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The best players of the season are chosen by the vote of the fans, and the Pro Bowl is played one week before the decisive match of the Super Bowl

The Pro Bowl is a traditional show of the National Football League (NFL) that is synonymous with the game of stars. But, with the difference that it is not performed halfway through the regular schedule as it is done in the NBA or in the majors, until even in Major League Soccer (MLS). In LatinAmerican Post we review details of this event, the good and the bad.

Leer en español: La mejor antesala al Super Bowl: ¡este es el Pro Bowl de las estrellas!

The first thing to say is that the 2019 edition will be at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando again, this Sunday, January 28, just a week before the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams compete in Super Bowl LIII, on February 3, in Atlanta. In short, the match will face the best players of the American Conference (AFC) against those of the National Conference (NFC). All are previously chosen in a vote of the fans.

La República ensures that the lists of players were revealed last month after a selection process that included the voting of these, as well as that of coaches and fans. The same newspaper, also clarifies that it is not mandatory for athletes to attend the game as it is more a show for entertainment. If they are injured, they have already left on vacation or, mainly, if their team is going to play the Super Bowl, they have total power to not attend the Pro Bowl.

To give a graphic example, Rams players Jared Goff, Todd Gurley, Aaron Donald, and Cory Littleton, plus Patriots Tom Brady and Stephon Gilmore, who were previously selected, will not play it because the main focus is their preparation in the Super Bowl.

The same newspaper adds that In the original list of players summoned, the team that placed the most players were the Pittsburgh Steelers (American Conference) with eight players, although possibly six due to the injuries of Antonio Brown and David DeCastro. At the last minute, his quarterback Ben Roethlisberger could be added to the list due to the logical absence of Brady.

On the side of the National Conference, it is the Dallas Cowboys who lead the department of players called with six on the list: Ezekiel Elliott, Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, DeMarcus Lawrence, Leighton Vander Esch and Byron Jones.

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The NFL tries to simplify the traditional game by dividing it by conference. The selected coaches are also from the same conference. La República points out that the chosen were Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints, who could not respond to their favoritism to reach Super Bowl LIII. As with the 'Super Bowl', there are previous shows, although in this case, it was last Wednesday with the Skills Show.

The distribution, according to Sixth Ring, works in the following way. Those selected in the attack are 6 Quarterbacks, 6 Running Backs, 2 Full Backs, 8 Wide Receivers, 4 Tight Ends, 6 Offensive Tackles, 6 Offensive Guards, 4 Centers.

While in defense are 6 Defensive Ends, 6 Defensive Tackles, 6 Outside Linebacker, 4 Inside Linebacker, 8 Cornerbacks, 2 Free Safety, 4 Strong Safety. Finally, in special teams: 2 Punters, 2 Kickers, 2 Return Specialists, 2 Special Teamers, 2 Long Snapper. When the voting closes, the organizers count votes and establish a ranking to decide who should be in the Pro Bowl, culminates the aforementioned means.

How and when was the Pro Bowl born?

The 2018 edition of the Pro Bowl was held at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando on January 28, 2018, and there, the American Conference rallied 17 points of disadvantage to beat the National Conference in the Pro Bowl 24-23 despite being down 20-3 at halftime. according to Univisión.

Azteca Deportes breaks down very well and in the form of curious facts a lot of information about the Pro Bowl. January 1939 is the date that marks the beginning of the history of this NFL star game, which was held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, not in the Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball. clarify it. Initially, it was disputed between the champion team of the season and a combined star of the rest of the teams.

1951 marked the start of the award for Best Player of the Match with the distinction to Otto Graham of the Cleveland Brown. This 2019, would be the 68th edition played without interruption. although not always with the name of the Pro Bowl, because since 1971 it is called like that.

Honolulu, capital of Hawaii, managed to be the "permanent" venue of the Pro Bowl between 1980 to 2009, almost three consecutive decades, and 34 in total. In 2015 for the first time, the headquarters was Arizona. Throughout history, the cities that have served as headquarters are Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, Kansas City, and Seattle.

In turn, Marca indicated that the NFL announced with almost a month in advance, the players who received the most votes and were chosen to participate in the 2019 Pro Bowl. In total, 29 different teams send players to the Professionals Bowl. . Other teams with massive participation were the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Chargers.

While Oakland, Buffalo and Tampa Bay are the only teams without players chosen for these Pro Bowl campuses. Among the chosen players there are 29 who received their first nomination, including six rookies: Derwin James (Chargers), Saquon Barkley (Giants), Michael Dickson (Seahawks), Quenton Nelson (Colts) and Denzel Ward (Browns).

LatinAmerican Post | Onofre Zambrano

Translated from: 'La mejor antesala al Super Bowl: ¡este es el Pro Bowl de las estrellas!'