HONOLULU — The NFL and its players may soon be squaring off on an issue that has nothing to do with labor unrest.
The league is thinking about leaving Hawaii, and its stars, the ones who show up for the game, have no interest in spending early February on the mainland.
“We have to keep it here,” said Broncos safety John Lynch, a nine-time Pro Bowl veteran who never tires of taking the long flight here for the NFL’s battle of stars.
“No rotation. We don’t want that. We want the game here. It’s a great way to end the season. Guys love coming to Hawaii. It never gets old.”
Not every player selected to play in the Pro Bowl feels that way. Seventeen of the players originally selected to play are not participating for either injury or personal reasons. They have all been replaced by alternates, including Lynch, who is here for injured Colts safety Bob Sanders. Among the names selected who will not be playing Sunday are Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Randy Moss and LaDainian Tomlinson.
The league is worried that some players aren’t excited about the long flight at the end of a tiring season, and that’s why some opt out of coming to Hawaii for the game. Thus, Sunday’s game might be the second-to-last Pro Bowl to be played in Hawaii — or potentially the second-to-last Pro Bowl, period.
The NFL is considering moving the Pro Bowl site. Next year is the final year the league has an agreement with the state of Hawaii. It will be the 30th and possibly final Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium. The game has become a signature event for the state’s sports scene, and Pro Bowl Week is one of Waikiki’s busiest tourist weeks of the year.
“The Pro Bowl is Hawaii,” Minnesota center Matt Birk said. “It’d be no fun to go anywhere else at the end of the season.”
NFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw said at his news conference during the Super Bowl that the league and the union will soon discuss when to play the game, where to play and whether to play it at all. In the past week, in Hawaii, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sounded as if not playing the game wasn’t an option. Upshaw has been quoted as saying the NFLPA wants to keep the game in its current state.
Yet, Goodell was noncommittal on the future of the game in Hawaii. He said that the league is considering rotating the game to other NFL cities. A likely scenario would be to play the game at the site of the Super Bowl.
Goodell is also considering when to play the game. One proposal is to play on the weekend between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. The problem is that the players from the two participating Super Bowl teams would be unable to play.
“That really wouldn’t work,” said Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who vows to play in every Pro Bowl to which he is selected. “It is perfect now. I think it should stay in Hawaii.”
Still, Goodell said the league wants to showcase the game and indicated he didn’t know if it being played so far away from the mainland helps promote it. Yet, Goodell said the league does recognize the value of the game being played in such a unique locale.
“We want to try to do that in a reasonable way. We also want to do what we can to make sure this game turns into the kind of platform it should turn into. We want to make sure we do everything possible to make it a great promotion for our players. . . . I’m not comfortable about keeping anything as is, really. I always think we can do things better, differently, and we’re looking at how we can do that.”
If so, the Pro Bowl may be saying aloha to Hawaii.
The stars are out
The NFL is considering tweaking the Pro Bowl to boost player attendance. A look at how the four major sports leagues handle their all-star games:
MLB
All-Star Game
When played: Midseason
Known for: The Summer Classic is popular among players and fans. It rotates to various league cities and is played during a three-day break in the season.
NBA
All-Star Game
When played: Shortly after midseason
Known for: Wildly popular among fans and it rotates, including a stop in Las Vegas in 2007 when about 300,000 people descended on the city.
NFL
Pro Bowl
When played: Last game of the season
Known for: A great locale where many fans come to watch, but with a large population of selected players missing.
NHL
All-Star Game
When played: After midseason
Known for: A rotating schedule in which the games are usually scoring fests.
