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History of the Pro Bowl · NFL explained.

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  Speaker 1: take the field. The players have dreamed about this game
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  Speaker 1: since Pewee Football. Yeah, I'm talking about the Pro Bowl.
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  Speaker 1: Here we go. It's NFL explained. The history of the
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  Speaker 1: NFL Pro Bowl. I'm Mike Yamas always joined by a
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  Speaker 1: D D kinga Pola. That's right, Mike. While the Rams
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: and the Bengals are getting ready to play in the
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: Super Bowl for that coveted Lombardi Trophy, we get some
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  Speaker 1: free football courtesy of the NFL players who played at
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  Speaker 1: an elite level this season, the all stars of the NFL,
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  Speaker 1: or as we like to call them, the Pro Bowlers.
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  Speaker 1: With the two Pro Bowl coming up in Las Vegas
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  Speaker 1: at Allegiance Stadium, Mike, I think it's only fair that
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  Speaker 1: we take a deep dive into the history of the
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  Speaker 1: Pro Bowl and look at how it all started, the
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  Speaker 1: different variations, how it's evolved over the years, and it's
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  Speaker 1: one of the best and most unique showcases of the
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  Speaker 1: most talented and athletic in our league. Yeah. Look, I
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  Speaker 1: think it's a little weird only because it's a little
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  Speaker 1: different than other traditional all star games, which are generally
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  Speaker 1: played at the halfway point of the season. NFL Pro
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  Speaker 1: Bowl though it's played at the end of the year,
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  Speaker 1: and really for good reason. You don't want players getting
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  Speaker 1: hurt during an exhibition. We know how physical the game
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  Speaker 1: of football is. In this game, well, it's got no
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  Speaker 1: bearing on the win lost column. It just comes down
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  Speaker 1: to really just bragging rights and yes, some nice cash
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  Speaker 1: bonuses for the players. Now, back in one the losers
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  Speaker 1: received a some of one thousand, five hundred dollars while
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  Speaker 1: the winner got two k a d d. Times have
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  Speaker 1: changed because in the losing team got thirty five thousand
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  Speaker 1: dollars and the winners got seventy five thousand, pro polling
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  Speaker 1: out that win. So while the game is not official,
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  Speaker 1: little extra coin in the pocket that's not the worst
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  Speaker 1: thing in the world. Is that creeps into a lot
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  Speaker 1: of the players minds right before game time. Well, Mike, sure,
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  Speaker 1: especially since going to a Pro Bowl often means footing
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  Speaker 1: an enormous bill for a lot of these players. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: I know players who have brought teammates of theirs that
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  Speaker 1: they think we're really instrumental in their success or perhaps
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  Speaker 1: should have gotten to the Pro Bowl themselves with them.
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  Speaker 1: I know players who bring agents. I know players who
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  Speaker 1: bring family members officially the NFL only gives every player
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  Speaker 1: either two first class tickets or four coach tickets in
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  Speaker 1: terms of airfare, and only offers one hotel room at
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  Speaker 1: whatever the resort is that they are staying at. And
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  Speaker 1: I'll tell you I went to a Pro Bowl back
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  Speaker 1: in January in Hawaii, and my brand new at the
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  Speaker 1: time husband, he said, you know, when we have kids,
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  Speaker 1: we need to come back here. We need to experience
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  Speaker 1: this again. And Mike, when I looked at what the
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  Speaker 1: room rate was, and this is years ago, it was
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  Speaker 1: almost seven hundred dollars a night. So if you're a
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  Speaker 1: player and you're bringing your siblings or your nieces and
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  Speaker 1: nephews or your own children or whoever that can get
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  Speaker 1: pretty expensive airfare hotel rooms, that bonus will come in handy. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: you probably need to win the game, might not cut
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: it depending on that group you might need. But you
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  Speaker 1: know what, let me also add one more thing. The
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  Speaker 1: Pro Bowl isn't only about money, really, and it isn't
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  Speaker 1: only about the possibility of winning that seventy five dollars.
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  Speaker 1: My experience has always been that the Pro Bowl is
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  Speaker 1: this unbelievable bonding experience because think about the NFL you're
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  Speaker 1: not on the road for a long period of time.
