In chatting with Chris Mortensen of ESPN on Tuesday, which I’m certain you missed since they hardly ran the thing, commissioner Roger Goodell didn’t offer much out of the norm. Except for one thing. He told Mort that he wants to move the Pro Bowl up to earlier in the football season in a few years, as soon as their current contractual obligations expire:
One of the things we’ve talked about is whether we should play the Pro Bowl in advance of the Super Bowl as a lead in to the Super Bowl. There’s obviously things you have to balance here, but again, they’re going to be showcased in the greatest game of all — which is the Super Bowl. This is an opportunity for us to showcase our other great athletes on the week before the Super Bowl, leading up to that, and finishing up on a very climactic note which is the Super Bowl.
I never really thought about this before, but aside from players participating in the Super Bowl not being able to partake in the Pro Bowl, this sounds like a great idea. You can still hold the event and showcase it while the NFL is fresh in the minds of all the fans. Gamblers itching for some action in the off week might have more interest, fewer players will probably be on vacation, and fan interest will be higher at that point. I think it’s a fine idea by Goodell. As far as the game itself, oh yeah, it’s still gonna suck massively — but good idea.
