Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.

Saturday, January 27, 2001

Illustration by David Swann, Star-Bulletin
Photo by Knight Ridder
NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, front, is in Hawaii
for tomorrow’s Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium. He says
it’s good for the league that 42 players are playing
in the game for the first time.

Hawaii’s grand
gridiron buzz

NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue
and UH coach June Jones agree:
The Pro Bowl is great for Hawaii,
and Hawaii is great for the Pro Bowl

Mawae revisits isle ties
NFC: Bucs, newcomers
AFC: Super Bowl roll?

---

Official Pro Bowl site

---

By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

National Football League commissioner Paul Tagliabue knew who to call to see how the Pro Bowl was doing in Hawaii.

Soon after landing in the island chain earlier this week, he contacted University of Hawaii head football coach June Jones.

"Well, the Pro Bowl, I think is very positive," Tagliabue said Thursday morning. "I talked to June Jones last night. And I asked him for his perspective on it, since he's out here all the time and obviously, I'm not.

"He just thought it was the best ever. There was a lot of positive buzz, not just around the game and the players, but the events in the community. Of course, game day has always been phenomenal here. It's one of the main reasons we play it here. But expanding it beyond that has been one of our main goals in recent years."

The 2001 game hasn't been as quick to reach capacity as in past years. Only one has failed to be sold out by kickoff since the game moved here in 1980.

Part of the reason was the NFL put 3,000 tickets on sale earlier in the week, making it difficult for the local blackout to be lifted. Still, no one is questioning Hawaii's love affair with the game.

"The Pro Bowl is a great event for Hawaii," Jones said. "I had lunch with the commissioner on Thursday. It was very positive. He loves what's happening here with the game and all the events."

Kickoff for tomorrow's NFL all-star game is 12:30 p.m. It features a continuing change of the guard. Last year, there were 41 first-time Pro Bowl players in the game. This year, there are 42, including 26 on the National Football Conference team.

"I think it's great that we have all these first-time players on the two teams," Tagliabue said. "And not all of them are players with two or three years of experience. We have a lot of veterans, too, which is exciting for everybody."

On the NFC, Washington's Marco Coleman is a nine-year veteran making his first Pro Bowl appearance. New York offensive lineman Ron Stone had to play eight seasons before being named to the exclusive squad. Even Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard had to wait nine years before making his first Pro Bowl.

"And they're young compared to me," said Miami's Trace Armstrong, who is making his first Pro Bowl appearance in a dozen seasons. "But what an honor to be here with all these great players."

Coleman echoed those sentiments. But he also hinted that some of the selections were long overdue.

"All the first-year guys show that the NFL is trying to get the best players out here," Coleman said. "A lot of times, name recognition gets you into the Pro Bowl, even if you're not the best player. But that's changing."

The State of Hawaii's role in this game is changing as well. Last September, the Hawaii Tourism Authority agreed to pay $19.5 million to continue to host the Pro Bowl from 2002 to 2005.

In addition to the game, several week-long events have been added to the list, including the NFL Experience that began on Wednesday at the Aloha Stadium parking lot.

"Adding the events throughout the week and getting some of the servicemen in some of these football competitions, and having the NFL experience is just what we wanted to see," Tagliabue said.

"We were out there on Wednesday morning with some of the players, Desmond Howard and others. And that's a big part of what's so positive about the game.

"Of course it's the all-star game. And of course it's a way of recognizing the achievement of these players as individuals. But to get the fans involved -- the fans of Hawaii have always been so supportive -- to give them a chance to get more involved and have a lot of fun is a big thing for us."

Hawaii series

Since the NFL's annual all-star game moved to Hawaii in 1980, the NFC leads the series 11-10. Here are the results:

1980

AFC -- 37
NFC -- 27

1981

AFC -- 7
NFC -- 21

1982

AFC -- 13
NFC -- 16

1983

AFC -- 19
NFC -- 20

1984

AFC -- 45
NFC -- 3

1985

AFC -- 22
NFC -- 14

1986

AFC -- 28
NFC -- 24

1987

AFC -- 10
NFC -- 6

1988

AFC -- 6
NFC -- 15

1989

AFC -- 3
NFC -- 34

1990

AFC -- 27
NFC -- 21

1991

AFC -- 23
NFC -- 21

1992

AFC -- 21
NFC -- 15

1993*

AFC -- 23
NFC -- 20

1994

AFC -- 17
NFC -- 3

1995

AFC -- 41
NFC -- 13

1996

AFC -- 20
NFC -- 13

1997

AFC -- 26
NFC -- 23

1998

AFC -- 29
NFC -- 24

1999

AFC -- 10
NFC -- 23

2000

AFC -- 31
NFC -- 51

All-time series

The NFC is 16-14, since the Pro Bowl began in 1971.

Pro Bowl 2001