by admin - July 14, 2009 - - Comment Now »
The Slam Dunk Contest is the king of all All-Star festivities. I really don’t see the argument against this. You always get the people who complain about the lack of star participation (LeBron will reportedly be in it next year–they should put that kid that dunked on him at his camp in as a gag) but even in a down year there are usually a couple of dunks that will be referenced time and time again.
The All-Star games themselves are never the true star of the show. The Pro Bowl might as well be flag football (actually that is a fairly decent idea–play six-on-six and make it first team to five touchdowns or something–who needs linemen in a flag football game?). The NBA game tends to degenerate into a slop-fest and frequently features blowouts. Baseball’s All-Star game is the most like the real thing but baseball games have a penchant for being long and boring and somehow this glorified exhibition game manages not to buck that trend.
The Home Run Derby is probably the closest thing to the Slam Dunk Contest. But the problem with the Derby is that all home runs do kind of look the same, especially after someone has already hit 25 of them. Some just go farther than others. Do you recall specific home runs hit in prior year’s? Now ask yourself the same thing about the Dunk Contest. Do Michael Jordan from the foul line, the Vince Carter elbow dunk or Dwight Howard as Superman ring a bell? And even though it seems like we have seen every type of dunk imaginable, guys still try to bring something new to the table.
It would be really cool to hit a home run. But if I was able to nail a between the legs 360 dunk my life would be complete.
Tags: all star game, blog, home run derby, slam dunk contest, Sports
