Yes, I'm serious.
Lots of people slag the Pro Bowl. They complain that NFL superstars compete halfheartedly in Honolulu, more interested in avoiding injury than in vying for victory.
That's true on some level, but it also misses the point. Regular season and playoff games require league athletes to wage the athletic equivalent of war, a supreme and unrelenting effort to win, exhausting every ounce of speed, power, brains and brutality at their disposal.
You won't see that in the Pro Bowl. The NFL's all-star game is supposed to be fun, and if you accept that, it can be fun to watch
If you watch football primarily for the violence, then the Pro Bowl isn't for you. It's a more decent and civilized game. No one wants to get injured or to injure anyone else in an all-star game. Thus, cheap shots are rare. (Exception: In 2007, when Buffalo's Brian Moorman tried to run for a first down on a fake punt, Denver safety Sean Taylor annihilated him. That was hard core.)
Pro Bowl rules are different, to facilitate scoring. For example, in the Pro Bowl, defensive backs can't cover tight ends. This forces defenses to assign linebackers to the task, giving tight ends a distinct advantage, and exposing linebackers whose pass coverage skills rank somewhere below an all-star level.
I like the Pro Bowl, but I haven't watched it for a few years, because no Seahawks played in the game in 2010 or 2011.
Fortunately, Seattle has several representatives on the NFC squad. On offense, fullback Michael Robinson will be blocking for tailback Marshawn Lynch. On the other side of the ball, we'll see three-quarters of our defensive backfield rotating through the secondary: cornerback Brandon Browner, strong safety Kam Chancellor, and free safety Earl Thomas.
I thought Red Bryant should have made the squad, but other than that, I can't complain.
Several Seahawks earned enough respect from their peers and the fans to win passage to Hawaii. I hope they have fun, play well, and win.
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