Story:
Every year the excitement of each league’s all-star festivities come and go like a swift wind, leaving a trail of disappointment in its path. Recently, this year’s NBA All-Star game did just that, leaving more to be desired from its competition amongst the NBA’s best and youngest stars. In the “Rising Stars Challenge”, Team Chuck would take the victory over Team Shaq 163-135, while also breaking the scoring record by a team in the challenge, surpassing 155 points. The MVP of the game was Denver’s Kenneth Faried who, at many times, was the only player truly giving an effort on the court looking to score and make hustle plays. Faried’s 40 point and 10 rebound effort was the most by any player with Kyrie Irving delivering a 32-point performance.
Later on in the weekend, fans got to witness the NBA’s 3-Point Shootout and the Dunk Competition. Kyrie Irving came out as the weekend’s 3-point champion while Toronto’s Terrance Ross paid homage to Vince Carter by winning the NBA’s Dunk competition. Finally on Sunday, the All-Star weekend ended with the West defeating the East 143-138 while Chris Paul took home MVP honors with 20 points and 15 assists.
My Take:
Does anyone still watch the All- Star game? Can you remember the last NFL Pro Bowl you watched? The festivities have lost their luster and with that, they are losing the interest of fans. The 2013 Dunk Competition featured the likes of Eric Bledsoe, James White, Jeremy Evans, Terrance Ross, and Kenneth Faried. Not exactly showstoppers. The Dunk contest needs star power. It isn’t all-star weekend without actual All-Stars. The NBA needs to stop killing its Dunk Contest year after year.
The All-Star game that has been dead for years is the NFL Pro Bowl. There’s no reason for the game anymore. The players don’t even enjoy it and on top of that, the league’s best players on Super Bowl teams can’t even play because of their participation in the Super Bowl. So please tell me Roger Goodell and David Stern, what kind of All-Star game are you truly giving your fans? Personally, I don’t watch any All-Star game personally because it’s become such a farce and a useless exploitation of player’s talent and abilities to get a cheap view from the average sports fan. Will you keep watching the “All-Stars” perform?
Agreed. All Star games are losing their luster. I watched the NBA All Star game because its a fun pick up game with elite level players. The Pro Bowl however, I don’t watch. You can’t go 50% in a football game and it be entertaining. At least thats my take on it. As for the Dunk contest, I agree it needs some star power. The last dunk contest I cared for included Nate Robinson and Dwight Howard like four years ago. I don’t think the 3 point contest has fallen as hard as the dunk contest, but I still think it needs to include some more noticeable names.