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  Speaker 1: You're on the road for one night. It's very structured
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  Speaker 1: and rigid. You know, you get to the hotel, you
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  Speaker 1: might have an hour off, but then you're eventually into
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  Speaker 1: meetings and dinner and you have bed checks. So it's
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  Speaker 1: not like you get to visit your friends on other
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  Speaker 1: teams or hang out with them. The Pro Bowl is
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  Speaker 1: a chance to get to know some coaching staffs, get
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  Speaker 1: to know other players, and you really do see that.
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  Speaker 1: I think that that's why the league takes so much
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  Speaker 1: pride and how they put it all together. So it's
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  Speaker 1: not just the money. It is, however, a chance to
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  Speaker 1: get to a warm climate usually. I mean, I think
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  Speaker 1: that you certainly remember, right the Pro Bowl being in
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  Speaker 1: Hawaii and all the players on the sideline wearing Hawaiian lays.
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  Speaker 1: And let's be honest, this game was played for thirty
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  Speaker 1: straight seasons from nineteen eighty to two thousand and nine
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  Speaker 1: in Honolulu. But even though, as I say that, the
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  Speaker 1: NFL Pro Bowl has a much longer history than just
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  Speaker 1: having been in Honolulu, the first NFL Pro Bowl was
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  Speaker 1: actually played January nineteen thirty nine in Los Angeles, at
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  Speaker 1: a place called Are you ready for this? Wrigley Field?
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  Speaker 1: Wrigley Field in l A. Mike, This this takes me
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  Speaker 1: back to when we did our Names episode and we
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: were talking about baseball teams that shared names with football teams. Well,
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: apparently baseball stadiums can share names with football stadiums or fields,
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  Speaker 1: or did at one time. Then yes, there was indeed
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  Speaker 1: a Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. Okay, but I remember
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  Speaker 1: when I tell you this, this was pre the merger
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  Speaker 1: of the NFL and the American Football Conference. So the
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  Speaker 1: Pro Bowl at the time was established as a charity
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  Speaker 1: football game between the NFL champion, who in nine was
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  Speaker 1: the New York Giants, and a team of All Stars,
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  Speaker 1: and at the time, all of the proceeds from that
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  Speaker 1: game went to the Salvation Army. And here's a little
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  Speaker 1: known fact for you. The Giants actually beat the All
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  Speaker 1: Stars of all of those l A based independent football
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  Speaker 1: teams close one oh high score and fair huh thirteen ten.
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  Speaker 1: There we go. Got a close game at least. But
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  Speaker 1: the format of the NFL Pro Bowl lasted until two,
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  Speaker 1: when it was discontinued because of travel restrictions because of
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: World War Two. Kind of crazy how World War Two
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: really shaped the sports landscape. You always hear about those
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  Speaker 1: baseball stories and players in their prime having to sort
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  Speaker 1: of punt on their playing careers for an extended period
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: of time, but at least from a football perspective. It
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  Speaker 1: was revived again in nineteen fifty one with a brand
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  Speaker 1: new format, and this is still pre merger, but the
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  Speaker 1: NFL did have two conferences, so the game was played
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  Speaker 1: between all stars from the NFL East and the West conferences.
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  Speaker 1: This was also the first time when we saw specially
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  Speaker 1: uniforms for the team's come on, man, you gotta have
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: the unis. The a f C were all read the
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: NFC War Blue and speaking, especially uniforms for the Pro Bowl.
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  Speaker 1: There's been a lot of variations of these over the years.
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  Speaker 1: For example, in nineteen sixty six through nineteen seventy they
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  Speaker 1: wore gold helmets with their blue and red uniforms. Seventy eight,
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  Speaker 1: after the merger of the NFL and the a f L,
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  Speaker 1: they actually changed the name of the Pro Bowl to
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  Speaker 1: the a f C NFC Pro Bowl. So each team
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  Speaker 1: wore uniforms with the American or the National conference embroidered
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  Speaker 1: on them with the letter A or N on the helmet.
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  Speaker 1: Then in nineteen seventy nine, the teams would actually wear
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  Speaker 1: the Pro Bowl uniform with their own team helmet A
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  Speaker 1: D D. Until today's Pro Bowl uniforms, they kind of
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  Speaker 1: went off the rails a little bit. Each year they
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  Speaker 1: had their own unique designs, which I'm a huge fan of.
