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The annual meeting between the
best of the AFC and NFC returns to the Aloha Stadium
this year. I must confess that the grand
sport of American Football (I know it's just
football to you US types, but in the UK we kind of
have the original version so need to differentiate
somehow!) tends to pass me by, and to a large extent
the rules remain as mysterious as the strangest
hieroglyphics, but I do very much enjoy long drawn
out sporting matches with a strong tactical element
(Test match cricket anyone?) so I'm determined to
make more of an effort to unravel this one, and with
the Super Bowl only a few weeks away then the Pro
Bowl seems as good a place as any to make something
of a start. I have to say the
location is about as good as it gets (aside possibly
from some of the Caribbean cricket grounds...) with
the Aloha Stadium perched right on the coast of the
beautiful town of Honolulu - if you're going to
watch football anywhere then this seems a pretty
decent place to start! This is an
all-star game featuring the best players of the
American Football Conference (AFC) versus those from
the National Football Conference (NFC). I'm sure
there's a reason for which teams play where but even
Wikipedia couldn't unravel it for me, so I'm just
going to go ahead and assume it's something to do
with money. What is certain is that this game
features the best players from both so should be an
absolute cracker. If I ever do get
to attend the Pro Bowl then the tailgate party would
be right there on the list as well. Nowhere
formalises pre-game eating and drinking quite like a US
sporting event, and here it is actually an official
ticket-only event, held at nearby Richardson
Field so requires some advance planning, but by all
accounts is well worth it! |
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The full list of selected
starting players are as follows:
AFC
Offense
Quarterback - Peyton Manning, Denver
Running back - Arian Foster, Houston
Fullback - Vonta Leach, Baltimore
Wide receiver - A. J. Green, Cincinnati, Andre
Johnson, Houston
Tight end - Rob Gronkowski, New England
Offensive tackle - Joe Thomas, Cleveland, Duane
Brown, Houston
Offensive guard - Logan Mankins, New England,
Marshal Yanda, Baltimore
Center - Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh
Defense
Defensive end - J. J. Watt, Houston, Cameron Wake,
Miami
Defensive tackle - Geno Atkins, Cincinnati, Vince
Wilfork, New England
Outside linebacker - Von Miller, Denver, Tamba Hali,
Kansas City
Inside linebacker - Jerod Mayo, New England
Cornerback - Champ Bailey, Denver, Johnathan Joseph,
Houston
Free safety - Ed Reed, Baltimore
Strong safety - Eric Berry, Kansas City
Special Teams
Punter - Dustin Colquitt, Kansas City
Placekicker - Phil Dawson, Cleveland
Kick returner - Jacoby Jones, Baltimore
Special teamer - Matthew Slater, New England
Long snapper - John Denney, Miami
NFC
Offense
Quarterback - Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay
Running back - Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
Fullback - Jerome Felton, Minnesota
Wide receiver - Calvin Johnson, Detroit, Brandon
Marshall, Chicago
Tight end - Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta
Offensive tackle - Joe Staley, San Francisco,
Russell Okung, Seattle
Offensive guard - Mike Iupati, San Francisco, Jahri
Evans, New Orleans
Center - Max Unger, Seattle
Defense
Defensive end - Jason Pierre-Paul, N.Y. Giants,
Julius Peppers, Chicago
Defensive tackle - Justin Smith, San Francisco,
Henry Melton, Chicago
Outside linebacker - Aldon Smith, San Francisco,
DeMarcus Ware, Dallas
Inside linebacker - Patrick Willis, San Francisco
Cornerback - Charles Tillman, Chicago, Tim Jennings,
Chicago
Free safety - Dashon Goldson, San Francisco
Strong safety - Donte Whitner, San Francisco
Special Teams
Punter - Thomas Morstead, New Orleans
Placekicker - Blair Walsh, Minnesota
Kick returner - Leon Washington, Seattle
Special teamer - Lorenzo Alexander, Washington
Long snapper - Don Muhlbach, Detroit |
