2010 Pro Bowl will be in Miami

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"The Pro Bowl will be played one week before the Super Bowl in 2010 and both games will be staged in Dolphin Stadium, a person directly involved in the decision told The Associated Press on Monday.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the NFL has not announced the move.

It's not a new notion to have the game moved up to take place between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. The NFL has discussed it multiple times in recent years, and commissioner Roger Goodell told the AP last month that having the game precede the Super Bowl would avoid a ''somewhat anticlimactic'' ending to the season.

The Pro Bowl has been held in Honolulu since 1980.

A source close to the talks between league executives and South Florida officials confirmed the plans in a Monday afternoon interview, and said an announcement appeared to be pending. But the source noted the NFL had not given the final go-ahead to plan for a 2010 Pro Bowl in Dolphin Stadium.

Even so, the league has contracted with a Fort Lauderdale hotel to house both teams and told local officials it would not require any dollars to hold the Pro Bowl, which Hawaii subsidizes, the source said."

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/830356.html

Why don't we just shelve the 2010 Pro Bowl? Name First-Team and Second-Team All-Pros for each conference, and do away with the silly game that nobody watches and even fewer care about.

Specifically mid '80s to early '90s. It's comical that no one remembers that, or was paying attention at the time. Fans get an image of the Pro Bowl as a defenseless free for all, like the ridiculous 55-52 game a few years ago. But for nearly a decade I looked forward to the game immensely. The NFC was dominating the Super Bowl every year in blowout fashion and the following week's Pro Bowl became a surreal trenches grudge match between the two conferences, intensity throughout. Guys like Reggie White disrupted the backfield on every play. It was gorgeous to watch, and career-dangerous to be a QB or offensive skill player during that period. There were scores like 10-6, 15-6, 21-15, 17-3, and even the games that look higher scoring were marked by defensive or special teams touchdowns, and scores based on field position caused by the defense. There was virtually no such thing as a sustained drive.

The over/under on those games is representative of how much things have changed. It would always open in the 41 range and then sharp guys would pound it down to 39 or even 38. I remember laughing when I bet the under 41 in those years, confident only flukes could beat me, since no way the defenses would surrender that many points. One time it happened, the AFC coming from 20-6 down in the final couple of minutes, forcing NFC turnovers including a fumble by Steve Young, then winning 23-20 in OT. In contrast, in recent years the over/under has soared into the mid 60s.

I realize it's an argument I can't win. Even when the Pro Bowl was in its tug of war heyday the fan appraisal was dainty football and points galore. Once the AFC started winning its share of Super Bowls the Pro Bowl lost its intensity level and I agree it's been mostly worthless for the past half dozen or more years.

Actually, the year it first changed was '94 season, when Barry Switzer coached the NFC. He was notorious for not caring about all star games in college, allowing the players to live it up. Same thing in the Pro Bowl. Barry was munching on a hot dog and laughing throughout the game, even as the AFC rushed for about 400 yards and my under money went down the drain. :rofl:

the game itself is stupid.

And I'm not even sure the strippers and land mines would entice me (like it would be any different from my usual Sundays!).

Seriously, say the Lions go 14-2 next year and are on their way to the Super Bowl. Would they risk the sure to be named players in a game that means nothing? Certainly not. So you mostly likely won't get to see the league's true all-stars. The game should either be played after the season or not at all. An all-star game in football doesn't really make much sense. It's not the type of game where you can play it soft.