I am programmed not to watch it because it used to be the game after the SB which meant the end of the football. But now they think by putting it in between championship sunday and the SB people are going to watch?
That’s actually not a bad idea. I’ve felt for awhile now they should bring back the skills competition and make it more like the NBA All-Star stuff, but this way they could still keep the game. And even loud Hawaiian shirts would be better than the horrible uniforms they usually have (though this year’s were pretty demure).
I had it on the in the background, but yeah, it’s bad. It’s always been somewhat like touch football, but the vast amount of guys sitting out the game makes it ridiculous. The six QBs who actually played in the game were Wilson, Eli, Carr, Winston, Bridgewater and Tyrod Taylor. That’s one guy who’s actually elite, one guy who’s at least won a couple Super Bowls even if he’s not that great, and four guys who are decidedly average at this point.
I’ve seen it twice in the last ten years. Once when I was stuck at work on a Sunday night and once when I had the flu . Didn’t watch a minute this year. The damn thing still gets some ratings so it isn’t going anywhere although the football is worse than the 4th preseason game
I’ll flip to it from time to time if there’s nothing else on and I’m bored. That said, I heard on ESPN radio that it consistently gets the highest ratings of all the All Star games in the US. But yeah, it’s worse than a complete waste of time due to the risk of injury to those players without guaranteed contracts (which is most of them).
Related question: Have there been any major career-changing injuries in years past?
Not consistently, no. The Pro Bowl was in the lead 2011-12-13, but the last couple of years the MLB All-Star Game has been rated higher. This is perhaps evidence that fans don’t like the sandlot-draft format. As unexciting as it was, AFC-NFC was easier to understand and follow.
It was actually in a flag football game on sand for rookies that was a part of the lead-in to the proper Pro Bowl, but Robert Edwards destroyed his knee in that game after the 1998 season and almost had to have his leg amputated. (I don’t have a cite, but I think he tore every ligament, the main nerve, and the main artery in his knee.) He didn’t play again until 2002.
I might have to take issue with that, the University of Alabama (eventual national champions) vs. Charleston Southern (which sounds like a subway stop instead of a University), could give it a run for the money (Alabama won 56-6)
But yeah, didn’t watch a minute of it, and apparently the ratings have continued their downward slide with this one. As well they should.
I agree the game is stupid. If the NFL just did fun competitions (who can throw the furthest, who can push the dummy back more, stuff like that). I think people would watch.