No Pro Bowl for Ben Roethlisberger: Can We Just Get Rid of the Pro Bowl Already?
Ben Roethlisberger was selected to his third Pro Bowl after a terrific season which ended last weekend. Big Ben had arguably his best statistic year, tying for the league best in passing yards (4,952), and throwing 32 touchdowns to only nine interceptions. He was rightfully selected to the Pro Bowl. However, after the loss to the Ravens, Roethlisberger has decided to not participate in the Pro Bowl and Drew Brees was named his replacement.
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Here is a quote from Roethlisberger’s agent, Ryan Toller, that was posted on ESPN, “Ben was instructed by team doctors to avoid strenuous activity due to inflammation in his knee, thus he will not play in the Pro Bowl. His knee will not require surgery and he looks forward to an otherwise healthy offseason to improve with his teammates.”
Fair enough then. No reason to risk an injury in a meaningless game. I could honestly care less if Ben played in the Pro Bowl or not. I might watch it just to see some other Steelers on the field but at the same time all I am going to hope for is that nobody gets injured.
I think it is finally time to eliminate the Pro Bowl all together. I’m not sure if you remember the 2012 Pro Bowl, in which nobody on defense really tried. Here is a highlight video from the game. Just watch the defensive lineman attempting to rush the quarterback. It’s a joke. Since then the NFL has changed the Pro Bowl into a draft format, where NFL legends select players to play for them rather than the AFC vs NFC normal format. Either way there is just no point to this game. Players don’t want to get hurt in a game that doesn’t matter.
I know for some players it’s a big deal. I’m sure Lawrence Timmons is thrilled to be heading Phoenix in two weeks to play in his first Pro Bowl after eight years in the NFL. I still believe that the NFL should name Pro Bowlers to give players the honor of calling themselves All-Stars. That being said, fans should not be the ones voting for these honors.
If the NFL eliminates the Pro Bowl they could still hold an event the weekend before the Super Bowl to make the almighty dollar, which is all Roger Goodell cares about anyway. Frankly I’d rather watch all the selected Pro Bowlers compete in a skills competition against each other instead of seeing them play at half speed in a meaningless game. Imagine a 40-yard dash event to find out who is the fastest man in the NFL or a bench press competition, and before you say you won’t watch that or who cares, I’ve said the same thing about the NFL Combine but in the middle of February when I’m having football withdrawals I’ll watch anything related to football. I also think a skills competition would get the players interested in competing to prove they are the best at this or that, thanks to their risk of injury decreasing.
Maybe I am on my own island here and nobody would really care if the Pro Bowl just disappeared. I just want to see as much football as I can before a long off-season begins, and right now the Pro Bowl isn’t a football game worth watching.