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  Speaker 1: While the players are they continue to wear their own
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  Speaker 1: team helmets, Mike, I have to be honest, I like
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  Speaker 1: that they wear their own helmet. I feel like that
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  Speaker 1: is the signifier that this is an All Star game,
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  Speaker 1: the same way that they do in Major League Baseball. Right,
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  Speaker 1: So you have your uniform of your All Star team
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  Speaker 1: or your Pro Bowl team, but you still ultimately are
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  Speaker 1: representing the team that pays your paycheck and you see
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  Speaker 1: it in your helmet, Mike. That takes us up to
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  Speaker 1: the merger, or what we refer to as a modern
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  Speaker 1: day NFL. In the first Pro Bowl post merger, which
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  Speaker 1: was called the a f C NFC Pro Bowl, the
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  Speaker 1: NFC beat the a f C six, but then the
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  Speaker 1: next year the a f C got revenge in nineteen
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  Speaker 1: seventy three in Dallas, and vent three was actually the
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  Speaker 1: first time the NFL Pro Bowl had been played outside
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  Speaker 1: of Los Angeles since nineteen forty two. Now, of course,
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  Speaker 1: the official a f C NFC Pro Bowl as it
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  Speaker 1: was then called, is tied all time at one one,
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  Speaker 1: because after that it just became the Pro Bowl. So
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  Speaker 1: my attribute question for you really quick, do you know
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  Speaker 1: what conference has the most wins in the Pro Bowl? Uh? No,
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  Speaker 1: you got that answer for me, though, I'll tell you
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  Speaker 1: after the break, because when we come back on NFL Explained,
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: we will find out the answer to not just that,
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: but find out what NFL players have the most Pro
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: Bowl nominations and even maybe talk about some of the
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: biggest Pro Bowl snubs. When we returned to NFL Explained,
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• 11:07
  Speaker 1: Before the break, we took a deep dive into the
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: history of the NFL Pro Bowl that this year the
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: Pro Bowl will be in Las Vegas, and it actually
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: was supposed to be played at the Legion Stadium last year,
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: but because of the pandemic, Pro Bowl was canceled. And
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: I will say this, with it having been canceled a
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  Speaker 1: year ago and after witnessing the way that fans have
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: responded to being allowed back in stadiums this year, it's
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  Speaker 1: a pretty good chance that the Pro Bowl attendance record
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  Speaker 1: is going to be broken this year. Now. The current
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  Speaker 1: record is seventy thousand, six d and nine seven fans.
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  Speaker 1: That was set in two thousand ten at sun Life
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  Speaker 1: Stadium in Miami. And here's another little known fact. That
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: was the first time that the Pro Bowl was played
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  Speaker 1: in the super Bowl city the week before the super Bowl,
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: and the super Bowl is actually kind of sort of
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  Speaker 1: why and how the Pro Bowl is in Vegas. And
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: that's because, again, the original super Bowl that was meant
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: to be in Vegas got pushed and so it's going
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: to be a while before there is a super Bowl
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  Speaker 1: in Vegas, and the League thought it would be nice
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  Speaker 1: to put something there in the interim, which actually makes
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  Speaker 1: a ton of sense to DD. I mean, Vegas is
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  Speaker 1: such a great location. I've done a ton of college events,
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  Speaker 1: college basketball, tournaments that are there, and your fans they
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  Speaker 1: just flocked to a city like Vegas because it's not
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  Speaker 1: just hey let's go to the game. What else are
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  Speaker 1: we gonna do? You got shows, you can play cards,
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: you know, there's a lot of things to do in
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: Vegas and have a good time. So to me, I
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: think you're right, Like breaking that attendance record for a
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: Pro Bowl wouldn't shock me if it happens in Vegas. Well,
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  Speaker 1: and a few things. So first, the league prides itself
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  Speaker 1: on making the Pro Bowl not just a game, but
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  Speaker 1: it's really a weeklong celebration. You know, they make an
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  Speaker 1: effort to try to tie together all sorts of different
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  Speaker 1: levels of the game. And I know that the NFL
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  Speaker 1: has flagged championships that they fold into the Pro Bowl.
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  Speaker 1: This is another reason that having the Pro Bowl in
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  Speaker 1: the continental United States is a little bit easier than Hawaii.
