The revamped NHL All-Star game and NFL Pro Bowl have passed, and as some of you know, I am not a huge fan of these types of games. I understand the business side, but fail to see how it helps improve sports and benefit the fans. Really, the only All-Star game I accept is the MLB All-Star game, and I really dislike their system. Let’s take a look at the state of various All-Star weekends.
NBA All-Star Weekend
I love the major activities that the NBA includes such as the Dunk Contest and 3-point Shootout. I think the Dunk Contest has been better than it currently is, they need to encourage more superstars to participate like Clyde Drexler, MJ, Vince Carter, and Tracy McGrady all did. They also need to do away with ridiculous fan voting. The event was better when Dunk Contest Legends did all the judging. Maybe we could mic the judges to get some insight instead of wasting money on the fan voting. The game itself is good in that it inspires inter-conference rivalry. Where it falls short is encouraging intra-conference rivalry. Sure the stars have to coexist, but you can’t tell me that this year Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo will go the entire weekend without sharing a few laughs. The greatest All-Star games bring out the best in the players and can even result in little known stars becoming Alpha Dogs.
MLB All-Star Game and Festivities
Having attended an All-Star Fanfest as a boy in 2001 in Seattle, I can appreciate some of the events, but others do need to go away. Celebrity games are really dumb and have nothing to do with MLB other than that they are playing baseball. Celebs always end up hurt and it becomes a big deal. The Home Run Derby is a major draw, but it isn’t entertaining and diminishes the magic of a great home run. As I stated in a past post, I move that the MLB changes its format to an All-Star Series. If the game is going to mean something and have ramifications towards the World Series, then the game should be played like other MLB games. In a three game series. The winners of two games would host the majority of the World Series games, and in the event of a two-game sweep, they could do a Home Run Derby for some kicks. We could do away with the ridiculous mentality of, “Let’s use every single pitcher in the game and let every player get a fair amount of playing time” and have managers do their job a little more realistically.
NHL All-Star Game and Festivities
I like the switch this year to have captains pick teams, it allows for rivalries to remain intact. As we all know, rivalries and rage are big parts of hockey. The skills competition is great, too. It showcases the best players and answers fan debates. The Rev and I were talking this week and of course happened upon this subject. He proposed the idea where the NHL has a game of just the captains of all the teams. I would add that this could include Assistant Captains as well. Someone will be stuck with a terrible goalie (Roberto Luongo), but goaltending doesn’t really help in the All-Star game as it is. I do, however, think that this is a sport that should have a Celebrity game. Canadian Stars vs USA Stars with some International pickups (like Arnold?) would probably be on par with the actual All-Star game. I would pay to watch a fight between Justin Bieber and pretty much anyone as long as he gets pummeled. This could be the greatest thing since Brett Favre retiring (joke pending).
NFL Pro Bowl
This game is pretty much meaningless to the players, it basically equals a nice payday from their team in exchange for a weekend in a tropical environment. I don’t see anyway to improve it for the NFL. Maybe instead they could have a 3rd place game between the two semifinalists that lost. I’m truly at a loss.
Super Bowl Weekend
Welcome to the greatest weekend in sports (and advertising)! Black Eyed Peas as the entertainment, Steelers (most hated team in the country) vs Packers (the only publicly traded team, and therefore a product of the fans). Two of the best defensive teams that just happen to have sufficient offenses (when not suspended and healthy). My only question is how someone outside of Pittsburgh and not originally from Pittsburgh can root for the Steelers. They are the new Oakland Raiders: Fans who are too far over the top and obnoxiously present everywhere. But hey, isn’t that why normal people love sports? Watching great athletes and insane fans?
