| 2010 Pro Bowl | |
|---|---|
| Date | January 31, 2010 |
| Stadium | Land Shark Stadium |
| Network | ESPN |
| Announcers | Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden [1] |
The 2010 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl is an upcoming NFL Pro Bowl, a game to honor the all-star players of the 2009 NFL season as selected by fans and their peers. It will take place at 8:00pm EST on Sunday, January 31, 2010 at Land Shark Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.[2]
For the first time since 1979 (1978 NFL season), the Pro Bowl will be held in the Continental United States. It will be held at Land Shark Stadium, the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins and host site of Super Bowl XLIV. The 2010 Pro Bowl will also be the first time ever that the Pro Bowl is held before the championship game. It will be held the weekend before the Super Bowl.[2] NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the move was made after looking at alternatives to strengthen the Pro Bowl.[3]
The game was also moved up in order to prevent a conflict that would have taken place if the game had taken place on February 13 or 14 (CBS would have rights, and based on the 52nd Grammy Awards, would have moved the game to the Saturday, as they did in 2007. However the awards telecast was moved two weeks earlier to January 31, ironically the same day as the Pro Bowl.), with the game facing against the NBA All-Star Game, Winter Olympics, and Daytona 500.
ESPN will air the 2010 Pro Bowl.[2] The television broadcast team will be Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden.[1]
The game will be the first Pro Bowl to be legally broadcast on Internet radio. As part of an idiosyncrasy in the league's broadcast contracts, the Pro Bowl has, up to this point, never been broadcast on the NFL's FieldPass system due to it being broadcast exclusively by Westwood One. The NFL had negotiated Internet broadcast rights with all 32 of its teams, but never did so with Westwood One (since it was seen as redundant); since none of the 32 teams actually play in the Pro Bowl, FieldPass did not hold rights. When contracts were renegotiated in 2009, Westwood One's broadcasts were added to FieldPass, and along with it, play-by-play of the Pro Bowl.[4]
Rosters for the AFC and NFC teams will not be allowed to include any players from the teams that will be playing in Super Bowl XLIV (as to avoid major injuries on either team), and as such, the game can thus be considered a "consolation bowl" for the players on the Pro Bowl teams. Coincidentally, the league's original consolation bowl, the Playoff Bowl, was played every year in Miami from 1960 to 1969.
Several NFL players have spoken out against the decision regarding timing of the game; for instance, nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback Peyton Manning raised issue with the possibility that if the concept were to continue, the 2012 game could be held in a cold-weather city, (Indianapolis, Indiana), not seen as a winter vacation destination.[5] Al Michaels, who has been the play-by-play announcer for 13 Pro Bowl games, told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that he believes the 2011 Pro Bowl will be played in Hawaii saying "the (NFL) thinks playing it before the Super Bowl will add to the buzz. It won't."[6]
As a result of the backlash, the 2011 and 2012 Pro Bowls will return to Hawaii.[7]
References
- ^ a b 40th Season of Monday Night Football
- ^ a b c "Pro Bowl to precede Super Bowl". ESPN. December 30, 2008. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3800446. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
- ^ "2010 Pro Bowl moving to Miami, will be played before Super Bowl". NFL.com. December 30, 2008. http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80dbeb16&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true. Retrieved December 31, 2008.
- ^ Best, Neil (March 12, 2009). "NFL eschews ESPN, sticks with Westwood One radio". Newsday. http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/watchdog/blog/2009/03/nfl_eschews_espn_sticks_with_w.html.
- ^ "Players prefer the league's all-star game to stay in Hawaii". NFL.com. February 4, 2009. http://www.nfl.com/probowl/story?id=09000d5d80e91170&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true.
- ^ "Williams' success at MU doesn't surprise Crean". JSOnline.com. February 9, 2009. http://www.jsonline.com/sports/goldeneagles/39342107.html..
- ^ Pro Bowl returning to Hawaii in 2011, '12. Associated Press.
External links
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