Examples of these are a dime a dozen. In the most recent MLB All-Star Game, we almost ended up being forced to see the Kansas City Royals & Mike Trout take on the National League All-Stars. This year the NBA is giving way to Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, and a bunch of Small Forwards just because they are the more popular than players like Jimmy Butler, James Harden, and other talented big men, despite the fact that the latter athletes are having better seasons. At one point, John Scott from the NHL wasn't even on a professional hockey team (he was on waivers) but led the entire ballot. The Pro Bowl is kind of a joke so I'm not sure if it's worth commenting on. Typically the NFL fans do get the voting right though, but most players opt out of playing.
Anyways, All-Star games are meant to be celebrate the best players of the respective year. That is why it is an annual contest!
*Before people get angry about my Kobe Bryant comments because a lot of fans tend to be sensitive to that, don't forget that this "meaningless" game isn't supposed to celebrate someone's career. The media and every NBA stadium out there is doing a good job of making sure Kobe's exit scene is proper. Why does he need another All-Star game to add to that?
Before we get too far off-track, let's go back to some ideas that I'd like implemented to make All-Star Games better for everyone.
1. Less than 50% of each team's rosters can be on the ballot.
It's very unlikely one team has more than half a roster worthy of All-Stars. If that ever becomes the case this rule can be altered then, but as of now, there is literally no team in any American sport that boasts this kind of roster. This eliminates the homers or trolls that seem to strongly believe that average players and benchwarmers should be representing the best athletes in the world.
 |
| I love my Golden State Warriors but this is the kind of thing I want to avoid. (Although the photo is a year old, it still proves my point.) |
Ballots should not open until at least 75% of the games played before the All-Star game are completed. It'll create a bigger sense of urgency for people to get their picks in, and paint a better picture of who are the best players from that season.
3. There should be a minimum number of games played that needs to be met.
Remember that time where Yao Ming received enough votes to start an All-Star game without ever stepping onto the court? Let's not let that happen again by implementing this rule.
For example, around 50-some games are played before the All-Star game in the NBA. The ballot should include only players that are on pace to play 35+ games by the time the event should take place. Every week or so, the ballot could be filtered to remove players that don't make this cut.
4. Only allow one ballot per e-mail.
Now this one will be a little hard to enforce. The NBA has fallen in love with people commenting their votes on social media sites since it gives them more publicity, but there are so many other ways to draw peoples' attention. Another thing to consider is that people who tend to vote more than once are really doing it to get their favorite players to participate in the event. Allowing just one ballot eliminates that for the most part.
5. Let people change their ballot.
If the prior suggestion were to happen, I'd suggest not accepting any ballots until one or two weeks before to the All-Star game, and allow people to adjust them as they please. If they want to change their vote to another player, they should have the freedom to do that. Additionally, let's say I vote for a player who suddenly gets injured and is forced to miss the All-Star game. Instead of letting part of my ballot go to waste I should have the ability to change my vote to avoid that run-in.
6. For NBA only... Change the ballot back to positions.
I've complained about the "frontcourt and backcourt" ballot ever since this website started. Fact of the matter is that big men do not get the recognition they deserve and the ballot's structure only adds to that. In fact, there are no Power Forwards or Centers in this year's All Star Game right now. Also, because of this stupid ballot DeMarcus Cousins is not on the roster.
HOW IN THE WORLD CAN YOU JUSTIFY DEMARCUS COUSINS NOT STARTING THE ALL-STAR GAME?!
He's the biggest reason the Kings have a playoff spot and is averaging 27 PPG, 9 RPG, 3 APG, and 1.2 3PM. This frustrates me so much.
For those curious, this is what my All-Star ballot looked like.
7. Conclusion:
More than anything, I want to see the best athletes of one conference/league go against the best of the other. Accomplishing this through fan votes is impossible. That's been proven time and time again. Seeing the best of the best go at it would be entertainment at its peak, and isn't that what this All-Star game is really about?
0 comments:
Post a Comment