It isn’t a secret that my first love is baseball, but I am not letting that cloud my judgement here. I will admit that the other sports had more luster to their All-Star festivities when I was a kid but let’s take a look at all 4 of them and see which is the best.
I really don’t want to talk about this one so I will do it first. The NBA All-Star game used to be amazing. I remember longing to see the dunk contest and 3-point contest. I also remember the stars of the league would participate in these events. Michael Jordan was a multi-time dunk contest champ. Larry Bird would shoot the daylights out of everything in the three-point contest. Now when they roll out the dunk contest participants, I have zero clue who they actually are. Lebron has never competed in anything outside of the game. I have enjoyed the 3-point contest because some of the big stars in the league are 3-point shooters. They have actually included the WNBA players as well. I like that! But the dunk contest and the game itself are jokes. The game is nothing more than a 3-point shooting contest and no one plays defense.
The NFL Pro Bowl has taken many shapes lately. Growing up I remember quarterbacks doing accuracy drills and see who can throw it the furthest. We also saw an actual game. Well, as close as they could get without getting hurt, but eventually that got so watered down that they now just play games and do a dodge ball game and a flag football game. I honestly have not watched a Pro Bowl or any of the festivities in quite some time. I have zero interest in it because they have to hold the game before the Super Bowl so players on those teams don’t get to play and most of the top remaining players end up having an “injury” and choose not to play. Not a fan of this at all.
The MLB has the most real game-like feel to it. The players play as they would during the regular season, but I am sure it is with a more enjoyable feel. The Home Run Derby is still fun to watch, even with the new changes to the format. We do get to see the best pitchers against the best players. I enjoy the videos each team does announcing their players being selected to the team. It seems as if this All-Star format is the most like the regular season game that it represents. The majority of the top players do participate in it, so I watch this game every year.
So ultimately is MLB the best? Nope. The NHL did a 4-team tournament this year for their All Star break and it was absolutely amazing! The tournament was called the 4 Nations Cup. I can imagine the players participating in this tournament were exhausted by the time it was done but they did it for the love of the game and pride in their countries. The only downside is that they don’t plan on doing this every season. So, I guess the real answer is when the NHL does the 4 Nations, their All-Star festivities are the best and the other years, the MLB takes the cake!
***
Until next time, checkout The Turbo and 2ks show at youtube.com/turboand2ks.
###
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.