Pro Bowl Back to Hawaii, Stays Before Super Bowl

by John B on Mar 3, 2010 7:00 AM EST

From the league office:

2011 PRO BOWL TO BE PLAYED IN HAWAII WEEK BEFORE
NORTH TEXAS HOSTS SUPER BOWL XLV

Decision Follows Success of 2010 Game Before Super Bowl

The 2011 Pro Bowl will be played a week before Super Bowl XLV and return to Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii, the NFL announced today. The game will be televised live on Sunday, January 30 on FOX at 7 PM ET. FOX will televise Super Bowl XLV a week later on Sunday, February 6 from Cowboys Stadium in North Texas.

The decision to play the NFL’s All-Star Game the week before the Super Bowl for the second consecutive year follows a significant increase in viewership for the 2010 Pro Bowl, the first Pro Bowl to precede the Super Bowl.

The 2010 Pro Bowl on ESPN was watched by an average of 12.3 million viewers, the most for a Pro Bowl since 2000 (13.2 million viewers) and a 40 percent increase from the 2009 game (8.8 million viewers). The 12.3 million viewers also marked the largest viewership for an All-Star game in any sport on cable television. The game at Sun Life Stadium in South Florida also attracted the largest Pro Bowl attendance (70,697) in 50 years.

The Pro Bowl format was discussed last week with the NFL Players Association and a group of players during a meeting with the Competition Committee in Indianapolis.

"Playing the Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl generated more excitement and interest in the event and also kicked off Super Bowl week in an innovative new way," said FRANK SUPOVITZ, the NFL’s senior vice president of events. "We are pleased to return to the State of Hawaii, which has embraced the Pro Bowl for 30 years."

The Pro Bowl’s return to Hawaii, where it had been held consecutively from 1980 to 2009, is part of a two-year agreement between the NFL and the state of Hawaii to play the 2011 and 2012 games there.

I like it. It seems like the best of all worlds. Unlike last year, players will be encouraged to go because the trip will double as an exotic location. I also like having it the week before the Super Bowl. I'm always looking for something to watch that Sunday. The Sunday after the Super Bowl, I'm done with football.

Best of all worlds is a relative term, though. The Pro Bowl stinks. It's tough to have an emotionless game in a contact sport.

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Comments

I always turn it on, but I don’t think I’ve ever really watched it. That being I don’t remember a single thing from any Pro Bowl ever. I wonder if they’re going to make the pro bowlers from the superbowl teams fly out to the pro bowl game and then fly back to Texas.

by random122 on Mar 3, 2010 3:35 PM EST reply actions

I was thinking the same thing. Seems a bit much. Its not so bad when the sites are the same, but when its in Hawaii that seems a little crazy.

by Crackback on Mar 3, 2010 3:38 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, I think it would be too much also, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they did it anyway.

by random122 on Mar 3, 2010 4:31 PM EST up reply actions

Timing is everything, but....

I’m glad to see it played in Hawaii, but the week before the SB will continue to be a problem. You have argueably the 2 best teams in the game sitting their players out, but now they have to fly to Hawaii for photo ops for the NFL. Depending where the SB is, that’s a minimum of 6 hours flying time each way to be in those photo ops. And of course they won’t be able to participate in anything else and will have to return as quickly as possible.

Combine that with the other players who don’t participate due to injury or perceived injury and you have a watered down SB as opposed to the prestige it had back in the day. Maybe those issues need to be addressed by the NFL besides the timing/location.

I agree with John. This is the best they can do tweaking the process. But is the process of selection/player participation beyond this stage?

by oldskooljet on Mar 4, 2010 7:14 AM EST reply actions