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In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League (NFL). Since the merger with the rival American Football League (AFL) in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl, matching players in the American Football Conference (AFC) against those in the National Football Conference (NFC).
Unlike most other sports leagues, which hold their all-star games during the halfway point of their respective regular seasons, the Pro Bowl is generally the last game played at the end of the NFL season.
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Encyclopedia
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League (NFL). Since the merger with the rival American Football League (AFL) in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl, matching players in the American Football Conference (AFC) against those in the National Football Conference (NFC).
Unlike most other sports leagues, which hold their all-star games during the halfway point of their respective regular seasons, the Pro Bowl is generally the last game played at the end of the NFL season. The first Pro Bowl, featuring the all-stars of the 1938 season, was played on January 15, 1939 at Los Angeles's Wrigley Field. The game was then played at various venues before being held at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii for thirty consecutive seasons from 1980 to 2009. The 2010 Pro Bowl will be played at Dolphin Stadium, the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins and host site of Super Bowl XLIV, on January 31, the first time ever that the Pro Bowl is held before the championship game.
Through the 2009 game, the NFC leads the series 20–19.
Game history
A post season all-star game between the new league champion and a team of professional all-stars was added to the NFL schedule at the end of the 1938-39 season. On January 15, 1939, at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, the New York Giants won the first Pro All-Star Game 13-10, defeating an all-star team of players from NFL teams and two future Pacific Coast Professional Football League clubs, the Los Angeles Bulldogs and the Hollywood Stars (the Bulldogs, a former AFL II franchise, were originally planning on joining the league but were rejected; the team, in independent play, went 2-1-2 against NFL opponents in 1938).
This format continued for the next four seasons, except that the all-star team now consisted solely of NFL players. In January 1942, in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, the game was moved from Los Angeles to the Polo Grounds in New York City. The last Pro All-Star Game was held in December 1942. Seeing that it was currently wartime, and the NFL playing a reduced schedule (and had significantly less talent to work with due to top players being drafted or enlisting into the war) starting in 1943, the series was abandoned.
The NFL revived the game (now dubbed the Pro Bowl) in January 1951, after the 1950 season. The game was now a contest between conference all-star teams: American vs. National (1951-53) and Eastern vs. Western (1954-70). The rival AFL, meanwhile, staged its own All-Star Game from 1962-70, using the same East vs. West format. The AFL departed from this format once, in the January 1966 game, when the league champion Buffalo Bills played all-stars from the rest of the league.
After the AFL-NFL Merger of 1970, the name of the NFL's all-star game was changed to the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl. Since the merger, the head coaches of the teams that lost in the AFC and NFC championship games have been selected as the coaches for the respective Pro Bowl squads — a compromise that arose from the decision to discontinue the Playoff Bowl, which had it been retained, would have matched up the two teams that lost the conference title games.
As mentioned above, Honolulu has become the permanent site of the game. This is credited to the efforts of Dan McGuire, sports editor of the Honolulu Advertiser, who reached out to NFL officials in the 1970s with the suggestion. Today, the game's most valuable player award is named for McGuire, who has passed away.
Player selection
Currently, players are voted into the Pro Bowl by the coaches, the players themselves, and the fans. Each group's ballots count for one third of the votes. The fans vote online at the NFL's official site. There are also replacements that go to the game should any selected player be unable to play due to injuries. Prior to 1995, only the coaches and the players made Pro Bowl selections.
In order to be considered a Pro Bowler for a given year, a player must either have been one of the initial players selected to the team, or a player who accepts an invitation to Hawaii as an alternate; invited alternates who decline to attend are not considered Pro Bowlers. Being a Pro Bowler is considered to be a mark of honor, and players who are accepted into the Pro Bowl are considered to be elite.
Pro Bowl MVP
The first Most Valuable Player award (or Most Outstanding Player) in the Pro Bowl was presented in 1951. From 1957 to 1971, two awards were presented to an offensive back and a defensive lineman. In 1972, there were awards for both an offensive player and a defensive player. Since 1973, only one MVP award has been presented (though three times this award has been presented to multiple players).
