NFL Pro Bowl 2020: 5 Ways to make the game worth watching
The NFL Pro Bowl game is more of a punchline than an actual game. So how can we fix the all-star contest between the AFC and NFC to make it worth watching?
Have you ever wanted to watch Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson, Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry and the stars of the NFL play together in a game that means nothing and where all they want to accomplish is not get hurt? Then the NFL Pro Bowl is exactly what you’re looking for.
The Pro Bowl is arguably the most maligned all-star contest of any of the four major North American sports and for good reason. By nature of how physically demanding the NFL is, players who are elected to the contest aren’t going 100 percent on the field because they don’t want to get hurt and put their future in jeopardy. And frankly, you can’t blame them for that given the modest payday (by their standards) and the lack of stakes for the game. Because of that, however, the game is less appealing to fans.
In recent years, the NFL has made strides in trying to change that. The Pro Bowl Skills Showdown has invigorated the all-star festivities to a degree as it’s always a pleasure to watch. But that still doesn’t address the Sunday all-star game itself, which garners little-to-no buzz from the general NFL public.
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So how can we change that? Let’s take a look at some ways that the NFL could explore to not only improve the Pro Bowl but to actually make the league’s all-star game worth watching.
5. Flag Football
By far the simplest solution to the issues of the NFL Pro Bowl is to try and minimalize the risk of injuries. In an exhibition contest where there are no stakes, it’s hard to ask these professional athletes to risk their injury and, subsequently, their livelihood by going all-out in a game that means nothing.
Transitioning to flag football would drastically reduce that injury risk by taking out much of the physical elements of the game while also still allowing the players to showcase their elite skills and athletic traits. While you won’t see the big hits, there would still be plenty of electric playmaking — perhaps more so without the risk of getting lit up — and fun for fans to consume.
4. Player-coached games
The notion of allowing fans to essentially live out Madden fantasies and call the plays for the Pro Bowl has been floated before but I find that kind of messy. Instead, a similar solution would be to let the players in the game call the plays. We’ve seen before with instances like the Philly Special that these guys have some creative juices in terms of what they can dream up, so let them flex that in this exhibition and add a new element to the all-star contest.
3. Gimmick it up
Because the Pro Bowl is essentially a normal NFL game with less competitiveness, less trying and with no stakes, much of what makes football fun in the first place is, by nature, stripped away. So why not steer into that and make things gimmicky but also more fun for the fans.
Have certain stipulations pop up randomly throughout the game, things like the offense must play without an actual quarterback on the field for a drive or the defense must field two offensive players on another drive. Things like this would not only get the fans more interested throughout but would also motivate the players to step into another role and show what they’ve got.
2. Speed it up
There are a lot of NFL fans that already complain about the length of games because of penalties, replays and challenges. So when you add that to a game that’s not exactly competitive at this point, it makes things quite tiresome for fans. Eliminating penalties is a horrible idea but taking away challenges and replays — and perhaps having more relaxed officiating — would speed up the game and make it a more palatable time frame to commit to watching.
1. A little bit of side action
I can already imagine Roger Goodell having an immense problem with this but it’s something that would add some more intrigue to the Pro Bowl. Yes, you can up the pay of the players involved to begin with, but why not also have the flexibility to have the players make some side-action bets and then donate that money to charity?
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This is something that we’ve seen in golf with instances like The Match between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and in other events and, for the most part, it works. Who wouldn’t want to see some of the best players in the NFL bet that they’ll score a touchdown on a given drive or that they’ll make a certain type of play? It’s just another way to get creative and add a new element to the action.