Ex-NFL Player Admits Most Players Get 'Dead Drunk' Before Playing in the Pro Bowl

Former Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather says most NFL players' goal is to get "dead drunk" before playing in the Pro Bowl.

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Image via Complex Original
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Earlier this week, the NFL announced which players will take part in the Pro Bowl in early 2017, and those who made the team were very excited about it. They took to social media to thank their fans for helping them earn a spot on the Pro Bowl team—and they tweeted their excitement about getting a free trip to Florida to celebrate their successes this season.

Brandon Meriweather doesn’t play in the NFL anymore, but he did make two Pro Bowl appearances during his time in the league. So he knows what it feels like to take the trip to the Pro Bowl. And he also knows why players get so happy when they find out they’ve made it to the NFL’s version of an All-Star Game. As he said during a radio appearance on Toucher & Rich, it’s not necessarily to take part in the game itself. Rather, it’s to partake in everything that comes before the game begins.

"I went to [my first Pro Bowl in 2010] and some people were like, 'Look, man, I’m playing dead serious. I’m finna win this,'" he said. "And a lot—most players—are like, 'Man, I’m finna get dead drunk before the game, man.' They ain’t playing nothing."

Meriweather went on to say that he fell into the first category during his first Pro Bowl trip. But during the second one? Well, let’s just say that he had a great time during that trip—and he didn’t let the fact that he had to play in a game distract him from all the extracurricular activities. In fact, he actually drank just hours before the Pro Bowl started back at the team hotel.

"It couldn’t have been too high," he said when he was asked to guess what his blood-alcohol level was, "because I think I only took a shot or two. Just something to warm me up before the game."

Ah, just what the NFL wants to hear! This year’s Pro Bowl will be played in Orlando, not Hawaii like usual, on Jan. 29. Something tells us that won’t stop NFL players from finding a way to have a good time.

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