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  Speaker 1: As much as I love Hawaii and would love to
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  Speaker 1: go back there, the league left Hawaii for a couple
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: of reasons. One, Aloha Stadium is just really kind of
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: in a tough spot. It hasn't lived up to NFL
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: standards for a long time. And if you're putting eighty
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: eight of the NFL's best players out on that field. Well,
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: then Aloha Stadium is going to need some renovations. Then
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  Speaker 1: another thing is that getting out there is just difficult.
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: It's difficult if the league wants to get boys and
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: girls flag football teams out there. It's difficult if players
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: want to bring family members out there. And when the
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: Pro Bowl moved a few years ago to Orlando, the
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: NFL actually found out that the numbers of replacement players
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: went down just because Orlando was more accessible, it was
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  Speaker 1: more family friendly, it was easier for players to invite
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  Speaker 1: other people to come join them, and probably a little
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: less expensive to going back to that bonus that we're
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: talking about. So, Mike, in Orlando, the league actually shut
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: down a part of Universal for one night and just
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: had this party for the players and their families and
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: the coaches that all participated in the Pro Bowl, Which
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: how cool does That's awesome? That's awesome. Don't have to
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: worry about those long lines getting the day pass, Disney.
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: I'll take that so exact well, because it's supposed to
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: be this great explayer experience for the players. Just like
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: I was saying that, it is indeed much more than
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: a game. It is a bonding experience. So in Vegas
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: that no, they are not shutting down a casino. That's
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: not the plan here. But it is supposed to be
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: this bonding experience. I keep coming back to this where
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: players get to meet each other's families, they hang out
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: at a really cool resort. I can tell you one
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: thing that's supposed to happen is this big video game
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: competition and it's going to be projected on the side
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: the Tropicana, which is pretty cool. I'm envisioning Kyler Murray,
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: you know, part of that NFC squad playing video games,
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: because I do know he's a gamer um. And maybe
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: Juju Smith will will dial in. I don't I say
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: dial in. I'm now sounding just come visit, right, just
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: come hang out. Well, and here's another thing. I told
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: you that there's the Flag Championships, and this year the
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: Girl's NFL Flag Championship will be played on the field
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: right before the Pro Bowl. But there's also on Thursday
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: before the Pro Bowl, the East West Shrine Bowl. Now,
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: I once to the sideline at the East West Shrine Bowl,
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: great all star game for college players for college prospects.
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: It used to be in Florida, but it will now
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: be in Vegas on Thursday night, and so the idea
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: is that hopefully some of the Pro Bowl players who
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: are in town will go to that game and maybe
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: connect with some of these prospects who will be in
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: the league next year, which is really cool, just to
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: kind of get a little bit of that mentorship. Although
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: I'm having this vision of Tom Brady and George Kittle
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: sitting next to each other watching Blue Man Group, and
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: I don't know, I feel like that could happen, and
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: only in Vegas with something like that actually happened. But
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: it's funny because we're talking a lot about the geography
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: and and some of the things that a lot of
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: these players can do. Probably should rewind a little bit
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: and talk about how you actually get to be a
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: pro bowler. Because the players are chosen by votes from coaches, players,
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: and since how about the fan vote a dd the
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: fans getting involved first coaches and players. They cannot vote
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: for players on their own team, So if your boys
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: with someone on your own squad, that's not going to help.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: ADDI what's kind of unique Here's players votes from each
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: team are actually a consensus vote, giving each team to
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: equal votes players and coaches, a consensus ballot of players, coaches,
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  Speaker 1: and fans. Each count is a third in determining Pro
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: Bowl squad. So for all the die hard fans that
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: are out there, a Pro Bowl selection and an All
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: Pro selection carry really different distinctions. Well, not sanctioned by
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: the NFL, and All Pro team is made up of
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: the best player at each position during the season, and
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: that's voted on by the media. Now the media you
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: usually gets to select a first and a second team
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: for the All pros goes a long way towards Hall
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: of Fame careers, and some would actually say in All
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: Pro selections a little bit more prestigious than a Pro
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: Bowl player just because the amount of players selected to
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: the Pro Bowl roster. But being in all going to
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: a game like the Pro Bowl, as chronicle the DD
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: actually sounds a little bit more fun than just getting
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: that title. So but if you're really, really good, you
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: know the best players, you get to be both of those.
