The Pro Bowl 2011 is trying a unique experiment again. The date of the Pro Bowl 2011 is a week before the Super Bowl for the second consecutive season. This strategy was Roger Goodell's best effort to make the all-star game relevant and shake up its formula. However, at least one part of it failed instantly, since it was held at the Super Bowl site in Miami, and not in Hawaii. Therefore, the Pro Bowl is returning to its usual home - but will the 2012 game then return to its usual date?
Pretty much every all-star game is deemed useless by the majority of fans. Although being named all-stars is a big honor for players, they don't usually go all out in actually playing the game, since it is ill-advised.
But the Pro Bowl 2011 is the NFL's second attempt to shake things up, by holding it two weeks earlier. This is the only all-star battle held at the end of a season, as it used to be just an anticlimactic epilogue to Super Bowl Sunday. However, they tried something different last year by putting it the week before the championship game.
That decision ensured that the Colts and Saints stars couldn't play, since they had the Super Bowl to get ready for. This year, leading vote-getters Michael Vick and Tom Brady won't be in action if the Eagles and Patriots win their conference titles. In any case, at least a few major icons won't have the chance to play, if they take their teams through January.
At the least, one controversial change has been taken out of the Pro Bowl. After holding last year's contest away from Hawaii, the NFL is returning there this season. Hosting it away from Honolulu was just a temporary experiment - like having it the week before the Super Bowl might be.
There is no word yet on when the 2012 exhibition will be held. Of course, there might not even be a need for one, if the worst fears about a lockout come true. But just in case there is a season next year, they'll need to revisit whether this strategy is a lasting success.
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