Perhaps the greatest Pro Bowl story ever isn't about the game, of course, and involves Tom Brady, who hasn't played in the game since 2005, even though he's been voted in for 10 consecutive years.
It's told by former Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes to Sports Illustrated's Robert Klemko:
“I had one of my best years my third season,” Spikes said. “I'd been playing off the charts. And I didn't get picked to go to the Pro Bowl. I was moping around, actually in tears, and a few guys were trying to lift me up, like, ‘It's gonna be alright man. We've got to worry about what's in front of us.’ Then The Pharaoh himself walks up to me — I used to call Brady The Pharoah and he hated that — Brady walks up to me and says, ‘Hey B, you think I play this s--- to go to Pro Bowls? Get it together. Get your head up. We're trying to win rings. That's what it is here.’ That's where I knew what kind of environment I was in, how blessed I was.”
Seven years and now four Super Bowl appearances later, that attitude still seems to prevail.
But that Pharoah nickname never really caught on, did it?
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Celtics easily on your device.