The end of season competitions take place this weekend.
The news came out a few days ago that Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield would be replacing Jayden Daniels at the Pro Bowl.
A few days before that, Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans was called up to replace CeeDee Lamb for the NFC team.
The Bucs already had Vita Vea and Tristan Wirfs originally called up when the rosters were announced.
With this heavy Buccaneers presence, and being a relatively new NFL fan (2018), I wondered what the Pro Bowl was.
The Pro Bowl originally started back in 1939 where it was called the All Star game, until 1951 when it became the Pro Bowl.
Originally, the Pro Bowl had the league champion play a team of ‘all stars’ in an exhibition game
This highlights the USA’s almost century long love for all star games and ‘bowls’.
For that, see the ‘Duke’s Mayo Bowl’ or the ‘Cheez-it Citrus Bowl’.
Chelsea co-owner and one time almost Washington Commanders owner Todd Boehly had suggested this format for the English Premier League.
Boehly suggested a ‘North vs South’ exhibition game, only to be disregarded by everyone, including ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
Revamped Pro Bowl aims to improve popularity
The first official Pro Bowl was played in 1951, staged as an ‘East vs West’ all star game.
After the 1970 merger, it became known as the AFC-NFC Pro bowl, similar to today’s format.
So why do so many people dislike the Pro Bowl?
The Pro Bowl is always one of the lowest viewed NFL games of the year.
In 2012, the Associated Press published an article mentioning that the players were “hitting each other as though they were having a pillow fight”
This disinterest in the Pro Bowl led the league to revamp the format in an attempt to make it interesting.
Eli and Peyton Manning became the faces of the event in 2022, becoming coaches of the AFC and NFC respectively.
The event was also moved to before the Super Bowl, to fill in the two week gap and increase viewership.
It is now a flag football game, with other events like relay race, dodgeball, and even a trivia quiz round.
The Pro Bowl went from a real all star game, to a competition comprised of playground gamed and quizzes.
Despite this, being named to the Pro Bowl is considered an honour – similar to an All Pro – and selections are cherished.
Mayfield is now the first quarterback in Bucs history to be named in consecutive Pro Bowls.
The Bucs are one of the teams with the most starters this year, so if you are a Tampa Bay fan, why not give it a watch?