Pro Bowl attitude
Since the Pro Bowl has no effect upon players' or teams' statistics and records, and is played at the very end of the season, the players generally take the contest much less seriously than the average regular season games. Conventional wisdom holds that they tend to play soft to avoid serious injuries which could impede or end their football careers, despite the fact that the time difference between the Pro Bowl and the beginning of the next preseason (approximately six months) is enough for most football injuries other than the most severe to heal completely. Players commonly make weak blocks and tackles. Defensive linemen will usually simply stand up when the ball is snapped during field goal attempts and punts instead of trying to block them, partially because special Pro Bowl rules discourage attempting to block a kick. This injury minimalizing attitude generally manifests in a strongly offensively weighted game, along with the willingness of players and coaches to go for big offensive plays.
With a large portion of the competitive nature of the game removed, players and the media tend to treat the game as more of a fun get-together than a hard-fought battle. The rotation of players into and out of the game also presents an opportunity for TV interviews of personalities who are only ever seen during the game from afar, or afterwards in press conferences.
However, contrary to popular opinion this soft Pro Bowl attitude is a recent change. The vast majority of early Pro Bowls beginning with the merger were relatively low scoring, 20 of 26 games from the 1970 season through 1995 featuring less than 45 points. During the decade of NFC dominance of the Super Bowl from the mid-'80s through mid-'90s, the Pro Bowl became a type of grudge match for the AFC and produced some of the most brutally physical games of the entire season, with scores like 10-6, 15-6 and 17-3. Once the AFC re-established conference parity the Pro Bowl became much looser and offensive-minded, with eight of the nine games between the 1996 and 2004 seasons producing at least 49 points, and an average of 64.1. To demonstrate how dramatic the change has been, in the late '80s through mid '90s the Pro Bowl over/under betting line was always in the 39-41 range, and generally bet toward the under by Las Vegas wise guys. The 2007 Pro Bowl had an over/under of 65.
Even now there are certain players who treat it just like a regular game and will go for big hits and go the length of the field to make a play. These tend to be younger players but even some veterans are known. Examples from the 2004 Pro Bowl are Roy Williams' hit on Todd Heap and Ed Reed blocking a punt and returning it for a touchdown, the only blocked punt returned in Pro Bowl history. Also in the 2007 Pro Bowl Sean Taylor laid a crushing blow on Brian Moorman during an attempted fake punt. Drew Brees dislocated his left (non-throwing) elbow in the 2007 game, after being tripped up by Terrell Suggs.
In the 1998 game, the Pro Bowl saw its first ejections: San Francisco guard Kevin Gogan and Denver defensive end Neil Smith exchanged punches after a play and were banished by referee Larry Nemmers.
Pro Bowl uniforms
Because the teams are made of players from different NFL teams, using their own uniforms would be too confusing. The players all wear the helmet of their team, but the home jerseys and pants are either a solid blue for the NFC or solid red for the AFC, while white jerseys with blue or red accents, respectively, for the away team. While it has been speculated that the color of Pro Bowl jerseys is determined by the winner of the Super Bowl, this is untrue. The design of Pro Bowl uniforms is changed every two years, and the color and white jerseys are rotated along with the design change. This has been Pro Bowl tradition since the switch to team specific helmets in the early '90s. The two-year switch was originally created as a marketing ploy by Nike, and has been continued by Reebok, who won the merchandising contract in 2002.
The early Pro Bowl, contested by the National Football League's Eastern and Western Division stars and played at the Los Angeles Coliseum, featured the same uniforms from the 1950s to mid-1960s; the Eastern team wore scarlet jerseys with white numerals and a white crescent shoulder stripe, white pants with red stripe, red socks, and a plain red helmet. The Western team wore white jerseys with royal-blue numerals and a Northwestern University-style triple stripe on the sleeves, white pants with blue stripe and socks and a plain blue helmet. Perhaps oddly, the Eastern team, wore home dark jerseys, although the host-city team, the Los Angeles Rams, were members of the Western Conference. From January 1967 to January 1970 both teams wore gold helmets with the NFL logo on the sides; the Eastern helmets featured a red-white-red tri-stripe and the Western a similar blue-white-blue
tri-stripe. In fact the players brought their own game helmets to Los Angeles, which were then spray-painted and decorated for the contest.
