Football has always had different ways of doing things. The rules, fines and the game itself are different. One thing that has remained the same has been the Pro Bowl…until this year.

There is always the break before the Super Bowl to give teams a chance to prepare and get geared up for the biggest game of the season. One thing that has taken place in that open weekend is the Pro Bowl.

This year the game has a new look and not just in the new uniforms the players will wear but in the way teams will play.

Ryan and Bryan give their opinions about what they think about the new style of the Pro Bowl.

Ryan:

The Pro Bowl has and always will be meant for the fans and the players. The players get to go to Hawaii and play a fun game against the best players in the league, all of which are on one of two teams.

The game is not meant to be brutal, The NFL enforces a lot of different rules to make the game more high scoring but this year they have taken it to a whole new level.

I think the draft format is interesting to say the least. You no longer have the NFC and AFC teams. This year it was Team (Jerry) Rice and Team (Deion) Sanders, two Hall of Fame football players.

The fans picked the eligible players and the two captains picked the teams from there. It is a new twist to the game. The uniforms, on the other hand, are a little wild.

I think the game was a hit with the fans because it was a different look of football. Players from different divisions finally got to play together and it proved to be an exciting game.

Change is what a lot of fans want to see.

The same old, same old gets boring so I think the new change is good for football.

The main reason that it does not attract me is because it is meaningless.

Baseball does it right by having the All-Star Game mean something. It gives the players a reason to actually play the game at their full potential.

The game is great, do not get me wrong, but football is a smash mouth sport and the Pro Bowl is a lot calmer than any regular season game.

If there was one thing I would change, it would be to put the Pro Bowl after the Super Bowl, like it used to be because many of the players selected to the Pro Bowl are in the Super Bowl and do not get a chance to play.

Bryan:

I completely agree with the fact that it was interesting to see players that typically do not play together on the same offense and defense. The new format is also another way for the NFL to continue to attract fans to watch the game.

The NFL Pro Bowl has received higher ratings than the MLB All-Star Game, the NBA All-Star Game and the NHL’s All-Star contest.

I think this new style of the Pro Bowl selection will help keep the NFL above the other sports in the ratings, even though the game is essentially meaningless.

Trying new ways to keep fans entertained is key for the NFL because of all the scrutiny it has been under recently.

I personally do not watch the game because there is not much of a contest and there is a real lack of defense. The winning team over the last three years has not scored less than 50 points.

In the end, I’m sure millions of people will watch the game, and the new format will attract more interest.

I think the real point of the Pro Bowl is for the players to have fun at the game, show off flashy plays and enjoy the warm weather while the teams playing in the Super Bowl have to get ready to play in the cold.

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