Several times in class, we have talked about the necessity of having a superstar in a sport. These stars drive their particular sport, supposedly thrilling fans into turning on their televisions each time they play. Why, then, are the all-star games in major sports (excluding baseball) watched as much as Sunady afternoon bowling? Shouldn’t a game that brings all the stars together, instead of the normal one or two, be a highly anticipated event?
The reason that nobody really watches the games is that even if there are superstars, the games are inconsequential and often don’t include the game’s biggest stars, who instead choose to either let younger players get a chance (ideally) or take the weekend off as a midseason/postseason hiatus (realistically). Now though, even the young stars don’t want to play as was voiced when Bulls’ rookie forward Tyrus Thomas said he was participating in this weekend’s all-star events only for the money.
For some time now, people have associated all-star games more with skills challenges than with the actual games themselves. And why not? The slam-dunk challenge and the three-point challenge are often more exciting than the game itself, and more people can probably tell you who won the last home run derby than who won the game itself. Perhaps the best all-star skills challenges are in hockey, which include speed skating, shooting accuracy, and the hardest slap shot. But nobody watches hockey anyway, so these are basically irrelevant.
Football’s equivalent of an all-star game, the Pro Bowl, also brings up another good point: Stars don’t play because they don’t want to get hurt. Quarterback Drew Brees injured his non-throwing arm rather seriously during last weekend’s Pro Bowl, making this the second offseason in a row Brees will have to undergo rehabilitation. While participants in other all star games may “go easy” during the game, football is a sport that this is impossible, therefore making injuries that much more prevalent.
Baseball is the lone exception in the sport's world where the game may, MAY, be watched as much as the events leading up to it. Whether this is because stars normally do show up to play, or because the game-winning conference gets home field advantage for the World Series, is "un-clear" (unlike several particpants in prior all star games).
So how do these games become more relevant? While the answer isn't obvious, it should be plain to see that something needs to bring these games into the spotlight.
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Tyrus Thomas is a perfect example of why some players actually do participate in All-Star games. But on the other hand, I think some players dont participate for a similar reason...they DON'T get enough money to ease their doubts about getting injured. When someone makes as much money as some of these sports stars do, money may not be enough to get them to risk their regular season to play in a game that doesnt count toward any record or show any benefit for themselves or their team. But i do agree that it is a shame that more of the big name athletes dont perform in these games. It may not bring more fans to the game or make more people turn on their T.V.s to watch but they should want the opportunity to respresent the whole league as one of the best players.
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