Some current and former players might not like the NFL's move to reschedule the Pro Bowl to this Sunday -- a week before the Super Bowl at the same site of the game as opposed to its recent regular home in Hawaii the week after the Super Bowl -- but the move has certainly generated abundant buzz about the league's sometimes overlooked all-star game.Radio and TV talkers have debated the move of the game throughout the week. With more media members in South Florida than could make the trip to Hawaii, the players have noticed more attention on the game.
And, it seems current and former players are almost evenly split on the rescheduled game. For every guy who complains about not being able to make a trip to Hawaii, another chimes in about the ease of travel to Miami and being part of the week leading up to the Super Bowl.
The game moves back to Hawaii after the Super Bowl the next two years, but after that it could eventually end up as part of the Super Bowl buildup if things go well this week. For NFL officials, who often listen and respond with their wallets, the anticipated stadium full of fans also might help sway an eventual decision.
Once the Pro Bowl begins Sunday night (7:20 p.m., ESPN), fans at home should be able to listen, too. With 14 microphones on players and coaches, ESPN hopes to capitalize on its access and provide a different feel from a regular NFL game.
"It’s an opportunity for us to do a lot of things we’re not able to do during the regular season. The big thing for us is access in this game. We’ll be pretty aggressive at mikes on players, including all the quarterbacks and other players," said senior coordinating producer Jay Rothman, who lead's the "Monday Night Football" crew that will work the Pro Bowl with announcers Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and John Gruden.
"We will have cameras in locker rooms, pregame, halftime, postgame and huddles," Rothman added. “We’ll have a ton of production elements, video packages and special graphics that we bring into the game because another thing is celebrating these athletes who made it into the Pro Bowl and celebrating their season. We have 25 cameras for this game, but it’s a little different plan for us. It’s more about maximizing all the audio we have versus the game coverage.”