When people mention the All-Star Game, the first thing that comes to mind is the NBA.
This also created the illusion that the NBA All-Star Weekend was a huge success. To a certain extent, this is a wrong concept; but from another perspective, it is also a correct view.
The reason why I say it is wrong is because in terms of ratings, the NBA All-Star Weekend is not worth mentioning at all. The real ratings hegemon on the North American continent is still the NFL.
The average number of viewers for the annual NFL Pro Bowl hovers between 10 million and 15 million, and the ratings can also reach a range of 6.5 to 8.0.
Such data is far lower than the NFL's own regular season, let alone the playoffs, but compared to the NBA, it easily exceeds the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals and Western Conference Finals. As for the latter's overall performance During the celebrity weekend, the gap is even greater.
In other words, in terms of viewership, even the Pro Bowl, which attracts the least attention, the NFL has completely surpassed the other three major leagues.
The reason why I say it is correct is because in terms of topics, the NBA All-Star Weekend has taken a far lead and even set off a wave on a global scale.
The spectacle and fun of the Slam Dunk Contest and the Three-Point Contest bring the charm of basketball to its fullest, attracting countless attention. After the All-Star Weekend every year, the short video can ignite topics on social networks and spread widely.
Although the ratings are far behind the NFL and MLB, the topic effect can be regarded as a leader, thus creating more opportunities for NBA advertising sponsorship and commercial promotion.
In comparison, the NFL has never been able to keep up in this regard.
After Roger Goodell took office as the league president, he has been thinking about how to operate the Pro Bowl and develop the added value of the Pro Bowl. He hopes to make the Pro Bowl a national entertainment event like the Super Bowl.
However, rugby is inherently a sport full of confrontation and strength, and innovations in skills are often difficult to watch. This also makes it difficult for skill games and professional bowls to gain new vitality.
In recent years, the Pro Bowl has made corresponding reforms and explorations every year, hoping to find more resonance between this All-Star Game and the audience. Not only professional audiences watch enthusiastically, but also ordinary audiences, Amateur viewers can be interested.
This year is no exception.
The NFL's Pro Bowl has always been divided into two parts, one is the All-Star lineup competition, and the other is the skills competition of the warm-up activities. Both projects have the confrontation between the American League and the National League as the main theme.
In the skills competition, the American League and the National League each sent ten players to participate in the team competition in different skill events, such as passing accuracy competition, field relay competition, wide receiver receiving competition, kicker accuracy competition, etc. etc., all are reserved items, but the rules and methods may change every year.
But overall, compared to the NBA's slam dunk contest and three-point contest, the NFL's skills competition still lacks confrontation and urgency; more importantly, every position in football is relatively professional, and skills It is completely different in terms of technology and technology, unlike basketball, where all players participate in the competition for slam dunks and three-pointers, and ignite the focus through the concentration of their eyes.
In order to integrate all the Pro Bowl players, the football skill game must sacrifice more individual star effect and emphasize the collective role. For example, when the wide receiver catches the ball, the quarterback must coordinate the pass, and so on. This also makes The skills competition is hardly exciting, and is more like a training competition. Naturally, it does not have much appeal to amateur audiences.
This year the league made a bold attempt.
In the skills competition, fancy challenge links are set up to highlight the players' personal abilities. Similar to the three-point contest and slam dunk contest, special links are arranged to emphasize the unique style and role of each position on the court, such as the quarterback's Passing, such as the confrontation between the wide receiver and the cornerback, such as the collision between the offensive line and the defensive line, such as the kicker's long-range shot.
Not only that, the skills competition also further opens up the possibility of registration, adding drama and comedy.
First, all players can sign up for any individual competition. Wide receivers can participate in quarterback passing competitions, tight ends can participate in forward rushing competitions, and so on. The emphasis is on participation and performance.
Second, all players can participate in registration. In the past, only players who were shortlisted for the Pro Bowl could participate in the skills competition, but this year, registration is fully open, just like the NBA. Anyone who is interested in participating can sign up. Therefore, a series of players such as Watt and Cam who were not shortlisted for the Pro Bowl also appeared in Honolulu.
Third, individual games do not count toward the Pro Bowl matchup. In previous years, each event in the skills competition could be scored. Players represented their respective federations, and the scores were finally calculated to see whether the American League or the National League won. This year, an attempt was made to award individual "champions" to players in the individual competition. Honor, just like the slam dunk championship or the three-point championship.
It can be said that this is a bold and risky attempt.
Some situations are suitable for the NBA, but not necessarily for the NFL. Despite this, Goodell continues to try various permutations and combinations, trying to explore more possibilities for the Pro Bowl. The final effect, whether it is a mule or a horse, will only be revealed after a while.
…
On January 28, at 2:00 pm local time in Hawaii, Aloha Stadium in Honolulu ushered in the first part of the Pro Bowl - the skills competition.
Former professional football player Walter Coleman III (alt-Coleman-Ⅲ) arrived at the stadium early today because he will be participating in the broadcast of the skills competition as a live reporter for NBC TV, and he must enter the stadium in advance. Prepare for the live broadcast.