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: It's really interesting is you go through some of the
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: names and this year it's kind of like I guess
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: every year, right, it's like a Who's who? You think
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: about the Aaron Rodgers Tom Brady's, the Kyler Murray's of
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: the world, um that are making some of those squads.
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: Justin Herbert's a guy that that I loved watching Patrick
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: Mahomes Lamar Jackson, who I know you get to see
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: him up close and personal numerous times this past season.
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: To DD, there are playmakers littering these rosters, so to me,
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: not a huge surprise once again, and I think what's
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: gonna be really interesting to sort of see the distinction
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: between the All Pro guys and then the Pro Bowlers
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: just based off of the list of guys that are
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: going to be in Vegas, Mike, those are some great
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: names and I've to say, we can't run through every
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: single one, So definitely everybody check out NFL dot com
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: for the latest rosters. There of course, have to be
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: replacement players because the guys playing in the Super Bowl
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: next week can't possibly play in this game. Having said that, though, Mike,
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: is there anything from this year's voting that really jumps
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: out at you? Yeah? You know, on the original list
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: there were zero defensive players from the Buffalo Bills. They
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: have the number one ranked defense. No Pro bowlers, actually
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: the first time since when the Steelers did it. They
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: had the number one ranked defense with zero Pro bowlers,
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: and to me, that's it kind of raises an eyebrow
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: just based off of the production that they had. Sure,
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: but if you're watching the final thirteen seconds against the
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: Kansas City Chiefs the other night and overtime, maybe that
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: eyebrow lowers a little bit um, well, a little bit um.
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: Source subject for Bills fans, Bill's Mafia. Yeah, they're still hurting.
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: It's too soon, Yes, a little too soon, and especially
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: since my six year old is a member of Bills
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: Mafia now, Mike. Obviously, not all of the players that
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: were elected to the Pro Bowl will play in the game.
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: Some of them, like I said earlier, we'll be playing
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: in the Super Bowl. Some of them won't play because
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: of injury, some of them just won't physically feel up
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: to doing it, So alternates will be named to the
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: Pro Bowl roster. And Tom Brady for instance, who, by
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: the way, is tied with Tony Gonzalez, Peyton Manning, Bruce Matthews,
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: and Merlin Olsen for the most Pro Bowl selections at
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: four teen fourteen. That's a lot of late season trips
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: to a sunny climate. Yeah, yeah, that's like, you know,
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: what are you doing this offseason? You know you got
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: your family vacations. Some families I know they'll go to
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: the same exact destination every summer. I mean, those dudes
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: it was Hawai every single year, which is kind of cool.
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: But like you said, players don't always play when they're selected.
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: There are four players who actually hold the record for
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: the most games played. How about this Champ Bailey, Tony Gonzalez,
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: Random McDaniel Will Shields have played in twelve games in
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: which they've won, and you would imagine that's a decent
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: amount of bonus hash going your way with some of
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: those victories. It also speaks to how much they love
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: ball that after a long and grueling season, they still
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: wanted to go and play a game that didn't really
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: count for much. And let's be honest, a lot of
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: these guys make a fair amount of money that that's
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: not necessarily life changing to play in that game for
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: only the money. You're right about that. So we mentioned
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: earlier that the games an exhibition game, and sometimes the
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: scores can get a little out of hand because it's
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: not like the defenses are hitting as hard as they
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: would during the regular season. The highest scoring Pro Bowl
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: two thousand four, one hundred and seven points. That was
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: the NFC beating the a f C fifty five to
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: fifty two. The flip side is seven when they were
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: only sixteen points scored ten to six, and that barn
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: Burner was won by the a f C. Okay, so
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: not exactly a ton of points at least in that matchup.
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: But some of the high scores are because of some
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: special rules for this game. For example, kickoffs eliminated for
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: the law longest time, only man defense was allowed to
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: be played, but now you can throw a little cover
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: to some press coverage in there. There's two minute warning
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: added in the first and third quarters. There's also a
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: change of possession at the end of each quarter and
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: the final two minutes of each quarter. The clock stops
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: after every play if the offense doesn't gain a yard,
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: so with all that extra time on the clock to
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: d D, it allows the offenses to throw a couple
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: of extra points up on the board, which is probably
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: why Larry Fitzgerald holds the career Pro Bowl t D
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: record with eights, but Brandon Marshall holds the record with
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: four touchdowns in one game. Mike I don't care what
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: game you're playing in, but four touchdowns in one game
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: is a lot and that performance actually helped the a
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: f C win fifty nine forty one, which was for me,
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: which brings me back to what conference has the most wins?
