I am not going to sit here and say that all the other sports have better all star games than the NFL does, because they don't. The idea of an all star game sounds cool, except for the minor fact that no one cares.
Fans of the NFL don't care because their favorite team will not be affected by the outcome of the game. The players don't care because their career is already basically set once they have made it to a pro bowl.
Now the NFL proved they don't care after they switched the game to a week before the Super Bowl, basically stating that the Pro Bowl wasn't worth making America's most popular sport one week longer. The fact is though, the Pro Bowl is a tradition that will never go away and will continue to make the rich man richer.
With the Pro Bowl happening a week before the Super Bowl, it has essentially defeated it's own purpose. Let's break this down, shall we?
The Pro Bowl is a game consisting of the NFL's best players. In order to be considered one of the best players in the NFL, you have to win games. With that in mind, it could be said that the best players will win the most games during the season. So the two teams who win the most games in the season and make it to the Super Bowl would consist of the best players. However, if these players knew that the most important game of their lives was in one week, they would be crazy to engage in an exhibition, full contact game. The NFL knows this, the fans know it, I know it, You know it, My 18-year old sister who can't even spell N-F-L knows it. So therefore, the NFL has knowingly robbed its all-star game of its best players.
So how can the Pro Bowl be improved? Make it mean something, put pride on the line. Go back to the old format of the NFL all-star team (not the AFC or the NFC) playing against the Super Bowl winners. This means that the Super Bowl winners are out to prove that they are worthy of "Dynasty Status" and the all-stars would be trying to prove that their respective teams have a shot at being there next year. Plus, who wouldn't want to watch Peyton Manning destroy the entire NFL Secondary at once, just because he can...