Leaving the locker room, Coleman arranged his jersey and hair casually to ensure that he was in the best posture to welcome this event. Before he could enter the stadium, a turbulent and boiling agitation rushed over his face, and the entire players The passage was surging like a storm, and every pore on the skin could deeply feel the enthusiasm.
Coleman's movements couldn't help but pause slightly for a moment.
In previous years, the Pro Bowl has always been tepid, and the skills competition held one day in advance was even more so.
In order to build the relevant equipment for the competition, the skills competition was held in an open and open training venue. The surrounding spectator stands were relatively simple. It was not like a professional competition, but more like a high school competition. It is already very rare to have 3,000 spectators present. The numbers were up, and the vast and vast venue seemed a little deserted.
This year, in compliance with the reform, the skills competition was directly arranged at Aloha Stadium, the venue for the Pro Bowl. Aloha Stadium can accommodate 48,000 spectators. Not only did the atmosphere not become deserted, but it became even more enthusiastic? This isn't quite right!
Coleman quickly quickened his pace, rushed out of the shadow of the players' tunnel, and threw himself into the bright golden sunshine. Then a surging red rushed towards his face violently, like all the stars in the sky exploding, dazzling and The brilliant colors rushed into the depths of the pupils overwhelmingly, and the unreasonable shock was infinitely magnified to the extreme in an instant, as if even the blue sky was completely dyed in brilliant red.
The seats were packed!
It's not that the seats are packed in the strict sense. The attendance rate of the huge Aloha Stadium has reached more than 70%. You can still feel the obvious vacancy in the large blue seats, but the mighty red color is in the stadium. As it spreads out, the sharp contrast between red and blue becomes more and more intense, filling the whole world with a mass of hot and boiling colors, creating a grandeur and bustle comparable to that of a full house.
Such a majestic posture, not to mention the skills competition, even the Pro Bowl may not be able to achieve such a formation.
Coleman was truly stunned. Thirty years after entering the league, this was the first time such a Pro Bowl had ever happened, so that a ridiculous thought came to his mind: Did I go to the wrong stadium?
Apparently not.
Gradually, his heated brain cooled down, and then Coleman noticed that there were not only red colors in the stadium, but also white, black, green, blue and other colorful colors, each from the thirty-two NFL professional teams. With the colors of the team, every spectator couldn’t wait to put on the jersey of their home team to show their support with practical actions.
But the problem is that the red color is too eye-catching and powerful. More than half of the audience chose red jerseys. The bright and gorgeous red is like the morning glow in full bloom, spreading all over the sky. His unreasonable dominance and strong posture turned the entire Aloha Stadium into a unique bright red color.
Take a closer look and you will see that the red is not the red of the Arizona Cardinals, not the red of the Kansas City Chiefs, nor the red of the Atlanta Falcons or Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the golden red of the San Francisco 49ers!
The unique colors exclusive to San Francisco, exclusive to the 49ers, exclusive to the Bay Area, boiled and rolled wantonly and flamboyantly, like a flag fluttering in the wind, majestically transforming the Pro Bowl stadium into their home court, with the attitude of the owner. Be open to welcoming other teams and players.
After realizing this, Coleman's slightly open lower jaw could not be closed at all. He was dumbfounded and just stood there with his jaw dropped, quietly feeling the baptism and precipitation of this wave.
Someone once said that the No. 14 quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers entered the professional arena in a history-making manner. He is bound to create a world of his own. In this regard, people have expressed hesitation and confusion. Can the Asian community really accept the sport of rugby?
Today, right now, right here, Aloha Field answers in the affirmative.
Although Coleman did not seek further confirmation, there was a voice in the back of his mind that kept echoing: Lu Ke.
The audience attendance of the skills competition that created history, the power of the Pro Bowl home court that created history, the league broadcast moments that created history... All these grand occasions and splendors have the same answer, the same correct solution, and the same breakthrough.
Maybe all this is unbelievable, but it is really happening.
"Marshall! Marshall!"
"Fitzgerald! Ahhh!"
"Rogers! Rogers! Rogers!"
"Big Ben! Hey, Big Ben!"
"Marshaun Lynch!"
"Von Miller! Ray Lewis! Clay Matthews!"
"Earl Thomas! Thomas!"
…
In the huge and spacious stadium, screams and shouts were scattered in the strong wind, one after another, endless, and everywhere, vigorously exciting wave after wave of sound waves, calling out the name of their idol, Dotted with brilliant golden sunshine, it outlines a beautiful landscape and opens the curtain of the Pro Bowl.
But gradually, the shouts began to condense into a rope, and the same shout gradually gained the upper hand. Involuntarily, other fans stopped cheering and shouting, looking left and right to find the source of the sound. I found that everywhere, as long as there are gold and red jerseys, the shouts are roaring.
It was as if...as if Aloha Stadium was responding to Coleman's question.
