After receiving a promise from players that the game will be more competitive, the NFL will hold the Pro Bowl Jan. 27 in Honolulu, a week before the Super Bowl.
Commissioner Roger Goodell had made it clear that canceling the game was a possibility after the uninspired play of this year’s 59-41 AFC victory. After discussions between the league and the players’ union, the NFL announced Wednesday that Aloha Stadium would host the Pro Bowl for the third straight year.
It will be the 33rd Pro Bowl in Hawaii.
“The players have made it clear through the NFL Players Association that they would like the opportunity to continue to play the Pro Bowl in Hawaii,” NFL executive vice president Ray Anderson said. “We look forward to working with the players toward the goal of improving the competitiveness of this season’s game.”
The Pro Bowl was held in Hawaii from 1980 to 2009. In 2010, the NFL moved the game to the week before the Super Bowl for the first time, and it was held in Miami, site of the Super Bowl that year. The Pro Bowl returned to Hawaii for the 2011 and 2012 games but remained one week before the Super Bowl.
“The players believe that the Pro Bowl is an important tradition,” NFLPA president Domonique Foxworth said. “We worked hard with the league to make sure the best players in the NFL are honored for their achievements on the field.”
News of the Pro Bowl’s return was met with praise by Hawaii tourism officials and Gov. Neil Abercrombie. Both Abercrombie and Mike McCartney, chief executive of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, hinted the state plans to deepen its ties to the league by helping it establish relationships in Asia — a continent with several major markets for tourism to the Aloha State.
“Beyond Hawaii’s shores, we look forward to assisting the NFL in expanding upon their relationships in Japan, and help them to establish a presence in China — both important markets for Hawaii tourism,” McCartney said.
McCartney said the relationship of more than 30 years goes beyond the Pro Bowl game itself, and both the state and the NFL would work on improving the overall experience.
“Hawaii looks forward to building upon our long-standing relationship with the NFL Pro Bowl well into the future,” McCartney said.
Honolulu mayor Peter Carlisle said he was “thrilled that the NFL Pro Bowl is going to return in 2013.”
“Our residents, visitors, military, and many others look forward to this exciting event,” he added. “There is electricity in the air when the Pro Bowl is approaching and the festive atmosphere continues even after the game as people stay here to enjoy our beautiful island home. The Pro Bowl has long had the support of the city and county of Honolulu.”
League sources had told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen in April that the league was likely to suspend the Pro Bowl, and Goodell had expressed his displeasure with this year’s game several times, acknowledging it could be scrapped if the level of play doesn’t improve.
“The issue is we recognize it is an all-star game, but we also believe fans expect more from an NFL game,” he said recently. “If we believe we can achieve that, we want to give them every opportunity to do that.”
For January’s game, TV ratings were strong, with 12.5 million viewers, making the Pro Bowl the most watched of all all-star games for the 2011 season, but the lack of intensity drew criticism from all sides.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had said that some of his NFC teammates “embarrassed themselves” with the effort they gave in the game.
San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York questioned his followers on Twitter about their feelings toward the Pro Bowl, concluding from their responses that there “doesn’t seem to be much love.”
This year’s game will be broadcast live on NBC at 7 p.m. ET and serve as the kickoff event for the Super Bowl, which will be played Feb. 3 in New Orleans.
–ESPN
