I guess the word game is appropriate for these events. These games just highlight the corporatization of the sports industry. Leaving these games in the hands of the fans is just a joke to me. You might as well just save some paper and put two boxes for every position in each conference in every league. Ones that will read Kobe, Lebron, Dwyane Wade, A-Rod, Derek Jeter, etc. and "Check here for anyone else." I find it hard to believe that "fans" of basketball think Yao Ming deserves to be in the top five in All-Star voting for centers from the West. He has played in five games this year and will again miss the rest of the season. In fact, he has missed over 200 hundred games in the last four seasons. Maybe Allen Iverson could get looked at to start like he did last season. He is playing basketball...in Turkey. Alex Rodriguez also took first place in voting and missed the entire first five weeks of the baseball season.
Major League Baseball added the home field advantage incentive to their "Midseason Classic." How will that help teams like the Orioles, Nationals, or Pirates? Those three teams are generally out of it by then. The Pro Bowl has been moved to the week before the Super Bowl thus eliminating any chance of seeing players from one of the two Super Bowl teams. Any intelligent coach would sit them before the biggest game of their career. The NBA no longer has Jordan vs. Wilkins in the dunk contest. This year's slobberknocker of a dunk contest is featuring appearances by Brandon Jennings, Serge Ibaka, and Javale McGee. Who? Of course most real fans will know these names, but do you think anybody is going out to the local bar or having a viewing party to watch these third-tier (if that) "dunk machines?" I think not.
Would coaches pick some of these players to start and play? Absolutely. Any casual fan of the game would. But you're never going to see the Kevin Loves, Alex Rios', or Marlon Byrds of the world get voted in by the fans. The three aforementioned players can and have put up better numbers than some voted in. Kevin Love is putting up a double double nearly every night. Alex Rios and Marlon Byrd are five-tool players who can hit anywhere in a lineup and be just as productive hitting first or ninth. You can't say that about many players these days. In a perfect world, players that serve critical and actual roles on teams would be voted in and not just the names and faces of the game. To me, coming up with clutch hits or catches or making clutch shots while setting an example for your team as a leader constitutes an All-Star. I'm looking for the guy taking charges, sprawling out for a ball, icewater in the veins, knowing when to pass and when to shoot type player. It's all about the almighty dollar to the big four sports unfortunately. Whatever happened to quality not quantity? I guess one perfect dollar sign is not as good as multi-million slightly askew dollar signs. What do I know though? I'm just another fan.
-Joe Tichy
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