| 22 January 2010
Humans are stupid (if any humans are reading this, my apologies if I offended you). Humans (who, if you remember from earlier, are stupid) suck at voting for things. This is proven time and again as dodgy politicians get voted into office. But humans are especially inept at voting when it comes to All-Star games. This has been proven once again after the "fans" have made a mockery of this year's NBA All-Star game. Now, I'm not a fan of All-Star games to begin with, but I still take great umbrage in the fact that Allen Iverson and Kevin Garnett can call themselves All-Stars this season due to the fans.
Considering I don't watch pointless, non-competitive exhibition games (which the NBA All-Star game is), I really don't care if Iverson and Garnett play in the game. The problem I have with their appointment as All-Stars is the weight that that honour carries. Being an All-Star means something. Players careers (and, subsequently, Hall of Fame chances) are judged by how many times they were an All-Star. So not only does AI and Garnett have another All-Star appearance on their resumes, two other deserving players this season are going to be left out when the reserves are announced. But it could have been worse - Tracy McGrady, who has played a total of 45 minutes all season, narrowly got outvoted by Steve Nash for the starting nod. You see, humans really are stupid.
Rightfully so this year's voting results have resulted in players, coaches, fans and writers calling for reform. However, the All-Star game is a big global marketing tool for the NBA, so the chances of David Stern deciding to do away with fan voting is slim and none. Rather than limiting a fan's input into the game's participants, perhaps it is time that we change how we think about "All-Stars". In most cases, an All-Star actually really is a star player and deserving of the title. But, as this year shows, this isn't always the case. Often players get in based on their name recognition and past performance, rather than their current abilities. So I'm proposing we start a movement to stop judging player's careers on how many All-Star teams they have made and instead base it on All-NBA honours and other league appointed awards, which are always based on a player's ability, not popularity. We can't have the All-Star team carry so much weight if it is really just a popularity contest. What reasonable thinking person would allow an important honour or position to be based on voting anyway? Now that is really stupid.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
