Time for a Change

I may be a little late to address this topic, but I feel as if it still needs to be touched on.

Think back to High School, Middle School, maybe even Elementary School. The teachers get in front of the class and ask for your nominations for student government elections. Think about it for a second; were you really interested in which one of your classmates would really make the best class president, let alone treasurer? Did you nominate the kid who really wanted to fight for more recess time or for the cafeteria to start serving pizza everyday instead of just Fridays? Or did you vote for the coolest kid in school? Did you want to see the kid with a 4.0, impeccable verbal skills, and a reading level far beyond his grade as your president every day for the next school year, or did you elect the trendsetter and feed his ego even more?

The NBA All-Star Game has gotten to that point. Rather than calling it a joke outright, let's just compare it to said school "politics."

It is and quite frankly always has been, for the lack of a better term, a popularity contest amongst fans. This year isn't nearly as bad as years past, when we saw the likes of Grant Hill repeatedly voted in despite missing the entire first half of the season, though we almost did see Tracy McGrady starting in the All-Star Game without playing a game for the Rockets this year.

The one real sore thumb that sticks out in this All-Star game is the presence of Allen Iverson as a starter for the East. I'll say up front that I have the utmost respect for The Answer and not so much what he's achieved in his career, but how he's done it. He's been voted in to start this year due to his track record and popularity while the likes of Joe Johnson, Rajon Rondo and even rookie sensation Brandon Jennings have been left to possibly fill reserve roles despite superior performances.

I guess as long as it's fan voted it's going to be a popularity contest. But who's to say that if it were player voted it wouldn't be the same way? And if coaches were to vote on it, who's to say they wouldn't favor their own players? It's a tough riddle to solve, but I suppose as long as it's an exhibition game with no real repercussions, aside from potential injuries, the popular kids will always get the vote.

Major League Baseball has a format that seems to work, despite criticism. It gives people a reason to vote a team they think will win their team the potential home-field advantage rather than a team that will swing for power every at bat.

Just like student government, the all-star selections are somewhat of a paper title. They're voted in by fans who want to see a spectacle rather than a highly contested basketball game between the games best, and their actions hold no significant weight other than the inevitable highlight film. The all-star game just lacks the competition that epitomizes professional sports, and it needs a makeover.