Sean Gallagher

Whether it’s January, February or July, you’ll hear somebody complaining about the quality of an All-Star Game.

Last weekend, it was the NBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis, which turned out to be a 211-186 win for the East over the West that was, well, not fun to watch.

I’ll let Bob Ryan of The Boston Globe take it from here…

Once again, these NBA stars are showing no respect for the game. It’s another Dunkarama and 3-point farce. Not a single hand in anyone’s face. I’ll see how TCM is doing. See you next year. What a waste of time. Adam, you must do something. It’s embarrassing for your sport.

— Bob Ryan (@GlobeBobRyan) February 19, 2024

For a man of a certain age like Ryan, there was a time when the NBA All-Star Game had meaning, especially when he was on the Celtics beat for The Globe. You know, back when the NBA Finals was on tape delay and there were just three channels?

Much like the computer eliminating the need for Bob’s old typewriter, cable television and streaming services have made it that we can watch every NBA game and see the starts nightly, not just on one Sunday in the middle of the season. Those players also see no reason to risk injury, as the game no longer features defense or any kind of physicality.

This isn’t written with an eye roll and an “OK, Boomer” at Bob Ryan, but he and others need to come to terms that this exhibition, along with All-Star Games in MLB, NHL and other sports have become irrelevant with the aforementioned expansion of media.

The drop in popularity has seen some of the leagues try and change their All-Star format.

The NFL made the biggest overhaul by eliminating the Pro Bowl game and making the Pro Bowl Games, which is now just a flag football game with skills competitions mixed in.

The NHL, which has experimented with East-West, as well as “North America vs. the World” at one point, went to a 3-on-3 tournament featuring teams consisting of players from all four divisions. They tweaked it this season by holding a draft, where divisions didn’t matter. The NBA and NFL have also tried this before.

Major League Baseball tried making the Midsummer Classic more interesting by giving the team from the winning league home field in the World Series after the 2002 All-Star Game ended in a tie. That incentive is now gone.

No matter how much they are tweaked or overhauled, All-Star Games, in the current sports climate, will continue to decline in popularity.

Perhaps it’s time to accept that reality, and just give all players an actual “break”, and let Bob Ryan enjoy a film from Hollywood’s golden age on Turner Classic Movies without him fuming about a bad exhibition.