Where Are The Big Names In All Star Events?

It’s All-Star time in Major League Baseball!
Come out and watch the stars of the game show their appreciation for the fans by showing up and playing a fun, fan-friendly game.
Or rather, come watch one or two big-name players have to play with second-tier players because the “stars” of the game would rather come and hang out, but can’t risk re-injuring that “strained quad” in an exhibition game.
It all started with the Home Run Derby on Monday, which drew the likes of Alex Rodriguez... nope. David Ortiz... uh-uh. Ken Griffey Jr... not so much. How about... Dan Uggla? Justin Morneau? Evan Longoria? I know that home run totals are down from a few years ago, but since when do 16 home runs at the all-star break earn you a spot in the derby?
It ended up being a pretty decent showing; Josh Hamilton added another chapter to his already remarkable story by hitting a ball off the back wall of Yankee Stadium (a storied accomplishment) and at least three over 500 feet en route to a record-setting 28 home runs in the first round. And then he got upset by Morneau in the final round, which proves… something. I’m not sure what, though.
But the big story, unfortunately, is the ongoing reluctance of sport’s major players to be missing in action for games they’re not being paid to play.
That’s really what it boils down to, as much as we, the fans, try to delude ourselves into thinking otherwise. Professional athletes are in it for the money, plain and simple. It sounds nice when they give interviews about all the charity work they do, or when they take a sick kid on a tour of the dressing room before the game. But when it comes down to it, the primary motivation for the typical professional athlete is money.
So when it comes time to thank the fans for shelling out the ridiculous ticket prices to an elite-level sporting event, the “regretfully decline” responses come pouring back in.
It happens in other sports as well, most notably in the NFL. The fact that the Pro Bowl is after the Super Bowl is partly to blame; it’s hard enough to gear up for 16 regular season games and, for some, the rigors of playoff football. Playing an exhibition game two weeks after the Lombardi Trophy is hoisted just isn’t that exciting.
But to me, the worst is when a professional athlete turns down the chance to play in international competition, especially the Olympics.
It happens a lot in basketball, where one “star” after another politely declines the invitation to represent his country by playing a game, so he can spend more time on his upcoming rap album or finally beating Grand Theft Auto IV on Xbox 360.
I don’t always feel the nostalgia of “the good old days,” probably because they weren’t always so good. For example, I’m really glad we don’t have to ration things like sugar in this country. I’m pretty sure that I would have used up my year’s worth in February.
But in sports, I can feel a little bit of the nostalgic longing for a better version of the game. Back in the day, players played the game like they were supposed to: like it was a game. Every interview I’ve seen or read from an athlete from before or around 1960 has the same theme – “Sure, I was successful, but I’m just lucky I got paid to play a game.”
Sure, we’re witnessing feats never before accomplished in so many various competitions, but we have to wade through the ticket prices, the over-hyping of every new flash in the pan, the constant stream of analysis, the self-promotion, and the showboating just to get to something great.
And that’s the thing: there are great things happening in sports.
We have the Josh Hamilton story; a blue-chip prospect gets hooked on crack, gets clean and comes back to lead the majors in RBIs. We have the Summer Olympics coming up, complete with 41-year-old Dara Torres setting a new world record in the 50-meter freestyle in qualifying. We saw Tiger Woods limp his way through the U.S. Open and still pull out another impossible win.
There are plenty of things wrong with sports, from steroids to Marv Albert’s toupee, and we certainly shouldn’t over-emphasize the negative impact of a professional athlete turning down the chance to play in an all-star event.
And we don’t want to be too sappy and say that “we should just appreciate the players who are doing a good job.” We should appreciate them, but at this point, shouldn’t doing a good job be expected?
Instead, what we should do is demand a better product, just like we do in this country when we buy something that isn’t up to our standards.
One of the advantages the present has on the “good old days” is that we have so many outlets through which to express ourselves. If you have an opinion on anything, you can find somebody else who shares your views and you can find a way to discuss the topic until the cows come home.
So if you love watching sports but don’t like the product you’re getting, say something. Start a blog. Start a vlog. First, do a quick Google search to find out what blogs and vlogs are, like I did, then start them both.
Call in to the talk radio shows. Write in to ESPN, Sports Illustrated, or even The Valley Roadrunner to let people know what you think. When it comes time to vote for the All-Star teams, don’t just punch out the hometown guys, look into it and see who’s actually going to show up and play.
In short, own your fanship.
And maybe next year we’ll see which Major Leaguers truly deserve to be All-Stars.
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As always, please write in and let me know what you think about all this. There are lots of sports fans here in Valley Center, and we love talking about the sports we love.
So whatever sport you follow, write in and tell me what you would do to improve it.
Maybe you’re a basketball fan and you’d move the rim up to 11 feet. Maybe you’re a football fan and you’d get rid of instant replay. Maybe you’re a cricket fan and you’d increase the maximum number of overs to 100 for each day of play in a Test Match.
Whatever it is, we want to hear about it, and so does the rest of the community.
Send me an e-mail to sports@valleycenter.com with your comments, and I’ll put it in next week’s edition.