(For the 1970 game the helmets featured the 50 NFL logo, commemorating the league's half-century anniversary.)
In the earliest years of the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl, the players did not wear their unique helmets, as they do now. The AFC All-Stars wore a solid red helmet with a white A on it, while the NFC players wore a solid white helmet with a blue N on it. The AFC's red helmets were paired with white jerseys and red pants, while the NFC's white helmets were paired with blue jerseys and white pants.
Two players with the same number who are elected to the Pro Bowl can wear the same number for that game. Prior to a few years ago, all players were required to wear different numbers, regardless of what jersey number they wore on their regular team. This changed a few years ago, when players wore the jersey number on their regular team jersey, thus initially resulting in virtually every wide receiver on the field being numbered 80 or 81, a situation that, predictably, created significant confusion. Thus, it is recommended—although not required—that players use different jersey numbers, and generally when two players share a number, the less experienced one will wear a different number for the game.
The 2008 Pro Bowl included a unique example of several players from the same team wearing the same number in a Pro Bowl. For the game, Washington Redskins players T Chris Samuels, TE Chris Cooley, and LS Ethan Albright all wore the number 21 (a number normally inappropriate for their positions) in memory of their teammate Sean Taylor who had been murdered during the 2007 season.
Game results
NFL All-Star Games (1939-1942)
- No Most Valuable Player awards were presented during these games
| Season | Date | Score | Venue |
|---|
| 1938 | January 15, 1939 | New York Giants 13, Pro All-Stars 10 | Wrigley Field, Los Angeles | | 1939 | January 14, 1940 | Green Bay Packers 16, NFL All-Stars 7 | Gilmore Stadium, Los Angeles | | 1940 | December 29, 1940 | Chicago Bears 28, NFL All-Stars 14 | Gilmore Stadium, Los Angeles | | 1941 | January 4, 1942 | Chicago Bears 35, NFL All-Stars 24 | Polo Grounds, New York City | | 1942 | December 27, 1942 | NFL All-Stars 17, Washington Redskins 14 | Shibe Park, Philadelphia |
NFL Pro Bowls (1951-70)
| Season | Date | Score | Most Valuable Players | Venue | Head Coaches | Television |
|---|
1950 | January 14, 1951 | American Conference 28, National Conference 27 | Otto Graham, Cleveland Browns, Quarterback | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | | | 1951 | January 12, 1952 | National Conference 30, American Conference 13 | Dan Towler, Los Angeles Rams, Running back | | NBC | 1952 | January 10, 1953 | National Conference 27, American Conference 7 | Don Doll, Detroit Lions, Defensive back | | NBC | 1953 | January 17, 1954 | East 20, West 9 | Chuck Bednarik, Philadelphia Eagles, Linebacker | | NBC | 1954 | January 16, 1955 | West 26, East 19 | Billy Wilson, San Francisco 49ers, End | | NBC | 1955 | January 15, 1956 | East 31, West 30 | Ollie Matson, Chicago Cardinals, Running back | | NBC | 1956 | January 13, 1957 | West 19, East 10 | Back: Bert Rechichar, Baltimore Colts
Lineman: Ernie Stautner, Pittsburgh Steelers | | NBC | 1957 | January 12, 1958 | West 26, East 7 | Back: Hugh McElhenny, San Francisco 49ers
Lineman: Gene Brito, Washington Redskins | | NBC | 1958 | January 11, 1959 | East 28, West 21 | Back: Frank Gifford, New York Giants
Lineman: Doug Atkins, Chicago Bears | | NBC | 1959 | January 17, 1960 | West 38, East 21 | Back: Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts
Lineman: Eugene "Big Daddy" Lipscomb, Pittsburgh Steelers | | NBC | 1960 | January 15, 1961 | West 35, East 31 | Back: Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts
