January 27, 2013; Honolulu, HI, USA; AFC quarterback Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos (18) and AFC quarterback Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts (12) pass the ball during warm ups before the 2013 Pro Bowl against the NFC at Aloha Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Horseshoe Hero: Pro Bowl Addition

After last year’s embarrassing Pro Bowl, commissioner Roger Goodell threatened to rid the league of football’s historic All Star showcase game. But then again, Peyton Manning wasn’t in last year’s Pro Bowl. After missing the entire 2011-2012 season while recovering from a fourth next surgery, Manning returned to the NFL as a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback, earning more votes than any other player in the league. But unlike his 11 other Pro Bowl appearances, this time he earned the honor in a different uniform.

We all know the story. The Colts went a shocking 2-14 without Manning under center, and the team released him, drafted Andrew Luck, and cut several other notable Colts legends. The Colts overachieved and made it to the Wild Card round of the playoffs with the rookie Luck, and the Manning-led Broncos made it to the AFC divisional round after going 13-3 and locking up the AFC’s top seed. Both Luck and Manning made the Pro Bowl. Everyone seemingly won.

All week at the Pro Bowl, Manning has been advocating the game’s importance, encouraging his AFC teammates to play hard with hopes that Goodell would be convinced to keep the game in place. Manning believes that his Pro Bowl experiences helped him learn valuable lessons from the legends who played alongside him. He wanted to show how special the game was.

Mission accomplished.

Manning provided the best moments of the Pro Bowl by reuniting with two of his former Colts teammates. He threw 2 passes to Reggie Wayne – still a Colt – and it was a special sight to see the two hook up again on the field for old times sake. Manning and Wayne could probably run routes together in their sleep.

Later in the second quarter, something even more unprecedented occurred. Jeff Saturday, Manning’s longtime center with the Colts who signed with the Green Bay Packers of the NFC last offseason, took the field on the AFC side and lined up in front of Manning. He snapped Manning the ball, the crowd cheered, and my eyes teared up. Saturday, who has played 14 years in the NFL, will retire after the Pro Bowl. It was one of his very last snaps.

Manning did throw an impressive touchdown to AJ Green of the Cincinnati Bengals in the first quarter, but the scoring play paled in comparison to these others.

None of this would have been made possible had it not been for the Pro Bowl. These are the things that need to be kept in mind when evaluating the game’s importance in the future.

When the Pro Bowl announcements were made, Luck was not included on the roster, yet was chosen as an alternate. Aside from his impressive debut season, Luck found himself in tough competition to find a spot in the AFC Pro Bowl selections. Luck was chosen as an alternate behind Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Matt Schaub.

Conventional wisdom would have expected Luck to make the Pro Bowl roster regardless, due to the fact that one of those other three quarterbacks would have made this year’s Super Bowl. Well, Joe Flacco snuck up on everybody, and helped to eliminate three of the four aforementioned quarterbacks from Super Bowl contention. The ”Flacc Attack” pretty much knocked off the top-rated quarterbacks in the league.

Luck now gets his chance to play in the Pro Bowl as a rookie, which is an honor in itself. The rookie gets his shot to get leighed in Hawaii, due to reports that Tom Brady will not be able to play in Sunday’s game because of injury. Brady’s injury has not yet been specified, but perhaps he has a broken heart, from choking away a win last Sunday.

Reggie Wayne has been the catalyst for this upstart Indianapolis Colts offense all season long. Wayne leads the team in all receiving categories, and has been seen as a tutor for all of the other young receivers on this team. Wayne’s 102 receptions this season is currently 5th in the league. Wayne is also 6th in the league in receiving yards, and receiving yards per game. This will be Wayne’s sixth Pro Bowl selection.

Robert Mathis has endured a difficult season with the Colts, after being switched from defensive end to outside linebacker. The switch in defense, the change in coordinator, and even the loss of his new head coach, could have buckled Mathis and this Indianapolis defense. Mathis, who will also be entering his 6th Pro Bowl, has eight sacks and 30 combined tackles so far this season.