Pro Bowl 2012: Brandon Marshall's MVP Performance Saves Embarrassing Game

The NFL All-Star Game, otherwise known as the Pro Bowl, is a disaster of epic proportions that no one cares about, nor is there any evidence that people actually watch it. That said, Brandon Marshall was able to lend some credibility to the whole thing with his MVP performance. 

No one tries to do anything in this game, and that is their prerogative. A lot of players just decide to show up in order to collect a paycheck and take their family on a vacation to Hawaii, as evidenced by the 100 combined points scored and Drew Brees attempted drop kick. That's not a bad way to spend a week, if you like the sun and nice weather. 

However, Marshall played like he cared about the result. He wanted to do whatever it took to lead his team to victory, even if no one else did anything to back him up. 

After the game was over, Marshall even acknowledged that he felt like it was an honor to be on this stage and that's why he played the way he did. 

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"You never know when you're going to be back," Marshall said, "and I wanted to go all out today because it could be my last Pro Bowl."

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"You know what? I wanted (the MVP)," he said. "It's a Pro Bowl. Some guys are playing 100(%), some guys are playing 90, some guys aren't playing at all, but it means a lot to be up in the rafters with some of these guys."

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It's not the end of the world to have an All-Star game that doesn't mean anything—Major League Baseball looks moronic by trying to make people think their game is a big deal—but to just see the way that the NFL players approach the game is astonishing. 

The NFL should either get rid of the game, altogether, or hope that more players take the same approach that Marshall did, because the current formula isn't working. It hasn't worked for years, but now it is just becoming sad to watch. 

Marshall brought an old-school mentality to this year's game, and it showed in his dominant performance. Kudos to him, for remembering that the integrity of the game is more important than collecting a cheap paycheck. 

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