Fans of the NFL Pro Bowl: Fan of the Week

[The following "Fan of the Week" column was written a year ago, today to describe the odd mix of fans willing to travel to the NFL Pro Bowl.  As our internal fan scientists guessed, all is still valid.]

The 2008 NFL Pro Bowl has come and gone. Like a lot of other fans, the game completely passed us by this year. We tuned in for about 15 minutes this year—some of the opening ceremonies and the last few minutes of the NFC’s fourth-quarter comeback.

We can talk all day about what the game isn’t; meaningful, inspiring, relevant. They’re certainly all valid points, mixed with the inability to stomach The Worldwide Leader for another pigskin Sunday.

But after looking through the photo gallery of a loyal reader, we can tell you one thing the Pro Bowl IS: a fan hunter’s paradise.

Note the photo below:

Our most-tenured fan hunters observed the situation, and came with the following conclusion.

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With the remote distance of the Hawaiian Pro Bowl, the event leads to an eclectic mix of an abnormal generalized fan base. From our expert calculations, the following groups exist as prime percentages of the Pro Bowl fan-dom.

1.- American tourists visiting the island anyway. Old people especially love Hawaii.
2.- Foreigners.
3.- The most extreme of the extreme football fans—willing to spend their last dime on flights, hotels, and game tickets just to get a glimpse of their “guy” in action.

It’s a dizzying array of oddities at the Pro Bowl. During the 17 weeks of regular season action, the general population of normal human beings has the ability to permeate the imbeciles.

But, there’s nothing like the Pro Bowl. Throw in a few mascots directing traffic in the Hawaii streets, and you’ve got yourself the opening bar scene in “Star Wars” - one of every size, shape, and color.

We leave you with a final image from the 2008 Pro Bowl. Whoever said true love doesn’t exist is a complete jackass.