My, oh my. The sky is falling because Hawaii won’t host the Pro Bowl in 2015, and maybe not in 2017, as well.

How will we ever survive this calamity?

Wait, a second there …

If I recall correctly, we’ve been through this before. The NFL took its all-star game away in 2010 and we all somehow made it through to the other side.

It’s been a good run since — all four Pro Bowls since that one in South Florida have been played here.

But commissioner Roger Goodell told us back then he’d probably pull it again from time to time, and that Hawaii would be part of a rotation (that is, if he didn’t kill it off completely).

And now he has moved the game again … as just about everyone predicted, next year’s Pro Bowl will be the opening act for the Super Bowl, a week before it in Glendale, Ariz.

So why the big surprise? Why are we acting like the Aloha Stadium rug has been pulled out from under us?

Because we were spoiled.

All those years of exclusivity made us believe the Pro Bowl was OURS and ours alone, that we indeed are the NFL’s 33rd franchise but with just one home game a year.

And the players fueled our confidence, since almost without exception they’ve told us how much they love it here and want it here every year. And they’ve told their union that, as well.

Of course, it is never a scientific survey. The guys who opt out of the long flight to Hawaii, claiming "injuries" might have a different opinion.

The NFL saves money and simplifies logistics by consolidating the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl in the same city. Cross promotion is facilitated. The Super Bowl players who are voted into the Pro Bowl still don’t play in the all-star game, but at least they can appear at it.

What about us? We’ll manage. This is Hawaii. We will find other things to do.

Blaine Fergerstrom, who used to be our webmaster, suggests going to watch a baseball game. As crazy as that sounds for late January, early February, it’s do-able … there are lots of youth league games to watch on any given Sunday here. And you will always get an honest effort.

Not everyone missed the Pro Bowl when it wasn’t here. My friend who goes by "Lion Jim" says, "We could watch parking meters expire. It would be just as exciting as watching the Pro Bowl."

Many do disagree, and they’ll be hungry for a return visit by the NFL’s elite in 2016. Maybe even enough to get back to our custom of selling out the joint, which hasn’t happened in several years.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority will hopefully find something just as worthy or even more in which to invest our $5 million. I suggest college sports, as I did previously. The University of Hawaii and the Division II schools host many opponents and their fans who spend money here in the tourism industry.

And invest some kala in gussying up Aloha Stadium, in time for the next round of negotiations with the NFL.

Minnesota has put in a bid for the 2018 Super Bowl. If the hinterland is also awarded the Pro Bowl, then it will be time for a logical conclusion that Hawaii is being phased out of the rotation.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. Read his blog at staradvertiser.com/quickreads.