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: The trivia question that I asked you before the break,
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: forty seven Pro Bowls played in the a f C
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: NFC format since the nineteen seventy merger. What's your guests
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: got chance? Mike, let's go NFC. I'm sorry, that's wrong.
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: It's actually the a f C to twenty two not
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: buying a lotto ticket today, believe it or not, a
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: dit not dumb. With a deep dive into the Pro Bowl,
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: the NFL does a great job reinventing the Pro Bowl
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: with the week leading up to it, and when we
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: come back on NFL Explained, we'll talk about Hall of
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: Famers as team captains, the skills competition that showcases just
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: how freakishly athletic some of these players are, and our
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: favorite moments that's still to comp on NFL Explained. This
• 22:39
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• 24:12
  Speaker 1: Back here on NFL explained in the d D before
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: the break, we were discussing the evolution of the NFL
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: Pro Bowl. The league is always reinventing the game seen.
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: The Pro Bowl broke format from the a f C
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: versus the NFC and introduced a draft. Here we go. Fans, coaches,
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: and players voted on players regardless of conference. Now we're
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: talking here top two vote getters. They were named team
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: captains and then drafted their team alongside to NFL dot
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: com Fantasy football champions, which must have been a thrill
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: for those fantasy players because they were aided by the
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: team captains, who happened to be some Hall of famers.
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: You've gotta be kidding me. This would have been just
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: like a dream come true. You got Dion Sanders and
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: Jerry Rice. Team Rice got the better of Dion that day. Mike,
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: that was and that's the game that I was there for.
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: You know what, though, thinking about it, maybe that was
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: when Dan caught the coaching. But he's obviously doing much
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: better right now at Jackson State. But while we're talking
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: about Dion, he does hold the Pro Bowl record for
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: the longest interception return. In the nineteen game, Prime Time
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: had an eighties seven yard pick six. Do you remember that.
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: I don't remember that exact moment, but lord knows, I
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: remember plenty of Prime running down the football fields just
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: picking off guys well. And when we talk about these
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: athletes running down the field and what they do, this
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: is why I am extra extra excited about the skills
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: competition this year. So originally the Seals Competition ran from
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: nine to two thousand seven, and in the first version
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: of the Skills competition, they had an NFL quarterback challenge
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: in a forty yard dash, but then all of that
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: stopped because it was the logistics and the quality of
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: the field and etcetera, etcetera. But when I talked to
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: Peter O'Reilly, he said that the league had held several
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: focus groups with players to see what would make it
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: more appealing or enticeing, and this is what the players said,
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: that they'd like to have a skills competition, and Peter
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: thought it was Joe Thomas, our colleague and also one
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: of our podcast guests who came up with the dodgeball idea,
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: think about that, the best NFL players that you know
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: watching them play dodgeball. Come on, it's not fun. As
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: a guy that played in the charity dodgeball league for
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: a few years after I graduated college, believe me, I
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: would sign up a million times out of a million
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: to go and watch something like that. Um, but you're right,
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: I mean because adity like, it is abundantly clear that
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: these guys are so athletic and do so many special things.
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: But when you put them in an environment that's not
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: just football and to be able to showcase some of
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: those skills is just really cool. So this year's Skill
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: Challenge challenges are going to include precision passing, Thread the Needle,
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: which is a one minute head to head offense versus
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: defense accuracy challenge. You got the best catch, couple of
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: wide receivers vying for for that, which is kind of cool.
