I have been a fan of this league since I was around 6 years old, so thats 34 years now.
The All-Star game has systematically gotten worse since its golden era in the early 90's and 00's.
This weekend's event, is an embarrassment for the product and image of the NBA, that's ratings have been dropping consistently for the past decade.
It felt moreso like watching a circus act of special ed performers than an athletic event.
So tacky, so corny. Shallow, fake and superficial.
The emphasis by the league's marketing division was so blatantly desperate to find new icons to sell the fans, as the new generation of stars become less appealing to the masses. If it was the extensive Vince Carter push with the Dunk Contest, making watching him read lines like an D grade actor is not only an embarrassment to his authenticity, yet for me atleast...gives out a bigtime "sellout" vibe.
The league is so desperate for new icons, for new front runners to rejuvenate its image and interest. Maybe because the younger stars of today put the entertainment aspect of the game as a lower priority than their predecessors, whom needed to sell tickets and merchandise in order to be truly successful, the younger stars of today don't really "need" to entertain, unless they choose to. They earn times over what prior generational stars would make, making their ambitions and goals, different.
Some of them are simply not interested in the marketing aspect of the game, and they are waiting to get back to their private lives as soon as their career is over. They dont care about what people think of them, what their likeability is and how famous they are...because they make enough money to calm and ease all of that noise.
The homage to the TNT crew in the final game of the All-Star events was just another insult to fans watching worldwide...as basketball itself has become so boring, so uninteresting, that the facade of a comedic imbecilic band of ex-players has become even more important, than the game itself. Let alone the directing of the event, that kept the crowd in the dark, to not show the thousands of empty seats.
As if people have forgotten the difference between placating, acting, entertaining and truly competing.
So much nostalgia is being force fed, it almost feels like a funeral.
Is this what All-Star weekend is about? The broadcasters?
"Team Shaq" "Team Chuck"...what the hell is going on here?
It used to be a 48 minute game, with the same league rules of the best players from each conference. Look at what has become of this circus act. Its embarrassing and an insult to any fan with a functioning brain.
Anyone that is interested in the Basketball more than the music, merchandise, celebrities and distractions is going to be disappointed.
Now, I know that even in the 90's...some games did not reach great heights...but some of them were atleast competitive and interesting, and us the fans...we could watch the best players in the world go at it against each other for a moment. It was a special event...that showcased the best of the best, going at it...for real. Even if it was for a quarter and some, it was still real.
Thats so far from what is happening now.
Can we please bring it back?
Make what matters about this game, is the game itself?
Can the league stop pushing so hard for marketing favorability and showcase the sport instead of its participants? Can the league make competing and challenging its utmost and highest priority? Above how many shirts and subscriptions its selling?
Probably not...but one can only hope.
Im glad I didnt spend $1 on this years All-Star...because if I had, I would be upset with what I got in return.
A kingdom made of glass, full of empty shells.
Almost feels as though the competition itself has been emasculated and emaciated to the point of infantilization.
Saying : "I love the NBA" isnt as cool as it used to be. Lots of eyebrow's are rising because the depth and seriousness of this sport, is being infiltrated with stupidity, superficialism and coerced marketing.
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