Do All Star Game Activities Still Interest You?

[Theo Mays]

It has been awhile since I graced the Sports Stadium with my presence and I feel bad that I don't post here as much as I'd like to. Now this crossed my mind earlier when I saw a commercial for the Home Run Derby which is this Monday and it got me thinking if fans are still generally interested in watching these all star game activities. The MLB gives us the Home Run Derby and on a lesser note a celebrity/former player softball game, NBA has their skills contests, and so does the NHL. The NFL also use to have a skills contest thing during the Pro Bowl, but dropped it a few years back.

Honestly the only one that really holds my interest is the Home Run Derby and even that is hit or miss for me. I usually catch the others, but if I miss them it is no big deal. The HRD use to be my favorite of any contest and was something I always looked forward to seeing. However the past two or three years I've missed it and saw the results before being able to catch a replay and that just takes the fun away from it. So I ask you, do these festivities still keep you interested and coming back or do you just go on with your every day life?

 

[Big Sexy]

I definitely still watch them but they aren't nearly as interesting as in the past. The main reason for that is because, outside of the NHL where all the all stars participate, many of the big names don't compete. Whether it be the Derby, Dunk Contest, Three Point Contest, whatever, it's not like it used to be.

Gone are the days of Griffey, Sosa, and McGwire all in the derby. Gone are the days of Jordan and Dominique in the dunk contest. Gone are the days of someone like Larry Bird or Reggie Miller always being in the three point contest. There are still big stars that do these competitions occasionally but it's no longer something the stars strive to do. Jordan wanted to be in the dunk contest and win. Bird wanted to be in the three point shoot out and win. Now guys are afraid of getting hurt or just want to sit in the background. Even when you do get superstar players in the competition the fields are not nearly as deep as they used to be.

I remember being glued to the TV when Vince Carter put on one of the most impressive all around dunk contest performance ever. He was an elite player at that time and seeing him put on a show like that was remarkable. Nowadays we get mostly young guys which is nice to see a little but without those few superstars mixed in it takes away from the show.

 

[People's Champ]

I watch them if I can; I won't schedule my night around these events though.

My problem is the same as what Big Sexy said, not enough big names. I'd much rather watch LeBron and Kobe battle in the dunk contest over Nate Robinson and Dwight Howard. Without recogniable names, the events don't feel as though they carry any weight. How much more interested would you be if you knew these events were important to the top stars? Without that feeling of a big deal, its hard to get into them.

 

[Davi323]

I can't even remember the last year that I watched an All-Star game, be it the Pro-Bowl, NBA, MLB or NHL. It's definitely been a while. As a fan, I always knew that the games were meaningless, but once I figured out that the players knew the games were meaningless as well, I was done. Even knowing its an exhibition, seeing players lollygag around, giving less than half assed efforts etc. is just a turn-off. Maybe if they gave a damn, those type of games would be more interesting, but right now, I have no interest.

However, I DO watch the college football "All-Star" games, the Senior Bowl, Blue-Grey Classic, etc. Those are exhibition games too, kinda, but they serve a clear purpose. The players participating in those games are trying to get noticed by NFL scouts. It's draft preparation. They know that giving less than their best performance could mean the difference between getting drafted and working at Arby's.