HAWAII OH-NO

When it comes to sports in America, the discussion for which is the biggest starts and stops with one word: football. For all of you faithful readers in the South that say Nascar and its superior numbers, there's two things to remember. One, Nascar is a year round thing. Two, most tracks seat about one and a half times the amount of people a normal NFL stadium does. So there. Yet despite all of the upside, football has its one major black eye. The pro bowl. This year's edition last weekend was no different. In no particular order, here are 4 reasons why the game sucks.

• Its hard to sell the game to the fans when even the players could care less about it. Every year a handful of players named to the game seem to find a way out, and those not chosen to go or in the Super Bowl are considered the lucky ones. A free trip to Hawaii just doesn't cut it anymore.
• Where's the entertainment? The pro bowl is the one All Star event with no skills display or something purely for the fans. Every other major sport makes a weekend out of it, to get maximum exposure out of the sports brightest stars. The NFL is simply costing itself money the same way NCAA football does every year it goes without a playoff.
• If I wanted to watch touch football, I would walk over to the local middle school. I realize these games are pure exhibition, but taking everything away from the game that makes it so great in the name of safety is stupid. There could almost be an argument that having the game in a flag football format would provide more entertainment. Could you imagine trying to rip off Adrian Petersen's flag as he's running right at you? No thanks.
• Location, location, location. I realize that Hawaii is most likely the biggest draw for the people going to the Pro Bowl, especially those working and playing in it. (If you're going to watch or play in a game that doesn't mean anything, it mine as well be in one of the most beautiful places on earth.) However, I thought last years trial of having the game at the location of the Super Bowl worked well to get people hyped for the game. Also, the recent tradition of having the game before the Super Bowl instead of after is somewhat odd. I get that after the Super Bowl people's attention may shift to other sports, but what's the benefit of alienating some of the games biggest names?

If i were to rank the All Star games by sport, it would look like this: NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL. The NBA all star weekend is always exciting to watch, and benefits from players that seem to take pride in really competing in the game. While I don't agree with the MLB All Star game deciding which league gets home field in the World Series (Texas Rangers nodding vigorously), it has brought some appeal to the game. And the lovable NHL isn't afraid to try new things such as last weekends team draft a la a pickup game at the park, and the players enthusiastic play. Over the past 20 years, the NFL has been successful in superseding the three other major sports. Now they just have to figure out the right way to present a game that doesn't count to be dominant.