Pro Bowl remains pointless and terrible, and the sooner the NFL realizes this the sooner we might get something better. While last year seemed like a step in the right direction of at least making the pro bowl watchable, it seems like the league still can’t accept that the game will always be a joke, even when it’s competitive.

The Pro Bowl is not a game. It’s never going to be a game. The NFL wants it to be one, they want another week of football owning the tv ratings, and keeps trying things to make it seem like it’s important, but it’s not. It’s a little backyard BBQ party to honor players who did well that season. The players don’t care, they just want a nice vacation. The honor of being selected to the pro bowl carries more weight than actually playing in it. I think making the game competitive is dumb, because the game is pointless and if I ever found enjoyment out of it it’s because I get to see Peyton Manning throwing to Antonio Gates and Jared Allen and JPP on the same team D-line seeing what happens. When I do happen to watch, which hasn’t been for years, I watched it for the goofy stuff. The fake punts, the gadget plays, the fun backyard football aspect to it. The joy of seeing these guys be happy and have fun. That’s what the Pro Bowl should be.

Last year I hiked a mountain instead of watching the Pro Bowl. People told me I was a fool, because “the game was actually good this time, Dave, it was competitive”. I watched a replay, and yes, it was more competitive than past Pro Bowls. It still wasn’t any better than the Hall of Fame game or a bad pre-season game. It’s sad that a Preseason game is more or less now considered good play level for the Pro Bowl. The voting isn’t good, it ends to early so you get a lot of players who start strong get in. It’s heavily biased on name recognition, which is why certain players always get in over others. OBJ and Golden Tate both had better seasons than Megatron, who was hurt and kind of limpy, if still good all season. Yet Megatron got voted in and it took him dropping out for OBJ to make it, and many other players dropping for Tate to get his chance. Andy Dalton can claim to be a 2015 Pro Bowler now, and he was at least the 13th Quarterback on the list to make it. He didn’t even have as good a season as Eli Manning or Ryan Tannehill, who both put up better numbers.

So the voting is a joke. Half the players drop out, which grants other players who don’t really deserve it a pro bowl nod. The game isn’t taken seriously by the players anyway. And now, this year, the NFL stuck it in Arizona, which is so dumb. Why would any Cards player want to go? Why would any NFC West player want to go, they visit once a year! At least Hawaii was a fun destination and gave the game a lighthearted atmosphere. Now it’s just going to be another droll preseason game in a stadium we’ve all seen plenty of times.

NFL, stop trying to make the Pro Bowl a thing. You’ll never make it matter, just let it be the fun curiosity it should be. Also bring back Skills Competitions.