Yesterday the NFL announced the end of the annual Pro Bowl game after nearly 90 years of play. For some it was a moment of relief for the end of a boring exhibition, but for Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe, it was an embarrassment.
On the latest episode of his Nightcap podcast, Sharpe – an eight-time Pro Bowler in his own right – blamed players for ending the Pro Bowl for not continuing the legacy of the game that had been going on since before they were born.
“You saw with the NBA, Adam Silver says, ‘Okay, if you all don’t start playing we’re going to cut it out. We done tried everything. It was the East vs the West, then we let LeBron and we let KD and we let Giannis, we let them select the squad, we let Steph and Bron select the squad, you all still wouldn’t play. We tried it like this and you all still wouldn’t play.’ Adam Silver said, ‘You’re heading for a situation where there ain’t going to be no All-Star Game. And do you want to be the one?’” Sharpe said.
“And you NFL players that’s responsible for this that played the last decade, you ought to be embarrassed. Because something that’s been going on before your parents were born, you all ruined it. You ended it. Y’all did. Y’all did that. So be proud of yourself. Because that’s what you’ve done.”
No Sympathy for the Pro Bowl?
As long and storied as the Pro Bowl game is, NFL fans were mixed on whether its ending is as bad as Sharpe makes it out to be. Some were clearly upset but others pointed out that even a single injury in an exhibition game would be too much.
“It was downhill since it left Hawaii,” one user on X said dismissively.
“Can’t even remember the last time I watched a full Pro Bowl game,” wrote another.
“I was done when it stopped being the actual Pro Bowl. When they used to hit each other for real. Moving it out of Hawaii was the beginning of end for good. Glad to see it put out of its misery or actually us fans put out of our misery,” a third wrote.
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The NFL will now be the first of the five major sports leagues to completely do away with an actual game to represent its all-stars.
But if you ask many fans, it’s good riddance.
