You don't think people would care/watch? Hell, moreso than the pro bowl, anyway, right? Look, if you want to sit stars for a game like that, I'm sympathetic to that. But at the very least the people on the field might give a little more effort than the garbage we're subjected to yearly by the Pro Bowl. IMO it's a better, more watchable, more profitable alternative. And yeah, based on how people went bonkers around here trying to get ahold of AFC South championship gear, I'd think HOUSTON TECKSONZ 3RD PLACE!!!1 stuff would sell like hotcakes. Football is getting popular enough to the point where a 3rd place game might actually carry some water, unlike when they used to do it.
About as much as the NIT, DM. Sure, people would watch. It's football. But putting Arian Foster's knee at risk to improve NBC's ratings? Interest level: zero.
I dont like the 3rd place match, it would be like a preseason game, (starters play 2 or series, then 2nd string, then 3rd string) I liked the skills challenge, they were entertaining.
Suspend the Pro Bowl? http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7857508/nfl-moving-suspend-pro-bowl-sources-say The NFL is moving toward suspending the Pro Bowl, as soon as this year, sources told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen. Teams, however, would still honor Pro Bowl incentives in contracts so as to avoid a conflict with the NFL Players Association, the sources said. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in February that eliminating the game was under consideration. In an appearance on ESPN Radio's "Mike and Mike in the Morning" on Super Bowl Sunday, Goodell said the league must address the quality of the game and even said he would consider eliminating the all-star game if it can't be improved upon. The AFC routed the NFC 59-41 in last season's Pro Bowl game that drew boos at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu for its lack of early intensity. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had said that some of his NFC teammates "embarrassed themselves" with the effort they gave in the game.
And the NFL continues to prove that while not perfect, it is still by far the best-run professional sports league in this country.
