Watching the Pro Bowl Games

It's the week between the NFL conference championships and the Super Bowl. That means it's the week of the Pro Bowl. Well, it used to mean that. Now, it's something completely different.

Beginning this year -- this afternoon, in fact -- the Pro Bowl is no longer being played. Rather, the NFL has the Pro Bowl Games. That makes a meaningless game even more meaningless.

Once upon a time, it was an all-star football game. In fact, it was called the NFL All Star Game before World War II. After the war, it was revived following the merger with the AAFC and was called the Pro Bowl.

It was a straight up football game featuring stars from the two conferences (sometimes Eastern and Western, sometimes National and American).

In recent years, the format was altered in all kinds of ways, and now there's not even a football game. Well, not a real football game. They will play flag football. And do other stuff. There is more than flag football happening:

• Best Catch presented by Uber Eats (Finale): On Sunday, the top vote getters from each conference will compete head-to-head, as they perform in front of panel of celebrity judges. The pass-catcher who accumulates the highest score from the judges will be determined the winner.
• Gridiron Gauntlet: A side-by-side relay race showcasing strength, speed and agility, six players from each conference will compete to see who finishes first and wins three points for his team. The four-part Gauntlet, each segment 40-yards in length, includes a series of breakaway walls, a section of climbing over walls and under tables, a tire run and a blocking sled carrying a Legend coach across the finish line.
• Kick Tac Toe: Each team's kicker, punter and long snapper compete in a giant Tic-Tac-Toe competition to showcase their respective skills. The first team to complete a connecting line of three squares or hit five squares total will be declared the winner and earn three points for his conference.
• Move The Chains: Four teams (two teams from each conference) will compete side by side in a weighted wall pull that will showcase their strength, speed and ingenuity. Each team of five players is responsible for pulling a wall, loaded up with heavy weights, 10-yards as quickly as possible using first-down chains. The winner of the best-of-three playoff will earn three points for their conference.

This will be followed by a series of flag football games that will eventually determine the winning conference. The winning conference gets, oh, I don't know, bragging rights maybe.

Personally, I'm not sure just how much interest there is for this event. However, if it seems interesting, and you want to check it out, you can watch it this afternoon.

ABC

• Antenna, over the air, free.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Fubo TV, $70/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• DirecTV Stream Entertainment, $70/month.
  

ESPN

• Sling Orange, $40/month.
• Sling Orange+Blue, $55/month.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Fubo TV, $70/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• DirecTV Stream Entertainment, $70/month.
  

ESPN+

ESPN+ is a standalone sports programming service. It is not the same thing as regular ESPN that you get with cable or one of the live streaming services. Some content from ESPN, ESPN2, or other ESPN networks may be available on ESPN+, but often, it's content that is only available on ESPN+.

• ESPN+, $7/month.
• Disney Bundle, $14/month.
  

If this turns out to be a good event, I would be surprised. But, a nice surprise is always a nice surprise. Perhaps it will go well, and this could be a yearly event in my Streaming Life.