Do We Still Need All-Star Games?

Somewhere around Ne-Yo's 15th terrible song to open the NBA All-Star game, my suspicions were confirmed: we do not need all-star games anymore.

The entire NBA All-Star weekend was full of elaborate attempts to distract the viewer’s attention away from the mediocre basketball being played. None of the real stars participated in what has become the marquee event, the dunk contest. Rather than seeing Kevin Durant take on LeBron James, the fans were treated to a final matchup of Jeremy Evans and Terrence Ross. Who?

The game itself was played with an effort that would have disgusted players from the 2011 Pro Bowl. Half the players walked aimlessly around the court as the gameplay devolved into one-on-one matchups with players pretending to play defense. As soon as the other player moved to drive it in, though, the defender would pull off and casually watch his opponent take it in for the dunk. I imagine dunking is pretty easy for a professional basketball player when no one is even attempting to defend.

The entire game was meaningless and boring. After the first five dunks, they all began to look the same. The game became tiresome before the first quarter even ended. Would anyone truly care if the NBA just got rid of this pointless weekend?

The lackluster all-star showing is not specific to the NBA; the all-star games of all the major sports are just as embarrassing. Part of the problem is that there just is no good time for an all-star game to be played. In basketball, baseball, and hockey the regular season comes to a screeching halt somewhere near the halfway point for these games. The break is nice for the players, but not great for the fans.  As the playoff chase is heating up, the season stops.  Rather than watching meaningful games, fans now have to watch these lackluster exhibition games.

The problem is even worse in football. Football is too physical and taxing a sport to have an exhibition game smack dab in the middle of the season. Having it after the season, however, is incredibly anti-climactic, prompting the NFL to move the game to the week before the Super Bowl. Now, the Pro Bowl excludes all players from the two best teams in the league. The NFL is left with a choice of playing a game when no one cares or excluding some of the best, most deserving players.

Not only are these games inconvenient, the effort level makes them difficult to watch. Players do not want to play at 100% and risk injury with nothing to play for. Baseball tried to fix this problem by awarding the winning team home-field advantage in the World Series and thus make the game ‘meaningful’, but I have seen no difference in the level of play.

Before leagues begin scrambling for ways to compel their players to give more effort, they should stop and think about the consequences. Owners and players are constantly at odds over playing in international tournaments such as the Olympics because of the risk of injury. Isn’t it counterintuitive to then force players to compete in a mid-season exhibition game? How can the NHL refuse to allow its players to go to the Sochi Olympics and then demand 100% effort in an all-star game? True, the all-star game is only one game as opposed to an entire tournament, but it seems unfair to force competition in something the players seeming do not care about while denying them the chance to compete in something that matters to them.

Ultimately, leagues cannot expect fans to care in a game played at half-speed. Name an all-star team so the players are still honored, but remove the games. Not only are they terrible to watch, but the ridiculous spectacle surrounding these games have become embarrassing. Somewhere between Ne-Yo’s excruciating performance and Kevin Hart’s tiresome antics, I was done. The NBA should save itself the trouble and give us the games we actually want to see.