While several NFL players were taking in the sunny weather in Hawaii during the Pro Bowl weekend, Baltimore 
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco was doing the opposite. . . plunging into frigid cold water in the 15th Annual Polar Bear Plunge.
Flacco has become a regular at the event that is held at Sandy Point State Park to raise money for the Special Olympics in Maryland.
Joining the NFL star to jump into the 32 degree Chesapeake Bay water were several other badasses dressed in a variety of clothing from wetsuits to bikinis and swim shorts. . . have you ever seen that Seinfeld episode about “shrinkage”?
The event is said to have raised well over $1 million.
Other notable names in attendance who joined Flacco were MTV Jersey Shore guy Pauly D and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.
BTW, by the time the Pro Bowl was done putting people to sleep with its lopsided first half and meaningless feel, Flacco may have chosen the better place to be; raising money for a great cause.
NFL: “The Pro Bowl was so bad I ____________”
Used with permission of the author.
Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.
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