2010 Pro Bowl

I can honestly say that I have never watched a Pro Bowl game in it's entirety.  Ever.

Why? Because the Pro Bowl is stupid and absolutely useless.  There really is no other way to put it.  This year is even worse and has reached a point where it is almost comical.

Not only will it be played in Miami (as opposed to Hawaii) this weekend, the weekend BEFORE the Super Bowl, but 31 players who were originally voted in, won't be playing, either due to "injury" or because they are playing in the Super Bowl.  In addition, those players who aren't participating in the Pro Bowl due to being in the Super Bowl are still required to fly down to Miami to make an appearance.

Before I go any further, here are the 17 players who have pulled out due to injury. 
Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady, Wes Welker,
Jake Long, Brian Cushing, Jairus Byrd, Nate Kaeding (he's not injured, he's still in hiding), Brett Favre, Steven Jackson, Larry Fitzgerald, Sidney Rice, Andre Gurode, Kevin Williams,  Lance Briggs, Charles Woodson, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
The 14 players on the Saints and Colts who were voted in but cannot play: Colts: Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Jeff Saturday, Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, and Antoine Bethea.
From the Saints: Drew Brees, Jonathan Stinchcomb, Jahri Evans, Jonathan Goodwin, Jonathan Vilma, Darren Sharper, and Roman Harper. 

Here are their replacements:
AFC: Matt Schuab (starting), Vince Young, David Garrard, Chad Johnson (Ochocinco), Dan Carpenter, Yeremiah Bell, Brandon Meriweather, Shaun Ellis, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Heath Miller, LaMarr Woodley, Vincent Jackson, Kevin Mawae, and Kyle Vanden Bosch.
NFC: Donovan McNabb, Tony Romo, Antrel Rolle, Roddy White, Ryan Kalil, Johnny Knox, Mike Jenkins, Terence Newman, Clay Matthews, Steve Smith, David Diehl, Chris Snee, Quintin Mikell, Frank Gore, Justin Smith, and London Fletcher.

The final roster can be found here.

In all honesty, I really don't think that the NFL likes the Pro Bowl either.  That is why it tries really hard to make everyone involved so miserable.  They have completely pissed off Sean Payton and Jim Caldwell since they have to send some of their most valuable players down to Miami simply to make an appearance.  Due to this, both teams have to reschedule practices.

If I were a player and this was the first year I'd been voted into the Pro Bowl, I'd be super pissed.  Instead of being able to go to Hawaii, I go to Miami.  Great.  Even if it wasn't my first year, I'd still be pissed.  Most players have visited Miami at some point, especially since Miami has a team.  Hawaii, at least in my opinion, is a bit more exciting.

While the Pro Bowl doesn't really piss off fans as much as is bores them, the NFL still tries.  If there are not enough Pro Bowl tickets (going for around $200 per ticket this year) sold, the NFL actually blacks out the game locally.  The last time the game was actually blacked out was 1982 but last year there was talk of it.  I sort of wish that people wouldn't buy tickets and that the game would get blacked out, perhaps the NFL would get the picture that fans don't really care...especially when it's not the last game of the season.