Pro Bowl Ratings Through The Roof

NFL News - February 1st, 2010 - Written by John Ritter

The Pro Bowl was without many of it's star players, aggravated the Super Bowl teams and caused a firestorm of debate.

But the NFL is giddy none-the-less over the new format because it produced astronomical ratings, in terms of the game's past, and considered it a rousing success.

Playing the game a week before the championship game -- instead of after -- in primetime -- instead of just after noon -- has turned the snoozer of an exhibition game into a smash hit, with a 7.9 in the overnight rating, according to ProFootballTalk. That number is 39-percent higher than last year's game on NBC. It is also more than double the ratings ESPN got last time it broadcast the game, and came even with the Grammy's running on CBS at the same time.

And despite some objections of the game's new time slot by NFL entities, commissioner Roger Goodell may be inclined to use the new format in the future. The Pro Bowl is obligated to move back to Hawaii for the next two years, but Goodell may move it back after the contract runs out.

His plan to push the game ahead two weeks, and putting it at the Super Bowl site, was to increase interest in the game and bring more bodies to the site to increase revenue.

But players began dropping out at a rapid rate because some only had two or three weeks to recover from nagging injuries. Plus, players from the two Super Bowl teams were exempt from the game, making the grand total of dropouts at 32. The previous all-time high was 17.

Although players from the Colts and Saints were able to sit out the game, they were still required to participate in the pre-game festivities, meaning they would need to be in Miami for a full day before their team, interrupting practice routine. Members of Indianapolis spoke their displeasure in the format, calling it "stupid" and threatened to boycott the game altogether until an agreement was reached.

Although it was played half-heartedly, with absolutely no defense or intensity, fans showed renewed interest in the game, and proved that the once-calamity could be salvaged into a viable attraction.