Unlike most of the other Wahoo faithful walking back from the Virginia-Wake Forest basketball game Saturday, I found myself in a surprisingly good mood following the Demon Deacons' first ACC win of the season. Now, I know what you're thinking, and no, I hadn't pulled a Pete Rose and bet against my own team. Rather, I was confident that I surely had just witnessed the worst athletic competition of 2011, and I was happy to get it out of the way in the fledgling year's first month. Well, let me tell you that by the end of the weekend, boy did I feel dumb.
You see, this past weekend we were once again subjected to the terrible television that is All-Star Weekend or, in the case of the NFL, Pro-Bowl Weekend. Look, I understand that in the old days - you know, before NFL RedZone, NHL League Pass, the MLB Extra Innings package, and the NBA League Pass - all-star games were something of a novelty. Aside from watching a visiting team's stars battle the home team, an all-star game was the one chance fans had to see all the great players on other teams. Now that technology allows us to watch every single game played throughout a season, however, this novelty has worn off. Instead of intently watching Willie Mays run down a ball the center fielder on your team would have needed a motorcycle to reach, we fight boredom while watching the all-stars loaf around the field and make a mockery of their sport - "Exhibit A" is Eric Berry's attempt to "tackle" Steven Jackson during Sunday's NFL Pro Bowl. No matter how much the professional leagues try to sell us the game - Bud Selig, just telling me "this one counts" doesn't actually make the game count for anything other than a cure for insomnia - every midseason we are subject to the same drudgery and poor performances.
I know what you're asking yourself right now: Where is he going with this? Well, hold on tight, because the place I'm going to will blow your mind. I have a solution to save all-star games, because underneath my cynicism I actually love them. Two watershed moments from my childhood occurred during all-star weekends. The first was watching Vince Carter go between the legs on a dunk in the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest - I still don't think that my jaw has left the floor - and the second was gaping in awe during the first round of the 1999 Home Run Derby as Mark McGwire pounded 13 home runs into the Fenway night that still haven't come down. Now, what do these two seemingly unrelated events have in common that is going to save all-star games? They both happened in mini-games! That's what the sports leagues need to realize: Fans care more about the events on all-star weekends than the actual games. That's how the major sport leagues are going to save all-star weekends - just playing different mini-games.
Here is my suggestion. All of the all-stars from every major sport should converge on one four-sport city every summer during the MLB All-Star weekend - when no sport is playing - for three days of inter-sport competition. I know this idea may seem a little radical, but just give it a chance.
Such an all-star event would still showcase each of the sports leagues and would in fact make them care even more about who they select as their all-stars. If we instituted a league vs. league competition and gave the winner a nice trophy to parade around until the following year, the leagues would undoubtedly think twice before including some undeserving players in their starting squads. What would be a better marketing ploy for the NHL - which competes with the NFL and the NBA during most of its regular season - than to say "we have the best athletes" and have some actual proof to back up that claim? The media would absolutely love this spectacle. Given how excitedly their talking heads argue about who would win a match between Sidney Crosby and LeBron James, ESPN might explode.
While I can't speak for any professional athletes, I have to think that they would be on board with this too. We have countless examples of one professional athlete talking about playing another's sport, such as Brandon Marshall and Terrell Owens moving to basketball or LeBron James considering football, so you know they enjoy competing in other events. Don't you think that athletes would love to challenge other athletes at their own sports for bragging rights? Nothing gets a professional athlete's juices going like competition, and this would be the greatest competition of all - the best of the best in all professional sports competing for the title of greatest athlete alive. We might even be able to convince Brett Favre to come out of retirement to participate in the festivities - oh wait, scratch that last thought.
Ultimately, the fans would be the weekend's biggest winners. Think of all the great possibilities and dream competitions we could witness: Jose Reyes and Chris Johnson racing; Zdeno Ch
Read More
REIMS: Virginia can still make a bowl game
By Casey Reims | 2 hours agoThe Cavaliers have all the pieces in place to win, even with a difficult schedule ahead.
No. 4 field hockey set for primetime ACC showdown at undefeated No. 2 North Carolina
By Eleanor Lynch | 10 hours agoWith a win, the Cavaliers would take control of first place in the ACC.
Virginia volleyball defeats Syracuse in a thrilling five-set match
By Victoria Blankenship | 17 hours agoThe Cavaliers continue their best ACC run since 2006.
