Is it just me?

Or was the Pro Bowl last night uninspired? I used to love to watch the Pro Bowl, there were so many tangibles you could grab onto. First there was the coaches, those guys usually decked out with team paraphernalia sans sleeves or not, with scowls on their faces during the regular season always seemed like real people during the Pro Bowl when it was in Hawaii. First they were all sporting a tan, these guys who are used to 14 hour days under the fluorescents or in the darkened film room actually seemed to glow at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii. And those Hawaiian shirts, didn't you just love that look? And add a lei to it and you have Ground and Pound turned into Surf and Turf. You have Cover Two turn into Hang Ten. You have these guys strung tighter than a banjo string, all of the sudden flashing a "hang loose brah" sign from the sidelines.

And the players, they actually seemed to enjoy themselves. I know no one is going to light someone up on a screen pass, that receivers actually feel safe going across the middle, unless Ray Lewis is in the game and then you kind of worry if he might think it would be funny to blow you up when you least expect it. But the players seemed to relax, to chill, to just soak it all in, to enjoy it.

Last night's game although in Miami had all the glitz and glamor of a Pro Bowl but it was lacking those intangibles that made it must see TV. It rained, for the entire game. It never rains in Hawaii, not at game time. It was cold, well by Miami standards it was cold, lower 60's which I am sure the players enjoyed but this game is for the fans right? Who wants to sit through a rainy cold game when their is nothing on the line? In Hawaii it was 80 and sunny! Where else do you want to be if you are a Minnesota Viking, or a New York Giant or Jet when it is close to ZERO degrees at home? You betcha, Hawaii and its 80 degrees. You could almost see it on the players faces last night, there was no waving at the kids in the stands, there was no looking up the wife to make sure she has the car ready to head to the beach after the game, there was no offensive lineman sitting on the bench with his neck stretched out to the breaking point trying to grab a little sun last night.

And not to mention scheduling to play the game before the Super Bowl therefore robbing the fans of seeing Drew "Cool" Breeze chanting up the guys before the game. Or seeing Payton "RoboQB" Manning call somewhere in the neighborhood of five audibles before he hits the line of scrimmage and has the defense looking at each other like he is speaking a foreign language. It robs the fans of seeing Dwight Freeney fly around the edge. Of Reggie Wayne racing under one of those Payton bombs, or of Darren Sharper tracking that ball down to return the interception for a TD. Not to mention the numerous players who were picked for this game and ended up declining an invitation. Come on, no one declines a trip to Hawaii, are you kidding me? Who goes home to his wife and kids and says, "honey, I made the pro bowl, but I am thinking of not going." You would be hit faster than a New York Jet's blitz by your wife and kids telling you that not only are you going, but they are going with you. Skipping out on Miami? Well that is really possible and apparently a lot of players and families decided to do it.

Yes, I do believe the Pro Bowl has lost something. It has lost the purpose it was created for. To be an entertainment extravaganza for the fans and a treat for the players.

So NFL, hang ten, hang loose and get the game back where it needs to be, for all our sakes.