is like when the NBA added horse, but only if that didn’t totally suck. NFL idea people are actually coming up with good ideas. It is so unlike the organization that it almost makes the Pro Bowl weekend seem better than its competition. Moving from a D to a B- is way more noteworthy than sliding from a B- to a B+, for example.
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Of course, as I stated, I didn’t watch a second of the actual game. Should we still hold that against the league, or are we ready to admit these all-star games don’t matter to anyone? If anything, football was ahead of the curve on that. It was behind the rest of the leagues on everything else…until now.
Dan Salem:
What does it say about the state of these “all-star” festivities when two huge NFL fans like us barely tune in to watch? My viewing habits were the opposite of your own. I missed the skills competitions, but caught some of the Pro Bowl itself. I was curious who won the game, realizing that the outcome meant literally nothing. But you are onto something here. Upgrading from a D to a B- is way better than slightly improving something that was already kind of cool.
Maybe its because its in the dead of summer, but the MLB All-Star festivities are still my favorite. I love watching players hit home runs and the All-star game is pretty decent, mainly because there is only one way to play baseball. The NFL is slowly stealing the best ideas from the other major sports, once again becoming king of whatever is left to claim. Drone drops are awesome, but kicking tic-tac-toe is totally out of the box and amazing!
I would never have thought about watching my favorite football players play dodgeball, but now I want to see NBA stars versus NFL stars in the ultimate cross-sport dodgeball competition. Is this how dodgeball becomes a real thing that people care about?
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I’m not sure where the NFL Pro Bowl is going, but at least the skills competitions are getting better. Football is the hardest sport to play 50 percent so no one gets hurt. The game can not possibly hold up to the real thing. This has always been the Pro Bowl’s problem. Now with super cool skills games, the actual Pro Bowl is an afterthought. Its the honor that matters, along with winning that dodgeball game.