[Bette]

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning hasn't missed a regular-season or postseason start in his 10-year career. He also hasn't missed any of the eight Pro Bowls he's been selected to.
This season, 17 players pulled out of the Pro Bowl and there were 41 first-timers.
"I think you have an obligation to come," Manning said. "If you get voted on by the coaches, opponents' coaches, opponents' players and the fans, I think you have an obligation to go. I know the guys are really enjoying themselves and taking a lot of pride being here."

Peyton: Players have 'obligation' to Pro Bowl - USATODAY.com

Fred Taylor had 43 guests to the Pro Bowl. There was one guy happy to be there.

[Lefty Noob]

Yeah, Taylor had never been there before. No doubt he was thrilled to be there. I don't know if these guys have an obligation to be there or not, but it would be nice if they took the honor a little more to heart than they do.

[Seahawker 562]

guess some players dont have passion ahem

[Phils20]

I think unless a player is injured, they should go. Just my 2 cents!

[bears9]

Originally Posted by Phils20

I think unless a player is injured, they should go. Just my 2 cents!

Same here, but they don't go and I don't watch

[Dusty]

I think it's a needless opportunity for a player to get injured. Remember the Pats runningback Robert Edwards? The Pro-Bowl has injured it's share of players and if you watch it you can tell that the players are playing it with no intensity so why bother? Another reason I say why bother is that the fans don't watch it, that's a big one isn't it? So if it's an honor than it's an honor that nobody cares about.

[Lefty Noob]

Didn't Robert Edwards injure himself playing beach volleyball, though? I thought it had nothing to do with the Pro Bowl itself.

[Seahawker 562]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Didn't Robert Edwards injure himself playing beach volleyball, though? I thought it had nothing to do with the Pro Bowl itself.

haha those volleyballs are dangerous

[simple simon]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Didn't Robert Edwards injure himself playing beach volleyball, though? I thought it had nothing to do with the Pro Bowl itself.

yes and no ...... it was beach volleyball but it was an obligation for the pro-bowl as a rookie .... one of those events they parade the players around for

[azrael492]

With all the people voted into the pro bowl and dropped out and replaced, what is the final number of probowlers this year? Do you have to go to the game to be considered all pro? It seems like half the league was invited this year.

[Lefty Noob]

Originally Posted by simple simon

yes and no ...... it was beach volleyball but it was an obligation for the pro-bowl as a rookie .... one of those events they parade the players around for

Ah, okay, I see. Did not realize it was an NFL sanctioned event that he was forced to compete in. That changes everything.

[Dusty]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Ah, okay, I see. Did not realize it was an NFL sanctioned event that he was forced to compete in. That changes everything.

Yeah I agree. The NFL pretty much forced Robert Edwards to play volleyball which would be another meaningless exhibition like the Pro-Bowl and the poor guy had his career ended. Funny that Ben Roethesberger can survive a potentially fatal motorcycle accident to go on to be one of the best quarterbacks in the game but Robert Edwards had his career ended in a beach volleyball game!

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Didn't Robert Edwards injure himself playing beach volleyball, though? I thought it had nothing to do with the Pro Bowl itself.

Yep, former Patriot runner...gone from the sport...

See, I think it was a big honor when regular pay checks were small, and you got to take your family to Hawaii and get some extra cash...

Give me the old days...

[Bette]

Originally Posted by Dusty

I think it's a needless opportunity for a player to get injured. Remember the Pats runningback Robert Edwards? The Pro-Bowl has injured it's share of players and if you watch it you can tell that the players are playing it with no intensity so why bother? Another reason I say why bother is that the fans don't watch it, that's a big one isn't it? So if it's an honor than it's an honor that nobody cares about.

Yeah, the first quarter, maybe two, they are pretty laid back. But come the half, it becomes a matter of who takes home the winner's check and who gets second place. Its a big diff between the two, and some of those guys run up a pretty big bill. They use their checks from it to pay those bills. So they step it up a bit in the second half. Thats when you get the unsportsman like penalties. They stop paying attention to the rules.