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: Fastest man, are you kidding me? Like, that's the one
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: that I want to go and see. It's old school
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: forty yard dash, let's roll here. And then the epic
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: Pro Bowl dot Ball came which to me, I once again,
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: samny up, I'm ready to watch that one. But see,
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: I think that this is part of where the growth
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: is so much fun. The best catch that's kind of
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: like the NFL's analog to the Dunk contest. And in fact,
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: they're going to be judges who are gauging what is
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: the best kind of creative catch that a player comes
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: up with. And you know who the two judges are,
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: who do We got two of the most epic, epic,
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: epic ball catchers ever, Santonio Holmes, who of course had
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: that iconic catch in the Super Bowl won him a
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: Super Bowl m v P. And another man who had
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: an absolutely iconic catching the Super Bowl, David Tyree. Oh
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: here we go, Yes, I'll take it. And this is
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: part of what makes this so fun. Right Like when
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: we were talking about the focus groups, the players want
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: this to be more fun. That's what the skills competition is,
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: and that's really what the Pro Bowl is. I mean,
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: it's really accessible. Players are interviewed in the game, tam
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: live to the stadium and the broadcast. They're allowed to
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: have their phones on the sideline, they can tweet during
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: the games. There's no flags, it's nothing like that. And
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: it's definitely a change in mindset. You know, it's very
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: different than the games that we saw on Championship weekend,
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: and it's very different than the seriousness that we'll see
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: in the Super Bowl. And there's one other piece here
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: is that keeping things fun like this is a really
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: smart way to connect with young fans. And if you
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: look at the demographics of the fans that vote in
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: the Pro Bowl, they definitely skew young. It's a lot
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: of young fans voting for players. Yeah, no, I'm with
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: you there, And I think it makes a lot of
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: sense from an access standpoint to make these guys as
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: accessible as possible and also show them and showcase them
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: in a different light where you still introduce, like dodgeball,
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: for example, a competitiveness that's out there, but like, they're
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: not going to be wearing their helmets. You get to
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: see their faces while they're going and interacting and probably
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: talking smack. I'm sure they're going to be wearing wires
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: and the whole thing. Like, to me, that's really really cool. Well,
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: and there's one other piece to this, one other component
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: before we kind of wind things down, Mike, and that
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: is the Pro Bowl also is a chance to actually
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: experiment with some rules that are being considered. There are
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: no kickoffs in the Pro Bowl, and that's for health
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: and safety reasons. So the fourth and fifteen from the
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: instead of an onside kick, that's something that can be
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: used in the Pro Bowl. There's the spot and choose.
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: Do you know what this is? Okay? So the spot
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: and choose is basically one team picks what yard line
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: the play begins at, and then the other team chooses
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: whether it wants to play offense or defense. So you
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: have a coin toss and you decide do you want
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: to spot or do you want to choose? Get it Like,
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: if you're the spot, you can pick whatever the fifty.
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: So then the other team decides, all right, well do
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: I want to play defense from the fifty or do
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: I want to play offense from the fifty. Yeah, some
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: subtle wrinkles in a game that we like. No, I'm like,
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: it's like best ball when you go out with some
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: of your boys and you're on the golf course, Like,
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: that's not really the rules, but it's it is for
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: for that environment. So I'm with you there, and indeedy,
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: I guess really what it all comes down to is
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: for the players to have a great experience and not
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: for nothing, Like I would imagine their families who sacrifice
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: a lot to make sure that these guys were able
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: to go out there. From a coach's perspective and a
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: player's perspective, when they go to the game, like they
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: can have some fun too. Like to me, it's a
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: win win for everyone involved. It really is, and it
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: is a reward. It is a chance to celebrate themselves,
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: their season, each other, their families, all of that, you know,
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: And there are a lot of iconic moments from the
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: Pro Bowl. We'd have to do a whole other episode
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: on that, Mike, but I'll just say that something that
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: sticks out to me. I was very young, obviously two
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: thousand and eight, but the late Sean Taylor was voted
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: to the Pro Bowl posthumously and the NFC defense took
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: the field with only ten players and three of his
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: former teammates on the Washington football team all were his
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: number twenty one. And then I also think of the
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: time that Jeff Saturday was selected to play for the
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: Green Bay Packers, but he switched teams to do just
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: one more snap with his buddy Peyton Manning. Yeah, that's cool,
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: Jeff was retiring and it was the last chance to
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: be together. It's kind of like the human element of
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: this game. Like a lot of times you watched these
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: players on the football field and you forget about the
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: personal relationships and the things that people are dealing with
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: on a regular basis, um in their way of sort
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: of celebrating each other. And those are two really good
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: examples of that. Yeah. Well, sadly, just as our football
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: season is winding down, so too is this episode of
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: NFL explained. Alright, So y'all, thanks so much for joining us.
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: Make sure that you tune in to see the skills
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: challenge and of course the game, and as always, thanks
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: for listening, thanks for downloading, thanks for reviewing, don't forget
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: to tweet at us. And that is the Pro Bowl explain.
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