A guy from special events for Rebok and the NFL tells me that the actual ticket sales are at 30,000 for the game. Players want to play in Hawaii, many stars miss the game to play in the SB, and overall interest has been questionable at best. How would you improve the "game" or, should it be dumped?
The simple problem is that players don't want to risk injury by playing in the game, though I can't think of a time that someone's actually suffered a serious injury as a result of the Pro Bowl. If it was me I'd do it at the start of the season. At the end of the season everyone is banged up, and more and more aren't going to take part because the time just doesn't make sense. I mean, this weekend's game will feature Dan Carpenter and Yeremiah Bell. As a fan I don't like it where it is now because I think it's actually taking a bit of hype away from the Super Bowl ... I actually like the two week wait. I also wish that NFL Network was covering more of the Senior Bowl, which is the unnamed victim in this whole thing. Here's my plan: Scrap one of the preseason games (they're meaningless anyway) and do it out in Hawaii the week before the start of the regular season. Treat it like a scrimmage or preseason game ... tell the lineman to go 50%, etc. Using it to start the season would help drum up interest and officially open the season. Treat it like NASCAR (and I hate NASCAR) does Daytona. Either way, I hope the address this, because I don't like where it is now.
If you want to see even less players play, then move it to before the season. Would you really want any Dolphins playing in it before the season?
I think playing it before the season would be hard because how the hell you know who's gonna be a pro bowler? Or, are you saying it would be to recognize players from the previous season? Either way, I agree with 2k5...players would be bailing right and left. Doing it the way they're doing this season just doesn't make much sense either (to me anyway). You gotta figure the best two teams (presumably, the two teams playing in the SB) aren't gonna have any representatives playing. I think they just need to leave it as it has been. Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The players that are voted in get a trip to Hawaii with their families, and we get one last game to watch (even if it is kind of a joke). JMO...
Well one of the reasons they decided to change it, was because the ticket sales and TV ratings have been declining year after year. Then the decision to it this year here was mostly because of the recession. Its cheaper for fans to come to Miami, than Hawai'i, and this is something different to give it a boost. It killed two birds with one stone. I heard that the Pron Bowl was a sellout, and now someone in this thread says its only 30,000 tickets. But even at 30,000 tickets that would be an improvement over the last couple of years when it seemed that only about 20,000 people attended in 57,000 seat Aloha Stadium.
1) Change the voting format: 1/4 Players Vote, 1/4 Coaches Vote, 1/4 Journalist Vote and 1/4 Fan Vote. Rather than the 1/3 format there is now 2) Move it to the middle of the season like in the other leagues.
I think that's an awful idea. I'd hate for the Dolphins season to be over with because one of the star players got hurt in a meaningless game.
Who was the running back that almost lost his leg after injuring it playing on the beach in one of the Pro Bowl events?
That was a stupid, stupid idea to bump the Pro Bowl up in front of the Super Bowl. No justification for that. It's usually a boring event, anyway. I'll only watch it if I'm bored as hell, and I'm someone who never misses football on Sundays or Monday / Thursday nights. I catch preseason games when I can of all times. Shows you how crappy the event is. Can't do away with it, though. It's a way to honor the top players in the league, and it's a label.
They should shorten the game's length to one half and elect less players. More prestigious and less chance of injury would help the game.
