Seven pro football players and personnel were honored with their inclusion into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday night, airing on ESPN. The legendary personalities honored were Jonathan Ogden, Dave Robinson, Larry Allen, Bill Parcells, Curley Culp, Warren Sapp and Cris Carter.
While these seven men surely earned their place in the hall of fame, Saturday’s events led this reporter to wonder: Just how important is the NFL Pro Bowl and this hall of fame compared to the others in America?
The MLB has the All-Star game and break. The NBA has their All-Star game while the NHL has the Winter Classic. Even soccer, while globally, has several outlets where their top players perform. All of these seem to pit the top players in each conference or division against the other in an attempt to prove dominance.
The NFL Pro Bowl followed a similar format until earlier this week, when the league and NFLPA reached an agreement to change the Pro Bowl significantly. An event that has always been overshadowed by the Super Bowl, and even other all-star type games, will now feature teams put together in a real life ‘fantasy football draft’. Doing away with the old AFC vs. NFC matchup, both teams may now feature a team with a mix of players from each league rather than those voted in for their respective leagues.
In addition to doing away with this natural rivalry, the NFL has also changed various rules in the game. Kickoffs will no longer take place, as the coin flip will determine who gets first possession and the ball will be placed on the 25-yard line at the beginning of each quarter. The game clock and two-minute warnings are also changed in numerous ways. And lastly, the defense will be able to use the ‘cover two’ and ‘press’ coverage lineups as opposed to just ‘man’ coverage in years past.
While most all-star games are notorious for lack of defense, that last change might do some good. But the popularity of the Pro Bowl is almost as much a novelty as the Little Cesar’s Bowl in Detroit for college football. While these other all-star games hold some sort of sway come postseason, in football, it’s just a bonus game.
And the Hall of Fame is similar. Despite the popularity of football and the legendary sports personalities and athletes it has produced, it is rare for fans to truly care about a hall of fame. While important and a true honor for those inducted, for fans, it’s just another novelty. A hall of fame honor matters to fans of hockey and baseball and even the NBA, while in football, not so much.
Bottom line is this… what purpose do these events have being televised for NFL and other football fans? They hardly move the needle in terms of ratings and seem like nothing more than a cash grab. I think the NFL should do away with the Pro Bowl and the Hall of Fame should stay on ESPN. The honor of the hall of fame is deserving despite it’s draw, while the Pro Bowl should just vanish from a sport riddled with injuries and off field issues seemingly everyday.
What are your thoughts on the NFL Pro Bowl and Pro Football Hall of Fame as they compare to other sports?
