I thought the point of having the Superbowl before the Pro Bowl was so the Super Bowl teams would not risk having players injured while playing a nonsense game. Why in the world would the NFL want to risk injuries to players going to the Superbowl? And, why would the coaches put up with it?
They don’t. Superbowl players will not participate in the probowl, making it an even bigger mockery this year than years previous. And that’s no small feat.
I have never watched more than 5 minutes of any Pro bowl. Due to it’s violent nature, the sport of professional football does not lend itself to an all star game. I think naming an all-pro team is ok, just don’t expect them to go out and play and possibly get hurt.
The last time I watched a pro-bowl one of the rules was “no blitzing”. I turned it off soon afterward.
I believe it’s considered the worst of the 4 pro all star games. NHL all star game is not that good because they don’t really check anyone which means there is not a lot of defense. Most games end up 10-8 or a similar score.
For MLB and NBA the games are more like a regular season game.
I rank the Pro Bowl in with the Bud Bowl and the Lingerie Bowl - football-like events but not real sports competitions. Watching NFL players participate in a publicity stunt is more interesting than watching beer bottles but less interesting than watching women in their underwear.
Mockery, indeed. Nothing at stake. No one care if they win.
MLB and NBA all-stars appeared to be really trying. No so in Pro Bowl.
I haven’t watched in 20 years or more. And won’t this time either
I usually find the pro bowl skills competition worth watching (receivers getting blasted from juggs machines surrounding them, QBs hitting moving targets, etc), but they haven’t aired it in a couple of years. I’d rather watch that.
It’s too bad that there doesn’t seem to be anything the NFL can do to make the Pro Bowl interesting or meaningful. It’s obviously an honor for the players to be recognized as the best in their positions, but then many don’t actually want to play, or they’re dinged up from the season and just want to relax a little before they have to start the offseason.
I can remember when the pro bowl was fun to watch. Guys actually tried to do a good job, without smashing each other into the ground. Of course, back then football had a bit more civility to it than it does now.
Personally, I think they should just play flag football instead. That would be a riot to watch. 
I think there has been talk of ending the Pro Bowl. Most fans would not miss it and neither would most players. As long as they get their bonus for making All Pro they are happy.
That may actually be very entertaining. I’d watch that.
Yeah - I would as well. I like the QB Challenge and things like that. I saw a WR challenge where a player would stand in the middle of a circle and have balls fired at him, to see who would catch more. Very interesting. (And Tony Gonzalez came across as an absolute prima donna, bitching about the angles, and speed of his balls being harder than everyone else* - as primarily a Chefs fan, that pissed me off.)
*I know.
Not only is this year’s Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl, it’s not even in Hawaii. What’s up with that? Wikipedia says it’s been hosted there since 1980…
I believe the intent was that the Pro Bowl would be the kick-off to “Super Bowl Week”, which the league is hoping would add to interest in the “game”.
My understanding is moving the Pro Bowl to the Super Bowl’s city is, at this point, just a one-year experiment; I believe that it’s going back to Hawaii next year, at least for now.
It’s a great idea. Remind all the players and their fans that they won’t be playing in the Super Bowl, in the same stadium as the Super Bowl, while all the Super Bowl participants are there getting ready for the real game. Brilliant!
The only chance of reviving the Pro Bowl is to have fans vote for their favorite Cheerleaders, who then play in lingerie…
To when are you referring, middle school?
Or just use different kinds of Pros 
Living in Hawaii, the game was always a big deal. It’s always sold out and it’s fun bumping into all sorts of players in Waikiki. But that doesn’t mean we’d watch it on TV.
The NFL loves to extort money from Hawaii. Give us a jumbotron. Give us field turf. Give us more fees. So, was this the story of Hawaii refusing to give in? Almost. They paid even more when the NFL put the game in Miami.
We’re now part of a rotation.
Having the Super Bowl players not play is not a big deal. They rarely showed up anyway.