The game that nobody wants to play

The NFL and NFL players' union is thinking about getting rid of the Pro Bowl. Too bad the average fan wont notice because they haven't watched the Pro Bowl for years.

Lets be honest, nobody would be really heartbroken if the NFL got rid of the Pro Bowl. It's become something of the red-headed step child of pro sports all-star games. Why? Because in basketball and baseball you can still play a pretty high level type of game without somebody getting hurt. But football? Gotta play at half speed otherwise Aaron Rodgers is knocked out for a year with a knee injury.

ESPN reported earlier Thursday, citing league sources, that the delay in naming a venue was because the Pro Bowl game "likely will be suspended this season and beyond," with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell "strongly considering" the move.

Goodell previously openly condemned the lack of competitiveness in recent Pro Bowl games, despite decent television ratings indicating fans were still keen to watch.

The ESPN report indicated that even if the annual game is shelved, teams would be instructed to still honor Pro Bowl incentives to avoid a clash with the players' union.

Here's some questions I do have though... will they take away the NFC and AFC All-Stars off Madden? What will the one fan that bought a Pro Bowl jersey do? The horror...

NFL Pro Bowl selections

Tonight the NFL announced the lineups for the Pro Bowl. And I must say there were not many surprises.

Eight Patriots, eight 49ers, seven Packers and seven Ravens. It's pretty easy to tell that the best teams will have the best players and therefore the most Pro Bowl picks.

But how'd Brandon's favorite team, the Tennessee Titans, and my favorite team, the Seattle Seahawks fare?

Well the 7-8 Seahawks had ONE players selected. That's right, safety Earl Thomas in just his second season got a Pro Bowl selection. Looks like he was a great draft choice.

But not to be outdone, the 8-7 Titans have a whomping ZERO players selected. Wah wah. Sorry Brandon.

The Pro Bowl is a system, Neo...

Matt Hasselbeck: Man, how am I going to stand up to the likes of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in the Pro Bowl against a Pro Bowl defense. This sounds like way too much for me, I'm used to taking on NFC West defensives, which couldn't make it in the WAC.

Morpheus: The Pro Bowl isn't real, Neo.

Matt Hasselbeck: Wait, who are you? You realize it's 90 degrees out here, why are you wearing a leather trench coat.

Morpheus: I'm Morpheus, you've been looking for me a long time, Neo.

Matt Hasselbeck: Morpheus.. oh, oh, no no, I just got drunk last night looking up porn and instead of typing in more... okay I'm not going to explain myself any further. Why are you calling me Neo.

Morpheus: Isn't that your StumbleUpon login name?

Matt Hasselbeck: Oh yeah, it's the bald head. All my teammates call me Neo. They say it's short for something. But, hey I got to practice, this is a big game.

Morpheus: You've got to make a choice, Neo, between the Red jersey and the Blue jersey. If you take one it will be for the wrong conference but no one will really care because it's the pro bowl.

Matt Hasselbeck: What? The Pro Bowl isn't a big deal.

Morpheus: Let me show you something Neo, here look at this computer laptop screen.

Matt Hasselbeck: Okay, hmmm, this is an NFL Forum, why have 180,000 people responded to the thread entitled "Why wont anyone come to my Pro Bowl Party"?

Morpheus: Because the Pro Bowl isn't a real game Neo, it's a fake. The NFL has enslaved your mind into thinking it's an actual athletic competition, but it's not Neo. You must free your mind and join the real world.

Matt Hasselbeck: But Brett Favre is standing right there! I know that's Brett Favre, I used to back him up in Green Bay.

Morpheus: While that's Brett Favre's body, his mind is somewhere else, Neo. He's probably had 15 margaritas before getting here. What the NFL is doing is using your body as a source of revenue.

Matt Hasselbeck: What?

Morpheus: That's right Neo, nobody is taking this game seriously. That's not a Pro Bowl defense over there, that's a bunch of guys that just came from Hawaiian strip mall to get souvenirs for their family members

Matt Hasselbeck: No, no, I don't believe you!

Morpheus: Believe it Neo. Do you think that's a real NFL football your throwing? It has festive Hawaiian flowers emblazoned on it. It's Yellow, green and pink Neo.

Matt Hasselbeck: How did this happen?

Morpheus: Several NFL players are hooked into the Pro Bowl. The NFL is trying to fool the world that they're showcasing the best football talent around. It's the most realistic recreation of a football game known to man. Some minds can't reject it's fakeness. People are so intertwined that they just refuse to leave the Matrix.

Matt Hasselbeck: The Matrix?

Morpheus: Yes, Neo. The Matrix, we're in Hawaii right now, which is an alternative reality of football. Look at the Hawaii Warriors, they were undefeated before playing an SEC team. They left the confines of the Matrix and were crushed.

Matt Hasselbeck: So none of this is real? What am I worried about then?

Morpheus: Other than Shaun Alexander being in your backfield next year, I'm not sure.

Matt Hasselbeck: So if this isn't real, does this mean that I can scramble outside the pocket.

Morpheus: Whoah, Matt. Don't get ahead of yourself.