Which Sports All Star Game is the Best?

Remember when All-Star games in professional sports were just that? They were collections of the best players in their sport going up against each other to find out who would win. Sure, All-Star games have great entertainment value, but are fans tiring of them? 

The NFL’s Pro Bowl has been a joke for years and it’s even funnier now that they are wearing flags. The NHL version of an All-Star game doesn’t resemble anything like a professional hockey game and the NBA’s mid-season clash goes heavy on matador defense. 

That brings up a great question. Which of the four major North American professional sports has the best All-Star game? It’s pretty easy to figure out, especially if you just watched it earlier this week.

The Pro Bowl Is a Joke

At some point in the 2000s, the NFL Pro Bowl turned into a glorified 11-on-11, no-tackle drill. Players followed the unwritten rule of not tackling anyone to avoid injury. Sure, fans get it. They don’t want to see their star player blow a knee in a meaningless All-Star game, but they also don’t want to watch grown men play patty-cake either.

The Pro Bowl continued its downward slide – viewership was about 40 percent of the NFL’s regular season average – until this season when the entire format changed. There would no longer be an actual football game…with pads. Instead, all-stars would play a bunch of skill games and then some flag football, add up a bunch of scores and then determine a winner. Yeah…that’s not an All-Star game.

The NHL All-Star Game

Back in the day, the previous season’s Stanley Cup winner would play a team of All-Stars from the rest of the league. That changed in 1969 when all-stars from the two conferences would square off against each other…in a real hockey game.

The league tried some other formats as well and then in 2015 decided to go with this gem. Instead of two All-Star teams, there will be four. The four teams will play a single-elimination tournament to decide a winner. But wait, there’s more! Instead of a real hockey game, All-Stars play 3-on-3 for two 10-minute halves. It’s a bit more fun than watching the paint dry at the NFL’s Pro Bowl, but it’s not real hockey.

The NBA All-Star Game – Defense Is Optional

When an NBA team hits the 120-point mark on a given night, that’s considered pretty high scoring. In last year’s NBA All-Star Game, the East went off for 211 points. The final score was 211-186. That’s almost 400 points…in an NBA game! That’s why the last two NBA All-Star games have had low ratings.

Players don’t play defense in the NBA All-Star game. It’s that simple. When fans watch a regular season game, they see offense, defense, and players motivated to win. In the All-Star game, they get to see what is essentially a glorified pick up game with the best players in the world. 

NBA players try to win regular season games. They don’t try to do anything other than score in the All-Star game. That’s why fans will keep tuning out.

The MLB Midsummer Classic

It was just played on Tuesday night and baseball fans were treated to a competitive 5-3 American League victory in the 2024 MLB All-Star game. The MLB started its annual All-Star game in 1933. It’s been held in every season except 1945 (World War II) and 2020 (COVID pandemic). Every season has followed the same format – a nine-inning baseball game just like teams play during the regular season.

The MLB All-Star game reigns supreme because it is exactly what it’s supposed to be. The best players in the majors are selected to represent their league. The two leagues play each other in an actual baseball game. Pitchers try to strike out batters. Batters try to get hits and score runs. The result is Jarren Duran hitting a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning to give the AL a 5-3 lead. Four AL pitchers would then hold the NL scoreless and the American League won its 10th All-Star game in the last 11. 

Real baseball. No gimmicks. Players trying to win. That’s why the MLB All-Star game will always be the best All-Star game in professional sports.