In every major sport in the America, there is one immutable fact: a universal law that permeates every league. That fact is that the All-Star games are rubbish. In theory, a game pitting the best of the best against each other once a year in an exhibition match seems like a fantastic idea. However, these games, in practice, are shoddy, watered-down versions of the game solely played for some extra revenue. With just a little pay bump, the players couldn’t care less. Alexander Ovechkin was borderline giddy to spend this years’ All-Star break on a beach in Florida, not a rink in Ontario. The NFL’s Pro Bowl is even worse. It plays out like a glorified game of two-hand touch while the NBA’s All-Star game is lazily played with absolutely no defense. The MLB’s version is a whole other animal.
Even worse yet, these games pit each leagues’ conference against one another, as if they were heated rivals, save for the NHL. Starting last year, the NHL, looking to jazz up their otherwise dull All-Star Games, decided to abandon the conference-on-conference clash, instead replacing it with a pick-up format where two captains select who will play on their respective teams. The result? A surprisingly fresh take on an otherwise pointless game.
Take this year’s game, for example. Hometown hero Daniel Alfredsson captained one team against former teammate turned division rival, Zdeno Chara. The draft, televised on Jan. 27, drew significant speculation beforehand. The speculating was mostly on whether Chara would select any hated Canucks (he didn’t), or if Alfredsson would select any other Senators (he selected all of them). In essence, he created a home team which would have otherwise been lacking. It drummed up excitement for what could have been a hum-drum game. The fans that packed the stands were riled up and it made for good television, even if it drew rather paltry ratings in the US.
This was ultimately a passing of the torch in All-Star game excellence. The Pro Bowl was played later that night, and drew a huge audience of over 10 million. While the NHL still can’t even sniff that number in the States, the product displayed by the leagues tells a distinctly different tale.
The NHL All-Star game used to be a joke, with a format change ever two or three years, no marketable stars, and some lackadaisical play. The Pro Bowl, on the other hand, used to play the week following the Super Bowl to big television crowds, exhibiting players who seemed to care and want to be there. Now a role reversal is in the works. The NHL’s version has become the vanguard of cool amongst professional sports, while games like the Pro Bowl have grown stale and boring. The NHL recognized its opportunity to make their game unique, and so far, their experiment seems to be working out for the league and its fans.
Now we’ll just have to wait and see if the other leagues follow suit.
Mark Bruso can be reached for comment at [email protected].
