If our All-Star games were perfect, or close, or even … not so bad … the leagues wouldn’t change the formats so often.
So, yes, the NFL scrapped the Pro Bowl game in favor of flag football, the NBA is going back to a traditional East-West matchup after years of LeBron and Giannis picking teams like a pick-up game, the NHL is going back to a draft for its 3-on-3 tournament, and for a while the winner of the Midsummer Classic determined the home team for the World Series.
But under this vast umbrella of imperfection is still some pretty cool stuff. Maybe you were there last July, on that warm Seattle eve, watching hometown favorite Julio Rodriguez swat pitch after pitch into the cheap seats, 41 times in a single round, a Home-Run Derby record.
Or perhaps you were at Chicago Stadium one cold winter’s night in 1988, when Larry Bird’s finger went to the sky and he turned while his winning shot in the 3-point contest splashed, and then MJ took off for a flight from the foul line and soared toward the rim in the dunk contest?
Perhaps your memories are of the games themselves, instead of the ancillary events of All-Star Weekend. Did that 55-52 shootout in the Feb. 8, 2004 Pro Bowl tide you over until the Super Bowl? Was the 1996 NHL All-Star Game, a 5-4 decision settled by Ray Bourque’s goal with 38 seconds left for the East, everything you could have dreamed of?
Here is your chance to tell us at The Athletic what you love about All-Star Weekend for your favorite sport(s), what needs to go, and what (or who) you’ll never forget? Maybe, just maybe, with three All-Star Games on tap this month, a little more magic lies ahead.
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(Photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today)