The NFL made a huge, monumental mistake scheduling the Pro Bowl the week between the league championship games, and the Super Bowl. Every player in this league wants to be in the position that players who play for Indy & New Orleans are in. Probably 95% of them would give up ANY trip to a Pro Bowl, for a trip to the big game.
Guess who the voted-in starting QBs are? Right, Drew Brees, and Peyton Manning.
These two NFL teams had 14 players voted into the Pro-Bowl (7 each) - a super honor for any team, given that only 2 other teams had more of their players voted in (Dallas & Philly, both 9).
Now, back to the Super Bowl. Wait.. We can't because the NFL is mandating those 14 players to make a Pro Bowl appearance - whether or not they choose to play in the game. At this point I have no idea what that number is. I would guess it's close to zero. And it should be.
And that's a shame for everyone involved - except certain guys who may have otherwise been snubbed. All 14 of these guys would much rather not disrupt their team preparation for the BIG GAME (hello?), and have to make that commitment this weekend. So they lose out on an otherwise fun, career-rewarding trip to Hawaii, and the honor of playing in a star-studded game ...if they want. Most of them do, you know.
The game itself suffers because 14 of it's 120 players can't be forced to participate! While the Pro Bowl might attract a significantly larger number of commitments due to the earlier date, it's also guaranteeing itself that those who are on Super Bowl teams won't be there.
And shame on you for doing that to them!
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