Lineman: Sam Huff, New York Giants | | NBC | 1961 | January 14, 1962 | West 31, East 30 | Back: Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns
Lineman: Henry Jordan, Green Bay Packers | | NBC | 1962 | January 13, 1963 | East 30, West 20 | Back: Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns
Lineman: Eugene "Big Daddy" Lipscomb, Pittsburgh Steelers | | NBC | 1963 | January 12, 1964 | West 31, East 17 | Back: Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts
Lineman: Gino Marchetti, Baltimore Colts | | NBC | 1964 | January 10, 1965 | West 34, East 14 | Back: Fran Tarkenton, Vikings
Lineman: Terry Barr, Detroit Lions | | NBC | 1965 | January 15, 1966 | East 36, West 7 | Back: Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns
Lineman: Dale Meinert, St. Louis Cardinals | | | 1966 | January 22, 1967 | East 20, West 10 | Back: Gale Sayers, Chicago Bears
Lineman: Floyd Peters, Philadelphia Eagles | | | 1967 | January 21, 1968 | West 38, East 20 | Back: Gale Sayers, Chicago Bears
Lineman: Dave Robinson, Green Bay Packers | | | 1968 | January 19, 1969 | West 10, East 7 | Back: Roman Gabriel, Los Angeles Rams
Lineman: Merlin Olsen, Los Angeles Rams | | | 1969 | January 18, 1970 | West 16, East 13 | Back: Gale Sayers, Chicago Bears
Lineman: George Andrie, Dallas Cowboys | | |
AFC-NFC Pro Bowls (1971-present)
| Date | Score | Series | Most Valuable Player(s) | Venue | Head Coaches | Television |
|---|
| January 24, 1971 | NFC, 27-6 | NFC, 1-0 | Lineman: Fred Carr, Packers
Back: Mel Renfro, Cowboys | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California | AFC: John Madden, Oakland
NFC: Dick Nolan, San Francisco | CBS | | January 23, 1972 | AFC, 26-13 | Tied, 1-1 | Defense: Willie Lanier, Chiefs
Offense: Jan Stenerud, Chiefs | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California | AFC: Don McCafferty, Baltimore
NFC: Dick Nolan, San Francisco | NBC | | January 21, 1973 | AFC, 33-28 | AFC, 2-1 | O.J. Simpson, Bills, Running back | Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas | AFC: Chuck Noll, Pittsburgh
NFC: Tom Landry, Dallas | CBS | | January 20, 1974 | AFC, 15-13 | AFC, 3-1 | Garo Yepremian, Dolphins, Placekicker | Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri | AFC: John Madden, Oakland
NFC: Tom Landry, Dallas | NBC | | January 20, 1975 | NFC, 17-10 | AFC, 3-2 | James Harris, Rams, Quarterback | Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida | AFC: John Madden, Oakland
NFC: Chuck Knox, Los Angeles | ABC | | January 26, 1976 | NFC, 23-20 | Tied, 3-3 | Billy Johnson, Oilers, Kick returner | Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana | AFC: John Madden, Oakland
NFC: Chuck Knox, Los Angeles | ABC | | January 17, 1977 | AFC, 24-14 | AFC, 4-3 | Mel Blount, Steelers, Cornerback | The Kingdome, Seattle, Washington | AFC: Chuck Noll, Pittsburgh
NFC: Chuck Knox, Los Angeles | ABC | | January 23, 1978 | NFC, 14-13 | Tied, 4-4 | Walter Payton, Bears, Running back | Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida | AFC: John Madden, Oakland
NFC: Bud Grant, Minnesota | ABC | | January 29, 1979 | NFC, 13-7 | NFC, 5-4 | Ahmad Rashad, Vikings, Wide receiver | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California | AFC: Bum Phillips, Houston
NFC: Ray Malavasi, Los Angeles | ABC | | January 27, 1980 | NFC, 37-27 | NFC, 6-4 | Chuck Muncie, Saints, Running back | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Bum Phillips, Houston
NFC: John McKay, Tampa Bay | ABC | | February 1, 1981 | NFC, 21-7 | NFC, 7-4 | Eddie Murray, Lions, Placekicker | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Don Coryell, San Diego
NFC: Tom Landry, Dallas | ABC | | January 31, 1982 | AFC, 16-13 | NFC, 7-5 | Lee Roy Selmon, Buccaneers, Defensive end
