Has the Pro Bowl turned into amateur hour?

Is everyone getting geared up to watch the Pro Bowl next Sunday in Miami?

I didn’t think so. And after yesterday, when Vince Young was named to the AFC roster, I had enough with the Pro Bowl for the 2009 season.

I know V.Y. is a good quarterback, and he did help the Titans turn their season around, jump onto the playoff doorstep and save head coach Jeff Fisher’s job. But I am starting to feel that this year’s Pro Bowl has already turned into a dud.

Young started 10 games this season and threw 10 TDs along with 7 INTs. The Redskins’ Jason Campbell had a higher QB rating than the Titans QB. Are those Pro Bowl numbers?

No Tom Brady, no Philip Rivers and no Ben Roethlisberger. Larry Fitzgerald has pulled out to only be replaced by Giants WR Steve Smith, who I didn’t even know was on the ballot.

And more names will follow.

As a fan, I like all-star games and I understand that the NFL’s version is generic, it’s played at the wrong time of the year, and this year is taken away from the paradise of Hawaii and headed back to the mainland. The NBA, MLB and even the NHL have it figured out. And yes, I watch all of those all-star games.

By doing this, the NFL is also robbing me of watching the Super Bowl players — who will now just watch like we all will — since the game has been moved to the Super Bowl off week.

Everything about this game is like an amateur version of the real thing.

I understand that players will pull out because of injuries, and I also understand that players like Favre — if he is available after this Sunday — will turn down the invite like it is a bad off-campus party in college.

Yes, the game is bad, the rules are made for points to be put on the scoreboard and the players themselves play not to get injured. But, even with taking all of that into account, it is still nice to watch the league’s best players play one more game before we head into hibernation and wait for the NCAA tournament and March Madness to start.

Not this year. We will instead watch the second-team guys take the field in Miami, minus the colorful sideline gear we are used to seeing down in Hawaii. It was the culmination of the football season.

But, we will now watch Vince Young instead of Brady. And, if the Colts get past the Jets on Sunday, there will be no Peyton Manning.

And I am starting to wonder if this is even an all-star game anymore.

Follow me on Twitter: MattBowen41

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