Hawaiian Punch

In terms of meaningless games the NFL Pro Bowl is by far one of the most watched. According to tvbythenumbers.com the NFL's version of an all-star game drew 13.4 million viewers. That beats Game 3 of this year's MLB World Series as well as last year's Game 3. It also beat the Florida GOP debate on CNN from last week.

People love football, but that can't be the only reason why the ratings are so high.

Fans get into a habit of watching football every week during the regular season so when there is no game on they tend to watch the Pro Bowl just so they can continue a routine to be ready for the Super Bowl. However, the ratings were actually higher for the game when it was a week or two after the season.

The game itself usually isn't that entertaining. Even though the league is becoming more and more offense-oriented, fans still enjoy seeing good defense, or even mediocre defense. But the players give almost no effort on defense or in the running game so it has basically become a game of who can throw the most touchdowns.

On the first drive of this year's Pro Bowl the fans were audibly booing the lack of effort as the linemen were casually standing together barely even pushing. It got a little more intense when a special-teams tackle by the Pittsburgh Steelers' Antonio Brown gave the crowd something to cheer about. But that died quickly with an onslaught of one-play drives and defenses not trying.

The quarterbacks threw five interceptions, including three awful passes from Cam Newton. There were four fumbles in the game, but there were 14 touchdowns and a field goal for good measure.

Drew Brees showed how little he thinks of the game by attempting to drop kick a ball for an extra point. Most of the players were more interested in tweeting than playing. Wide receiver Antonio Brown even decided to go back to his high school days by playing defensive back.

One reason to draw many people in is the ability to gamble on the game. Each year the point total gets higher and higher. The "over/under" allows the gambler to decide whether the point total of both teams will be higher or lower than the number given. The Pro Bowl has been over every year since 2008 and with the style of play becoming more and more offense-oriented it is likely this trend will continue making the game an easy bet.

Also some fans really enjoy seeing players in a relaxed environment, because they feel more of a connection when the players are less focused on the game and more focused on enjoying the moment.

It's not hard to see why the players lack effort and don't get overly excited for the game. A game in Hawaii means the players in the game are spending at least a week there relaxing and some even use it as part of a vacation.

Imagine if you had worked your whole life to become the best at your craft and when you reached the pinnacle of your career you were honored as one of the 50 or so best in the world. You would probably be honored, and deservedly so, but now imagine that you were asked to put on almost no padding and be run into and hit with full force by huge men. This is probably not the ideal way to reward hard work and dedication.

Making the game more defensive would not only cause it to be more physical, but would also increase the risk of injury which would likely eliminate two thirds of the players who now take part in the competition. Also it seems the casual fan is less inclined to enjoy a low-scoring defensive battle, like the Alabama-LSU college game this year which was greeted with much hostility, than a high-scoring shootout, like the Alamo Bowl between Baylor and Washington which had fans jumping for joy.

One exhilarating element of the game is that players who are really good, but surrounded by really bad teams have the opportunity to show their skill set. Brandon Marshall, who hasn't had a decent quarterback since he signed with Miami, exploded for 176 yards on six catches and a record-breaking four touchdowns. Larry Fitzgerald, who hasn't played with a serviceable quarterback since Kurt Warner retired, closely trailed Marshall with 111 yards on six catches and three touchdowns.

In the end it seems like a spurious argument to say the game should be changed when, in actuality, fans desire this type of game much more than anything else that could be done. If expectations are lowered to a realistic level, then many more fans would take the Pro Bowl for what it is and be so much more thrilled with it. So, next year, sit back, relax and enjoy the fun and entertaining game that 13 million plus enjoyed this year.