Kellen Winslow, Chargers, Tight end | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Don Coryell, San Diego
NFC: Tom Landry, Dallas | ABC | | February 6, 1983 | NFC, 20-19 | NFC, 8-5 | Dan Fouts, Chargers, Quarterback
John Jefferson, Packers, Wide receiver | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Walt Michaels, N.Y. Jets
NFC: Tom Landry, Dallas | ABC | | January 29, 1984 | NFC, 45-3 | NFC, 9-5 | Joe Theismann, Redskins, Quarterback | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Chuck Knox, Seattle
NFC: Bill Walsh, San Francisco | ABC | | January 27, 1985 | AFC, 22-14 | NFC, 9-6 | Mark Gastineau, Jets, Defensive end | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Chuck Noll, Pittsburgh
NFC: Mike Ditka, Chicago | ABC | | February 2, 1986 | NFC, 28-24 | NFC, 10-6 | Phil Simms, Giants, Quarterback | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Don Shula, Miami
NFC: John Robinson, L.A. Rams | ABC | | February 1, 1987 | AFC, 10-6 | NFC, 10-7 | Reggie White, Eagles, Defensive end | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Marty Schottenheimer, Cleveland
NFC: Joe Gibbs, Washington | ABC | | February 7, 1988 | AFC, 15-6 | NFC, 10-8 | Bruce Smith, Bills, Defensive end | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Marty Schottenheimer, Cleveland
NFC: Jerry Burns, Minnesota | ESPN | | January 29, 1989 | NFC, 34-3 | NFC, 11-8 | Randall Cunningham, Eagles, Quarterback | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Marv Levy, Buffalo
NFC: Mike Ditka, Chicago | ESPN | | February 4, 1990 | NFC, 27-21 | NFC, 12-8 | Jerry Gray, Rams, Cornerback | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Bud Carson, Cleveland
NFC: John Robinson, L.A. Rams | ESPN | | February 3, 1991 | AFC, 23-21 | NFC, 12-9 | Jim Kelly, Bills, Quarterback | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Art Shell, L.A. Raiders
NFC: George Seifert, San Francisco | ESPN | | February 2, 1992 | NFC, 21-15 | NFC, 13-9 | Michael Irvin, Cowboys, Wide receiver | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Dan Reeves, Denver
NFC: Wayne Fontes, Detroit | ESPN | | February 7, 1993 | AFC, 23-20 (OT) | NFC, 13-10 | Steve Tasker, Bills, Special teams | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Don Shula, Miami
NFC: George Seifert, San Francisco | ESPN | | February 6, 1994 | NFC, 17-3 | NFC, 14-10 | Andre Rison, Falcons, Wide receiver | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Marty Schottenheimer, Kansas City
NFC: George Seifert, San Francisco | ESPN | | February 5, 1995 | AFC, 41-13 | NFC, 14-11 | Marshall Faulk, Colts, Running back | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Bill Cowher, Pittsburgh
NFC: Barry Switzer, Dallas | ABC | | February 4, 1996 | NFC, 20-13 | NFC, 15-11 | Jerry Rice, 49ers, Wide receiver | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Ted Marchibroda, Indianapolis
NFC: Mike Holmgren, Green Bay | ABC | | February 2, 1997 | AFC, 26-23 (OT) | NFC, 15-12 | Mark Brunell, Jaguars, Quarterback | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Tom Coughlin, Jacksonville
NFC: Dom Capers, Carolina | ABC | | February 1, 1998 | AFC, 29-24 | NFC, 15-13 | Warren Moon, Seahawks, Quarterback | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Bill Cowher, Pittsburgh
NFC: Steve Mariucci, San Francisco | ABC | | February 7, 1999 | AFC, 23-10 | NFC, 15-14 | Keyshawn Johnson, Jets, Wide receiver
Ty Law, Patriots, Cornerback | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Bill Belichick, N.Y. Jets
NFC: Dennis Green, Minnesota | ABC | | February 6, 2000 | NFC, 51-31 | NFC, 16-14 | Randy Moss, Vikings, Wide receiver | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Tom Coughlin, Jacksonville
NFC: Tony Dungy, Tampa Bay | ABC | | February 4, 2001 | AFC, 38-17 | NFC, 16-15 | Rich Gannon, Raiders, Quarterback | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Jon Gruden, Oakland
