Talk to local sports fans about the Pro Bowl and a lot of them over the age of 25 or so just kind of shrug and yawn.

It sells out every year, but half the stadium is from the mainland.

And that's exactly the reason why everyone in Hawaii—sports fan or not—should realize we lose out with the event leaving, even just for one year.

The game and the week of activities leading up to it brings in more than 25,000 tourists a year. And we're not talking about coupon clippers. Many are family and friends of NFL superstars, or NFL players themselves.

There are fewer people around with disposable income these days, but pro athletes are not among them. They still have plenty of coin, some of the Pro Bowl stars have enough to pay for teammates to come to Hawaii, too.

Perhaps they don't spread quite as much wealth as the players, but coaches and league officials are here too, and the NFL takes over a considerable portion of the Hilton Hawaiian Village for Pro Bowl week, as well as the Ko Olina Resort, where the players stay.

Some people think the state pays the already-rich NFL too much in rights fees for the Pro Bowl. But last time I checked, a $4 million investment to generate $30 million in spending here and $3 million in state taxes is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

Hawaii Winter Baseball, Hula Bowl, now the Pro Bowl ... all shutting down or moving, at least for a while. So is this just a sign of the times, the NFL looking to save a few bucks?

Yes and no.

It's been no secret that for years the NFL has wanted to do something different with the Pro Bowl, something that might make it relevant, more exciting—and improve the TV ratings.

But is that possible?

And how does moving the Pro Bowl to the week before the Super Bowl, at the host city of the Super Bowl, without the all-stars in the Super Bowl make it a better event. It doesn't, the Pro Bowl just gets overshadowed by the, yeah, you guessed it, Super Bowl. I'm sure guys that just lost in the conference finals and barely missed out on the Super Bowl are going to be jacked up about playing in the Pro Bowl a few days later.

It doesn't make it better. It just makes it less expensive.

The reason this experiment is for one year is because the 2010 big game is in Miami. Hawaii has a great shot—some say it's a done deal—to bring back the Pro Bowl in 2011 and 2012. That's because Indianapolis and Dallas host the SB in those years, and they're not exactly late January tourist destinations.

Remember the talk of playing it in China or some other place where they barely know what a football is?

Good idea, kind of like those people who have never eaten a hamburger loving on Burger King. You might fill the stadium on curiosity alone. But some players already don't want to come all the way to Hawaii, how you gonna get them to Beijing?

Most of the players—and their families—do love to come here. They told us so last year. Many of them were scratching their heads as to why the league would want to alter what they consider a perfect reward for a job well done, a week in paradise. The players union president is Kevin Mawae, and this will be his seventh Pro Bowl. He's Hawaiian, so maybe the state has an ace card in negotiations.

The Pro Bowl game itself will never be significant. It's the event, the week. For the NFL and Hawaii.

Hopefully this is just a one-year break. It's sad to think that the next generation of Hawaii kids might not get the chance to see real live NFL stars up close.

Besides, we really need the money.