Getty The 2019 Pro Bowl.
The 2020 Pro Bowl selections were revealed on Tuesday night with several big names making their respective conference rosters. But this season, there were more notable snubs than anything.
While there was no love for Dak Prescott, Kyle Van Noy, or Justin Simmons to name a few notable omissions, surprise selections like Jarvis Landry and Aaron Rodgers among others dominated the list. For some, like Van Noy who was quick to voice his frustrations on Twitter, it was a rough break in an otherwise spectacular or breakout season.
But former NFL players who have gone through the snubs and the multiple selections were quick to point out the value behind such a distinction. Former Colts punter Pat McAfee, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, spoke at length about this on his Wednesday show for Sirius XM, describing how it feels to be selected to the Pro Bowl.
It was that moment with the rest of my teammates, they were clapping, that it was a real vindicating moment. It was like ‘You know what I’m doing, people are recognizing.’ People are recognizing that I’ve changed the game a little bit. You immediately have this moment of gratification where you’re so thankful and grateful for the honor along with the financial bonus. But that moment where your teammates are happy for you is really the best moment of the whole thing. But as soon as I got in the car to drive home I was like ‘Yeah, but who cares.’
The salary bonus is a big advantage for making the Pro Bowl, something that also honors a strong season by offering a player fiscal reward. But the honor itself clearly carries very little meaning.
Why It Doesn’t Matter?
The full segment went into McAfee’s high school soccer career, in which he described how he wasn’t named league MVP despite leading the state in goals and assists.
His biggest point was the difference between how first-time selections versus how repeat selections feel about being picked. While it is still a testament to hard work and dedication to the craft, it can sometimes be more about subjectivity and big names than who really deserves it.
Here’s why McAfee puts so little stock into who makes the Pro Bowl:
That’s a big difference between being a first-time Pro Bowler and the next time I got voted into the Pro Bowl where I chose not to play in it. That first time feels so good to have that vindication of people recognizing what I’m doing. Whenever you get that first Pro Bowl nod, it’s so exhilarating. But then afterward you realize a lot of bad players make it to the Pro Bowl strictly because of their names. That’s the difference between the first batch of Pro Bowlers and repeat Pro Bowlers.
While it might be discouraging not be honored with a Pro Bowl selection for some players, McAfee feels it is just a popularity contest like most All-Star games tend to be.
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