Saturday, January 29, 2011

Who is the Pro Bowl MVP?

The question to this article is not meant to be taken literally, but figuratively. Does anyone really care who the Pro Bowl MVP is? As much as I love the Pro Bowl, many people think its a useless game that has no implication on the scope of the football season whatsoever except for an injury risk to the players who participate. While that may be true in some aspects, the Pro Bowl still stands as a part of football tradition. That said, does the importance of an MVP for a game that only has little meaning left really matter? Super Bowl MVPs are legendary: Starr, Montana, Aikman. Most are known for making incredible plays in their respective biggest games: Swann, Howard, Holmes. Even NFL MVPs are known for their incredible seasons and amazing feats. Yet Pro Bowl MVPs are harder to recall: for example, who knew that Jerry Gray won the award in 1990? Undoubtedly, the Pro Bowl features great stars from across the league. But the MVP has become a rather minor accolade for any athlete. Would a Pro Bowler with 9 Pro Bowls be more recognized than a Pro Bowl MVP with only one appearance in the game? It's hard to say depending on the circumstances and players, but it would seem like the one with 9 Pro Bowls would be a better lock for the Hall of Fame. That's not to say that Pro Bowl MVPs are not great, but they do suffer from the fate of winning a very underappreciated all star game. Being the Pro Bowl MVP is almost as impressive as winning the Thanksgiving Day games' MVP award(s). What can be done to improve this? Not much. The award is purely symbolic, and has little meaning overall. The Pro Bowl MVP award is great for whoever wins it, but doesn't matter much in the long run.

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