The concept of an All-Star game is noble, but it is no longer relevant. Players still may take pride in being named to an All-Star team, and they may even earn a monetary bonus for the achievement, but the game itself, the actual contest between the best players of every league is completely outdated, useless and demoralizing for fans.
The game just doesn’t make sense anymore. Trying to get millionaires to play hard and risk their health for the “pure love of the game” is an impossible task.
It’s not the players fault they don’t put maximum effort into this game, they shouldn’t. The game doesn’t matter. It has no bearing on the final outcome of the season. Professional athletes aren’t paid to win All-Star games, they are paid to win real games.
When Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig gave the All-Star winning league home field advantage for the World Series he compromised the integrity of the game, made a mockery of the regular season and cheated a deserving team out of a deserved advantage.
At least National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman has dared to try new concepts with his All-Star game. The format of World versus North America was a decent attempt to spike interest in the game. Maybe he thought athletes would play harder if they were representing their homeland. At least kids, and probably a few adults, got a free geography lesson by watching those games.
All Star games have turned into the equivalent of corporate business retreats for company executives. The vast majority of the participants are there to have fun, socialize and enjoy a few cocktails by the pool.
The players that stand out during an All-Star game are either: A. playing in front of their home crowd or where they grew up. B. Have something to prove to their peers about their skills or C. Have a huge gambling problem and wagered on the game thinking “Hey no one else is going to be playing hard, this is easy money.”
Someone in the league offices needs to be more creative, take a few more risks, in order to make these games relevant again. What would be the harm in trying out new concepts until something fits? It’s not like anyone would complain about tarnishing the sanctity of an All-Star game.
The first NHL All-Star game, held in 1934, was a benefit game for an injured player.
From now on both All-Star teams should pick a charity to play for and wear the charity’s name on their jerseys. The league could then make a sizeable donation to the winning teams charity (and a smaller one to the losing team). This way if Chris Pronger decides to smash a younger guys head against the boards in the third period he can say he “did it for the kids.”
If Kobe Bryant and Lebron James go head-to-head in the NBA All-Star game only the most hardcore NBA fans will notice and few will be affected. If the Red Cross goes mano a mano with the Salvation Army for the game winning shot many more people will benefit and be positively affected.