Welcome to our first "Real Sports" Talking Point feature, intended to be a discussion focussed upon the biggest sports story of the past week. Where else to start then other than the NBA All Star Weekend - the biggest story from the last 7 days and an even bigger disaster.
A good proportion of people probably didn't even bother watching any part of the weekend - it's been declining over recent years so who could blame you for not tuning in. The rest of us who did bother will probably join you by the time next year comes around based on what we just witnessed. At least, not unless something dramatically changes to make it a more worthwhile experience.
If it wasn't the irrelevant celebrities, the average 3 point shooters or the terrible - and they really were THAT bad - dunks that made you turn off, you may well have done so by half-time of the All Star game itself. It's not that the game was bad, but when you see the complete absence of any defense you are reminded just how irrelevant the game actually is.
Admittedly, it isn't just the NBA who are stuggling to find a format that is attractive to fans when it comes to the showpiece mid(or end of)-season celebrations. The MLB made some controversial changes recently by allowing the winner of the game to determined homefield advantage for the World Series in an attempt to make the game more meaningful. And the NFL moved their Pro Bowl all the way from Hawaii to Florida in a move intended to make the event more relevant and interesting to fans.
Nevertheless, despite the issues faced by other professional sports the NBA All Star Weekend stands out as the worst event by far. Which begs the question, what would you do to change things ? Short of forcing the elite players like Kobe and Lebron to participate, what else is there ? |
