For the second year in a row, the NFL will eschew the traditional AFC-NFC Pro Bowl format and instead use Hall of Famers as team captains. The league announced today that Cris Carter and Michael Irvin will pick Pro Bowl squads this year.
The Pro Bowl will take place on Sunday, January 25 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona, which will also host the Super Bowl a week later. The Pro Bowlers will be selected using votes of players, coaches and fans, but the teams will be divided not by conference but by Carter and Irvin conducting a “draft” and choosing their own rosters.
Carter was an eight-time Pro Bowler who was enshrined in Canton last year. Irvin was a five-time Pro Bowler who was selected to the Hall of Fame in 2007.
Although the Pro Bowl is often derided for its low quality of play, the NFL likes to boast that it has been America’s most-watched All-Star game for four years in a row. The gimmick of using retired stars as team captains is an effort to make the game feel less stale, and help keep those TV ratings high.
Let’s just hope Carter and Irvin can get through the draft without Carter saying anything to Irvin’s wife.