NFC: Dennis Green, Minnesota | ABC | | February 9, 2002 | AFC, 38-30 | Tied, 16-16 | Rich Gannon, Raiders, Quarterback | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Bill Cowher, Pittsburgh
NFC: Andy Reid, Philadelphia | ABC | | February 2, 2003 | AFC, 45-20 | AFC, 17-16 | Ricky Williams, Dolphins, Running back | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Jeff Fisher, Tennessee
NFC: Andy Reid, Philadelphia | ABC | | February 8, 2004 | NFC, 55-52 | Tied, 17-17 | Marc Bulger, Rams, Quarterback | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Tony Dungy, Indianapolis
NFC: Andy Reid, Philadelphia | ESPN | | February 13, 2005 | AFC, 38-27 | AFC, 18-17 | Peyton Manning, Colts, Quarterback | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Bill Cowher, Pittsburgh
NFC: Jim L. Mora, Atlanta | ESPN | | February 12, 2006 | NFC 23-17 | Tied, 18-18 | Derrick Brooks, Buccaneers, Linebacker | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Mike Shanahan, Denver
NFC: John Fox, Carolina | ESPN | | February 10, 2007 | AFC 31-28 | AFC, 19-18 | Carson Palmer, Bengals, Quarterback | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Bill Belichick, New England
NFC: Sean Payton, New Orleans | CBS | | February 10, 2008 | NFC 42-30 | Tied, 19-19 | Adrian Peterson, Vikings, Running Back | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: Norv Turner, San Diego,
NFC: Mike McCarthy, Green Bay | FOX | | February 8, 2009 | NFC 30-21 | NFC 20-19 | Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals, Wide receiver | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | AFC: John Harbaugh, Baltimore
NFC: Andy Reid, Philadelphia | NBC | | January 31, 2010 | | | | Dolphin Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida | | ESPN | | TBD, 2011 | | | | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | | FOX | | TBD, 2012 | | | | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii | | NBC | |
Records
- Merlin Olsen (Rams) and Bruce Matthews (Oilers/Titans) each were in 14 pro-bowls. Olsen played in 14 consecutive pro-bowls beginning his rookie year.
- The most Pro Bowl invitations for an active player is 12 for Junior Seau.
- In the 20 seasons prior to the AFL-NFL merger, the Western/National Conference won both the Pro Bowl and the NFL Championship game nine times, while the Eastern/American won both two times. In the years they have split, the East won the Pro Bowl and West won the NFL title five times, while the reverse has occurred four times. Also, in this era, the National/Western Conference won 13 of 20 games played against the American/Eastern Conference.
- In the 37 seasons since the AFL-NFL Merger, both conferences have swept the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl 9 times. In the 19 years they have split, the NFC has won the Super Bowl 10 times.
- Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts players have won six MVP awards, more than any other team. Chicago Bears and Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams players have won five MVP awards. Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns players have won four MVP awards. 10 teams have won two, and 13 teams have won one each. The Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos and Houston Texans have never had a player win an MVP award. The Browns have not had a player win an MVP award since the 1951-70 Pro Bowl era.
- Quarterbacks have won 16 MVP awards; wide receivers are second with seven.
- Only two AFC-NFC Pro Bowls have gone to overtime. Both have been won by the AFC in overtime with field goals.
- Due to the rescheduling of Super Bowl XXXVI in the wake of 9/11, the 2002 game was moved from Sunday to the following Saturday, one week later.
