In what may be its penultimate appearance in the islands, the Pro Bowl returns to Aloha Stadium Sunday with its usual tow of current NFL stars, retired legends, and prolific pigskin party possibilities.

The star power scheduled to be on display this year is typically impressive. The NFC squad features Minnesota star rookie running back Adrian Peterson and the Dallas tandem of quarterback Tony Romo and wide receiver Terrell Owens. The AFC counters with Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning, Cincinnati receiver Chad Johnson and Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis.

The Dallas Cowboys will be well represented with 13 players selected to the game. The New England Patriots and the San Diego Chargers had eight selections.

The New York Giants, the Super Bowl champions, have just one representative: defensive end Osi Umenyiori.

The annual contest between the NFC and AFC (first staged at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1950) moved to Aloha Stadium in 1980 and has become synonymous with Hawai'i to a degree that no other all-star game has ever been associated with a single locale.

For 29 years, local football fans have enjoyed almost unprecedented access to the top players in the professional ranks through NFL-sanctioned promotions, charitable fundraising events, and "hey, isn't that...?" encounters at malls, restaurants and clubs.

The NFL, which receives an annual subsidy of $4.5 million from the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, is contractually obligated to keep the Pro Bowl in Hawai'i until next year.

The unique timing of the game has elicited no shortage of disparagements.

While most professional all-star games are held at midseason, the Pro Bowl is played a week after the Super Bowl, prompting critics to dismiss it as anticlimactic and an afterthought. It's become common practice for players from teams playing in the Super Bowl to pull out of the game.

And while the game's location in Hawai'i is an attractive lure for players — even those not selected to play — critics also have noted that a vacation mentality (as well as cautiousness on the part of players up for contract renegotiation) diminishes the level of competition.

Yet, the games in Hawai'i have produced their share of memorable moments and jaw-dropping performances. Two contests were won by scoring drives in the final minute of regulation, two others were decided in overtime.

In the first Pro Bowl in Hawai'i, New Orleans Saints running back Chuck Muncie ran for two touchdowns and threw a 25-yard option pass for another touchdown to lead the NFC to a 37-27 victory. Four years later, Joe Theismann completed 21 of 27 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns.

In 1995, Indianapolis rookie Marshall Faulk set a Pro Bowl record with 180 rushing yards, including a 49-yard touchdown run from punt formation. Three years later, Warren Moon played in just three drives but guided the offense to scores in each one, including the game-winning touchdown with less than two minutes remaining.

Muncie, Theismann, Faulk and Moon each won player of the game honors for their efforts. They are part of a fraternity of pigskin luminaries that includes Otto Graham, Johnny Unitas, Jim Brown, Gale Sayers, O.J. Simpson, Walter Payton, Michael Irvin, Jerry Rice and Peyton Manning.

And while it is often the case that all-star games typically feature more offense than defense — in part because athletes are not always inclined to put their lucrative bodies on the line for an essentially meaningless exhibition — the Pro Bowl has seen its share of bruvara defensive efforts. Six defensive or special teams players have won player of the game honors, including the Eagles' Reggie White and the Bills' Bruce Smith, who won the award in back-to-back years (1987-1988).

In fact, Hawai'i fans have witnessed both the highest and lowest scoring games in the Pro Bowl's 59-year history.

In the 1987 Pro Bowl, Denver quarterback John Elway scored the game's only touchdown as the AFC won, 10-6.

In 2004, the NFC scored a Pro Bowl record 42 points in the second half to rally past the AFC 55-52.

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.