Everyone's favorite game, all-time, in the history or sports, ever, the NFL Pro Bowl, will take place Sunday, January 29th at 4:00pm PST so make sure you plan to tune in. The game will be televised on NBC, live, and if you weren't already excited about watching the game, the NFL has annouced that players will be allowed to tweet from the sidelines (in a designated area, of course) adding intrigue and drama to what's already the greatest show on earth. Can life get better??!
Now, in all seriousness, for San Francisco/Bay Area fans, this game is actually worth watching! Why? Because there are a grip of Raiders and 49ers playing in the game, and there must be something in the water round these parts because pretty much every player on San Francisco and Oakland's respective special teams - punters Shane Lechler and Andy Lee, placekickers Sebastian Janikowski and David Akers, and longsnappers Jon Condo and Brian Jennings - are representing their respective conferences in the game in an All-Bay-Area Special Team-off. (Check out an interview with 49er longsnapper Brian Jennings here).
In addition to an overly special Special Teams presence in Hawaii, the 49ers are represented by Dashon Goldson, Carlos Rogers, Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Joe Staley, and Frank Gore on the Pro Bowl roster - though Gore, Rogers, and Goldson all bowed out with injuries and won't play, and the Raiders are represented by Richard Seymour.
Below, see the complete and official rosters for both conferences, as shown on NFL.com.
*-denotes starter
x-denotes out because of injury
y-denotes replacement for injured or Super Bowl player
z-will not play; Super Bowl participant
AFC OFFENSE:
Quarterback
*Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh
z-Tom Brady, New England
y-Andy Dalton, Cincinnati
Philip Rivers, San Diego
Running back
*-Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville
x-Arian Foster, Houston
y-Ryan Mathews, San Diego
y-Willis McGahee, Denver
x-Ray Rice, Baltimore
Fullback
*-Vonta Leach, Baltimore
Wide receiver
*-A.J. Green, Cincinnati
*-Mike Wallace, Pittsburgh
Brandon Marshall, Miami
y-Vincent Jackson, San Diego
z-Wes Welker, New England
Tight end
*-Antonio Gates, San Diego
y-Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati
z-Rob Gronkowski, New England
Tackle
*-Joe Thomas, Cleveland
*-D'Brickashaw Ferguson, N.Y. Jets
y-Ryan Clady, Denver
x-Jake Long, Miami
Guard
*y-Ben Grubbs, Baltimore
*-Marshal Yanda, Baltimore
z-Logan Mankins, New England
y-Brandon Moore, N.Y. Jets
z-Brian Waters, New England
Center
*-Nick Mangold, N.Y. Jets
y-Chris Myers, Houston
x-Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh
NFC OFFENSE:
Quarterback
*-Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay
Drew Brees, New Orleans
z-Eli Manning, N.Y. Giants
y-Cam Newton, Carolina
Running back
*-LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia
Matt Forte, Chicago
x-Frank Gore, San Francisco
y-Marshawn Lynch, Seattle
Fullback
*y-Michael Robinson, Seattle
x-John Kuhn, Green Bay
Wide receiver
*-Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona
*-Steve Smith, Carolina
Greg Jennings, Green Bay
x-Calvin Johnson, Detroit
y-Roddy White, Atlanta
Tight end
*-Jimmy Graham, New Orleans
Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta
Tackle
*-Jason Peters, Philadelphia
*-Joe Staley, San Francisco
Jermon Bushrod, New Orleans
Guard
*-Jahri Evans, New Orleans
*-Carl Nicks, New Orleans
Davin Joseph, Tampa Bay
Center
*-Ryan Kalil, Carolina
Scott Wells, Green Bay
AFC DEFENSE:
Defensive end
*-Elvis Dumervil, Denver
*-Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis
x-Andre Carter, New England
y-Antonio Smith, Houston
Interior linemen
*-Richard Seymour, Oakland
y-Geno Atkins, Cincinnati
x-Haloti Ngata, Baltimore
y-Paul Soliai, Miami
z-Vince Wilfork, New England
Outside linebacker
*-Tamba Hali, Kansas City
*-Von Miller, Denver
y-James Harrison, Pittsburgh
x-Terrell Suggs, Baltimore
Inside/midde linebacker
*-Ray Lewis, Baltimore
Derrick Johnson, Kansas City
Cornerback
*-Champ Bailey, Denver
*-Darrelle Revis, N.Y. Jets
Johnathan Joseph, Houston
Free safety
*-Eric Weddle, San Diego
y-Ryan Clark, Pittsburgh
x-Ed Reed, Baltimore
Strong safety
*y-Brian Dawkins, Denver
x-Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh
NFC DEFENSE:
Defensive end
*-Jared Allen, Minnesota
*-Jason Babin, Philadelphia
y-Julius Peppers, Chicago
z-Jason Pierre-Paul, N.Y. Giants
Interior linemen
*-Jay Ratliff, Dallas
*-Justin Smith, San Francisco
B.J. Raji, Green Bay
Outside linebacker
*-Clay Matthews, Green Bay
*-DeMarcus Ware, Dallas
x-Lance Briggs, Chicago
y-Chad Greenway, Minnesota
Inside/midde linebacker
*-Patrick Willis, San Francisco
x-Brian Urlacher, Chicago
y-London Fletcher, Washington
Cornerback
*-Charles Woodson, Green Bay
y-Brandon Browner, Seattle
x-Carlos Rogers, San Francisco
Charles Tillman, Chicago
Free safety
*-Earl Thomas, Seattle
y-Kam Chancellor, Seattle
x-Dashon Goldson, San Francisco
Strong safety
*-Adrian Wilson, Arizona
AFC SPECIALISTS:
Punter
Shane Lechler, Oakland
Placekicker
Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland
Kick returner
Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh
Special-teamer
*,y-Montell Owens, Jacksonville
z-Matthew Slater, New England
Long snapper
Jon Condo, Oakland
NFC SPECIALISTS:
Punter
Andy Lee, San Francisco
Placekicker
David Akers, San Francisco
Kick returner
Patrick Peterson, Arizona
Special-teamer
Corey Graham, Chicago
Long snapper
Brian Jennings, San Francisco
For more on the 49ers and if you're looking to live chat about this game, make sure you check out Niners Nation and the Pro Bowl open game thread. Same goes for Raiders fans wanting to chat about the game - head over to Silver and Black Pride.