My first memory of watching sports is from the 1979 MLB All-Star Game, and in what would prove to be an omen of my first 24 years as a Boston Red Sox fan, it was a bad one.
Jim Rice of my soon-to-be- beloved Red Sox led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a blooper that fell in between right fielder Dave Parker of the Pittsburgh Pirates and second baseman Joe Morgan and bounded hiiiiiiiigh off the Kingdome turf. (How high? Probably about 20 feet, but they didn’t have 50 cameras for broadcasts back then, so you’d have to have been in attendance to know for sure.) Parker gathered the ball with his back to the infield, spun and gunned down Rice trying for a triple.
The American League led 6-5 at the time, so it may have been a bit greedy of Rice — not to mention a violation of the “never make the first or last out of the inning at third base” rule. The National League wound up winning 7-6, with Parker — who in July will join Rice and Morgan in the Hall of Fame — named MVP after also throwing out the California Angels’ Brian Downing at home in the eighth.
I have to admit, the Rice play is the only one I remember from that game. I don’t know if it’s Boston brain bias or that the broadcast ended after my bedtime (pretty sure it was shown on delay here, and I was 6), but I had to consult the YouTube clip for the details of the play and Wikipedia for the rest of the game highlights.
What triggered this walk down memory lane was this weekend’s Pro Bowl. Or rather, excuse me, the “Pro Bowl Games.” There have been so many changes in the past dozen years — unconferencing, host cities, schedule placement, events — that it’s hard to keep track. What once was the game that was the pride and joy of Hawaii is now a flag football game and a series of skills competitions (tug of war, punting, etc.) with the score taken from all of those.
Criticism about how hard the players play predates even its migration to the mainland (it was last played at Aloha Stadium in 2016). “They may as well play flag football” was the refrain, so eventually they did just that.
Old-timers might say it’s that players are softer now, but a couple of incidents led players to minimize risk. In 1999, Patriots rookie running back Robert Edwards tore up his knee ligaments in a rookie beach flag football game and missed the next three seasons before making an inspiring but brief return in 2002. What had been a promising career — 1,115 rushing yards in his first season — was effectively ruined, with millions of dollars lost.
Then, in 2007, Bills punter Brian Moorman absorbed a huge hit from Redskins safety Sean Taylor, who was killed the following season by home intruders. Moorman continued his career, but the message seemed to be sent that players who make millions were risking their careers in an exhibition, and the game seemed more each year like a game of two-hand touch.
In recent years, this level of effort has come to be known as a “business decision.” I’m good with that, and I think it’s even time for the league to consider just dropping the game entirely. Viewership is down below 6 million annually. That’s good in these times of endless entertainment options — better than the NBA All-Star Game, but not as good as MLB’s, and much better than what a network would typically draw on a weekend afternoon.
I never went to the Pro Bowl when it was played at Aloha Stadium, though I went to a couple of the fan events. Now that we know it’s not coming back, it’s easier to let it go. I don’t remember anything about the play on the field. The two things that stick with me most are Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman leaving the game early and coattail-riding Cowboys coach Barry Switzer eating hot dogs on the sideline.
The NFL is not alone in its all-star game having jumped the shark. The NBA has been searching for the right format for years and is trying yet another new one this year (a tournament of sorts) as it weathers criticism about the defensive effort players give. Baseball’s Midsummer Classic has done better holding on to its ratings, as it has aged a little better because giving full effort is less risky, but interleague play has robbed it of a large part of its appeal (seeing pitcher-batter matchups that you can’t see during the regular season).
So maybe it’s time to get rid of all the all-star games. Keep the midseason break for all NBA and MLB players and maybe they’ll need fewer “load management” days. Football can make it’s inevitable expansion to 18 games and give players the second bye they’ll need (and deserve).
I don’t think the games will be missed.
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Reach Sjarif Goldstein at sgoldstein@staradvertiser.com.