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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
Here’s hoping the
Pro Bowl never
grows upIT was crazy in the final minutes. Dre Bly returned an interception for a touchdown, and then Corey Chavous stole a pass and took it to the 2.
And then it happened: The NFC All-Stars were suddenly the Pro Bowl Dancers, performing in a joyously ridiculous disco line, all of them, scores of them, all grinning and swaying to the beat.
And Ray Lewis was kung fu-ing, and TV people pulled cables feverishly, and security people insisted whatever level of access you had wasn't good enough.
The AFC was driving.
It was crazy, in those final minutes.
This is what every Pro Bowl should be like.
And then Peyton Manning took a sack and stopped the clock and Mike Vanderjagt lined up to kick. Mike Vanderjagt -- who at last year's Pro Bowl was that liquored up idiot kicker we all heard about -- an All-Star now, a Pro Bowler himself. And he lined up to win the game.
The NFC had come back from 25 down, with interceptions and weird plays and dancing.
The AFC tried to counter with Lewis' kung fu.
But the kick that mattered was Vanderjagt's. The crowd went nuts. The ball fell to the turf. No good. Scoop, the pelican mascot (next year's Super Bowl), held his head in his hands. NFC, 55-52, most points, most touchdowns, most dancing. This was insane.
Has any Pro Bowl topped this?
"No," Giants lineman Michael Strahan said. "This is probably the most fun I've had."
And then everyone was on the field. All the old Miami Hurricanes got together for a picture. The NFC's Torry Holt high-fived the AFC's Chad Johnson. Strahan was talking to anyone who would listen. "My man Dre Bly, he made the game for us!" he barked.
It was a great game.
The halftime entertainment didn't get naked. No kickers were liquored up (we think; we'll check with Manning). Nobody threatened to kiss Suzy Kolber.
Everyone who had ever met Justin Timberlake was banned from the premises.
Even Johnson, the Bengals receiver of the cardboard signs ("Will celebrate for endorsement deal") was sportsmanlike in his conduct after scoring the first touchdown of the game.
This was a PR bonanza, the NFL the NFL wants you to see.
This was a Pro Bowl anybody would pay to see.
"We had 41 first-time players here, so the guys are definitely out there putting it out," Strahan said. "They definitely wanted to win."
"It's intense out here," said Baltimore safety Ed Reed, a first-timer who was late for his Miami picture, but early on a first-quarter punt that he blocked and took in for an AFC score. He was loving this. "This is everything that I thought it would be."
Maybe that's the secret. Some of the old pros might prefer to take it easy, or opt out altogether.
Maybe some of the bigger names are less enthusiastic when it comes to this feel-good, don't-get-hurt exhibition.
"I'm not going to say less enthusiastic," Strahan said. "But ... when you know better, you know better. Let's put it that way."
Ah. So they had more fun because they were too young and stupid to know that this is just for fun. And so they intercepted and they danced and they made it crazy at the end. It worked.
This one was great.
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Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com