Like someone else said, "If it ain't broke, why fix it?" I will tell you the REAL reason the game was moved... but first a few facts: Aloha Stadium holds 50,000, of which about 25,000 was filled (you were close and I wouldn't argue if it was 20,000. The recession has nothing to do with the move... the NFL has deep pockets and could care less how much it costs Joe family to attend the game. Remember, in the 30 years the game was in Hawaii, it was a sellout EVERY year. It's not like the NFL lost money or fans by having it in Hawaii. Also, before the game was moved to Hawaii, it was dying a slow death. Hawaii revived the game to proportions the NFL could never have imagined. Lastly, the game may be a sellout in MIA, but if you remember every Sunday, sellouts at Dolphin Stadium resulted in half full/empty seats. The real reason why it was moved: The State of Hawaii has to pay the NFL for the right to host the game. I don't know the exact numbers, but the last few years, the contract called for something like 4 million dollars for every game. Now the game itself generates upwards of over 25-30 million dollars of visitor spending, so 4 million might seem like pennies, but the State itself doesn't see the revenue (y'all following me?), so it has to decide where to get the money to pay the NFL. So during the negotiations for the new contract, the NFL "suggested" that the State has to pay more because it costs more for the NFL to come to Hawaii, and the game provides for so much more. In so many words, the NFL "threatened" Hawaii with taking the game away unless it payed more. IMHO, I think the NFL thought Hawaii would just roll over and say "OK", but they didn't and instead said "Sorry, it;s been nice, but we can't afford you". In true NFL fashion, they scrambled and gave the excuse of moving the game before the SB, new ideas, change the location, etc. and then said, "Oh BTW, the game is returning to Hawaii after this year". Long story short: NFL wanted Hawaii to pay them more money to host the game, Hawaii called their bluff, and viola! Pro Bowl now in Miami, before the SB, with second tier players, and with disgruntled All-Stars! Robert Edwards of the Patsies... and that's why they stopped all "interactive events for the players (fastest man, beach bowl, and skills contest) I agree with you, but as boring as it is, it brings the stars out to Hawaii where there is no Pro football team, and lets us enjoy their presence and performance at least for one week.
Robert Edwards. He later made a comeback with us, but was going to have a great career and lost it because of the beach football game.
scrap the probowl all together.....no one cares. id rather watch skill competitions like qb competitions, 40 yard dash races, obstacle course, catching drills honestly thats more fun to watch imo. and if anything.....spice it up some. they always call the NFL the no fun league. have competitions like most stylish catch (where they can dive onto a huge thing of padding) and then the best dance/show-boating afterwards....have some fun with it. all the stuff before the nba allstar game (dunk contest, 3 point contest etc etc) are the only things i watch. do that with football, the stars will come (it will be fun) and honestly....have the guys win money...and have it go to their charity or something. the probowl game is a joke.
II never understood that concept. For example, in the NBA, the All-Star game is during the middle of the season like you said. So a player can play well for half a season and have an *All-Star* on his resume?
They need to bring back the skills competitions... only thing that was worth watching from the Pro Bowl. I don't about you guys, but then we can finally settle this "who is the fastest man in the NFL" argument between guys like Ginn, CJ, Harvin, etc.
i also think it'd be cool to have guys do competitions for skills they arent in the nfl for. wes welker vs chad ochocinco in a field goal kicking competition anyone? how about jake long vs michael oher on the jugs machine? i think it'd be cool and fun.
This will turn out to be an absolute disaster. Really not sure what Rog Goodell was thinking except of course $$$$ Regardless of attendence and all that $$$$$ stuff, it takes a reward away from those that have rightfully earned it. This is gonna backfire for several years IMO. BTW, the idea of having it in a different Country is a GREAT idea IMO. I am sure most Countries have heard the "Big" names in the NFL. Why not showcase them all in the same game?
They used to have a skills competition the day before the game, they stopped for whatever reason but yeah they should bring that back.
no link but i heard on another board that roger godell is making the people in the superbowl not playing in the probowl still go to the game. what a joke. these guys are preparing for the biggest game of their lives and hes gunna MAKE them participate in this joke of a "game" festivities
From what I was told, the 30,000 were actual fans who paid for tickets to see the game. The balance is to sponsors, promo's give-a way's, etc. I do not know this for a fact but, the guy is reliable. He flies all over the country renting space to sell College and Pro merchandise for events like this. To rent a good location in South Beach, for the Pro Bowl/Super Bowl is $30,000 for a few weeks.
Agreed. I used to enjoy the NFL's Fastest Man competition, etc. That would be some fun to see again, as well as the Big Uglies for the Strongest man.
Dude, that is a great explanation. And, it makes perfect sense. Figures it had to be about money. It's always about money. Man, the greed of everyone involved just really blows my mind. The owners, the players, the agents, the networks, the NFL network, the NFL itself. I mean, it's out of control. One of these days it's all gonna come down like a house of cards. The figures just keep going up and up. It's already to the point where the average Joe can't take his family to a game. Not this average Joe anyway. BTW, I was the one that said if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
