Before I begin, allow me to say that I do not treat any sports mentioned with any more weight than the one’s that I do not.
Today we will look at the NFL and NBA and the form of their all-star style events, and compare the two.
The NFL Pro Bowl
I can hear the groans from readers now. The Pro Bowl is arguably the most boring of any of the all-star type events amongst the major sports leagues. We all know that the Pro Bowl is not so much for the viewer as it is for the players. There is a reason that it is held in Hawaii every year instead of moving around to different NFL cities.
Although the NFL is still unsure about the future of the Pro Bowl, many fans would argue that the league should just take it out. The athletes appear to simply not care about this game as they do for the 16 or more games on their regular schedule. This is a vacation for the athletes who are judged to be the best at their positions during the season.
Laterals galore, passes in multitude and offensive linemen touchdowns are some of the first things to come to mind when thinking of the Pro Bowl. I completely understand the players not having to care about the game, but they could at least attempt to make it interesting for the viewers.
While it is true that this year’s Pro Bowl was much more competitive and entertaining than previous installments, the damage of prior Pro Bowls may have already been done. The Pro Bowl has become the equivalent to backyard football at this point. The idea of breaking up conferences and drafting teams led by Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders is interesting, but many have already lost hope on the game that is played the week between the Confrence Championship games and the Super Bowl.
The only way the NFL Pro Bowl can truly thrive would be if they brought back the skills challenge and introduced other events that may add some intrigue, otherwise it will continue to be an event that fans ridicule. That said the game did feature some nice ratings, and that may be all the NFL and its partners in the various TV Networks are after right now.
Speaking of the skills challenge…
The NBA All-Star Weekend
One will notice that the first difference is that the NBA All-Star Weekend is a three day experience open for the fans to enjoy multiple forms of basketball. Dunk Contests, 3-point contests, skill challenges, celebrity games, the young stars game and other events all take place in the same city, and the various events are able to better entertain the masses.
Tickets to the All-Star game itself are not cheap, but if one wanted to still take part in the weekend there are an assortment of options available.
The All-Star weekend allows those involved to showcase their talents, entertain the fans and for those involved in the actual game, compete against guys they play maybe once or twice a year.
The game itself is a highlight show with the NBA’s best of the best on the court for the world to see. Be honest, every fan of basketball wants to see Kevin Durant vs LeBron James part two. Not only do these athletes compete, but they have fun and it clearly shows.
The location for the All-Star weekend changes each year bringing excellent revenue to the city it is in. The themes of the weekend change according to the city the weekend is held in. Fans and athletes both win with NBA All-Star Weekend.
Sadly this year’s All-Star weekend begins on Valentine’s Day, so for some fans (unless both in the relationship are fans of the sport) they will miss the celebrity game and the rising stars challenge. Choose wisely couples, choose wisely.
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