- Sean Taylor was voted to the 2007/08 NFC Roster as a starter at free safety, shortly after he was fatally shot in his home by armed intruders. This was the first time in Pro Bowl history that a player was named as a Pro Bowler posthumously. The NFC took the field on defense for their first series with only 10 players on the field. He was later replaced by Roy Williams.
- John Madden and Tom Landry have coached in the most Pro Bowls (5 each).
- Pittsburgh head coaches Bill Cowher and Chuck Noll are #1 and #2 in Pro Bowls won (Cowher 4, Noll 3).
- The 2007/08 Dallas Cowboys have the most selections in one season with 13.
- The most points in a single game was 55 by the NFC in the 2004 Pro Bowl, which also featured the most points by the losing team (the AFC scored 52).
Television
- Under the current NFL television contract, the network which airs the Super Bowl will air the Pro Bowl. The 2007 game on CBS was held on the Saturday after Super Bowl XLI because of the 2007 Grammy Awards. The 2008 game was on FOX, broadcaster of Super Bowl XLII. Likewise, the 2009 game was on NBC, broadcaster of Super Bowl XLIII. ESPN will take CBS's next turn in the rotation by broadcasting the 2010 game, played a week before the Super Bowl at the Super Bowl site, Dolphin Stadium.
- The Pro Bowl was originally broadcast on an alternative basis by CBS and NBC (with the other network broadcasting the Super Bowl) from 1971-1974. Later, the game was broadcast as part of the Monday Night Football package on ABC from 1975-1987 and again from 1995-2003. In 2004-2006, ABC sold its rights to the Pro Bowl to sister network ESPN (who had shown it from 1988-1994). In those years, the ESPN Sunday Night Football crew covered the game.
- In the early 2000s, after suffering through several years of dismal ratings ABC considered moving the game to Monday night. The idea was scrapped, however, when the game was successfully moved to ESPN.
- John Madden declines to be part of the announcing crew when his network carries the Pro Bowl due to his aviatophobia and claustrophobia (a joke referencing both is made in the Madden NFL '97 before the beginning of the Pro Bowl in season mode, where Madden quips that he drove his "Madden Bus" to Hawaii, rather than flying). It has, to this point, only occurred twice: former San Diego Chargers quarterback and MNF personality Dan Fouts, whom Madden had replaced, took his place on ABC in 2003, and Cris Collinsworth took his place on NBC in 2009.
Blackout of game in Hawaii
Although Hawaii does not have a NFL team of its own, the Pro Bowl is still subject to the NFL's blackout policies, requiring the game to be blacked out within the state of Hawaii if it doesn't sell out all of its seats.
Criticism
The Pro Bowl has been plagued with criticism ever since the NFL allowed fan voting. Voting by fans takes up 1/3 of the vote for Pro Bowl players. Many teams like Dallas, Washington, and other large fan bases usually win this popularity contest because fans usually vote for their own team and not necessarily the best player. In the 2008 Pro Bowl, the Dallas Cowboys had thirteen players on the NFC roster, a NFL record. ESPN writer Jemele Hill describes it like an American Idol contest. Players from small market teams like Jacksonville Jaguars running back Fred Taylor Minnesota Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield, and Carolina Panthers Kicker John Kasay have had many deserving seasons to be in the Pro Bowl. It took Taylor twelve seasons to finally get his Pro Bowl spot after Willie Parker, running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, injured himself out of the Pro Bowl. "If you're in a small market, no one really gets to see you play," said Winfield. "If you're a quiet guy, it's hard to get the attention. You just have to work hard and play." Winfield made the Pro Bowl in 2008 after ten seasons of being shut out.
The player voting has also been subject to significant criticism. It is not uncommon for the players to pick the same players over and over again; former offensive lineman (and SI.com analyst) Ross Tucker has cited politics, incumbency, and compensation for injury in previous years as primary factors in player's choices among themselves, resulting in players such as Charles Woodson, Ruben Brown, and to a lesser extent Jason Peters repeatedly being selected to the game despite having subpar seasons.
See also
External links
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