The 2020 NFL Pro Bowl will take place Sunday at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. Camping world has hosted the Pro Bowl the week before the Super Bowl for the last four seasons. For years the league has tried its best to get the highest attendance and highest TV rating for the game, but has failed to be successful. The league could implement some traditions of the past to help make the game more visually appealing again.
It may be time for the NFL to move the game back to Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. Aloha stadium hosted the Pro-Bowl from 1980 to 2016 before the league moved the game to Orlando. From a visual standpoint, playing the game in Honolulu always was better. The sunny atmosphere of Hawaii always gave an uplifting feel as many Americans watched the game from somewhere cold and cloudy. Coaches and players either wearing Hawaiian shirts or leis on the sideline gave off a relaxing and fun atmosphere. The weather for the games in Orlando recently has been rainy with cool to cold temperatures.
From an attendance standpoint, the Pro Bowl in Hawaii was always viewed as a destination game for die-hard NFL fans. Having the game in a hot, sunny climate made fans want to jump on a plane and travel to Hawaii. People don't need a reason to go to Orlando given its vast amount of attractions. With the risk of inclement weather, fans are less likely to want to attend a game, let alone make a vacation out of it.
Another way the league can improve the game from a viewing standpoint is to schedule the game the week after the Super Bowl. Starting in 2009, the league began to play the game during the bye leading up to the championship game. Players who were playing in the Super Bowl were barred from participating in the Pro Bowl. Having the game the week before doesn't work because fans and advertisers are already geared up for the Super Bowl. The entire two weeks, advertisers are marketing for the "big game" while fans are prepping for their Super Bowl parties. It is hard to care for a meaningless game with the most important game of the year the following week.
Having the game the week after the Super Bowl enables the players who played in the Super Bowl to play in the game, and gives the fans from those two cities a reason to watch. For instance, what if Patrick Mahomes leads the Kansas City Chiefs to victory and is named Super Bowl MVP? Mahomes then chooses to play in the Pro Bowl the following week instead of sitting out and being replaced by Ryan Tannehill. The TV rating would jump immensely as the league would have a better opportunity to include some of their most exciting players.
From an on-field standpoint, the game is fine. The league can experiment with rule changes and formats for the actual game. Fans understand that it is just an exhibition and that the quality may not be the best. Deep passes, trick plays, and interceptions are what make the game fun to watch.
The reason why the league has struggled in the past to maintain a healthy attendance and TV audience is because of the setup for the game. The when and where plays a big role in how any sporting event is marketed to the public. For a league that prides itself on tradition, changing the venue and time for the game may have been what has diluted the product the most in recent years. In a culture that demands constant change, maybe it is best to change back to what worked before.
