The NFL has announced the Pro Bowl "rosters," Aren't you excited? Of course, half the players that were named to the Pro Bowl won't actually be in Hawaii, either because of phantom injuries (or real ones) or, the best reason yet, because their team is in the Super Bowl! We know the players, but we don't know the teams. They'll be picked by Hall of Famers Michael Irvin and Jerry Rice a couple days before the game.
I've been over and over about how much I hate what Roger Baddell has done to the Pro Bowl. The lack of players from the Super Bowl teams really irks me, but that's only the second worst thing about it now! What's the worst? The mix-and-match teams.
They got the idea for the All-Star Draft from the NHL, which started the whole choose your own team nonsense for the 2011 All-Star Game. It was the NHL that first tried the "North America vs. the World" thing to drum up excitement for the 1998 Olympics, which were the first to feature NHL players. That lasted until 2003, when people got tired of it and they switched back to the more traditional East vs. West. Then, after not having an All-Star Game in 2010 due to the Olympics (a condition in the Lockout 1.0 CBA that was kept after Lockout 2.0), it returned in 2011 with the new format, which was supposed to be more exciting for everyone.
Except it wasn't. The draft was cooler than I thought it would be, but the whole concept was flawed from the beginning. Players going against their teammates isn't anything new in hockey. But when the Americans take on the Canadians, you at least know who to root for. With teams being picked arbitrarily, you have no idea who to root for! Not to mention the fact that naming the team after the captain was also incredibly dumb. The idea grew tired almost immediately, yet the NHL soldiered on with it for five years, even though that only meant three All-Star Games (Lockout 2.0 and the Olympics knocked out the 2013 and 2014 editions).
So, you can probably imagine how relieved I was that the NHL announced a new format for the 2016 All-Star Game in Nashville. Unlike the last one, I'm really excited about this format change. I think it's gonna be awesome.
It's no longer East vs. West or North America vs. the World or Team Whoever vs. Team Somebody Else. There are now four different All-Star teams, one representing each division. And instead of a regular 60-minute game, each period is divided into its own 20-minute contest. The first period is the East. The second period is the West. The two winners then meet in the third period to determine which division gets the $1 million prize money.
If that's not cool enough, the whole thing will be 3-on-3. I was somewhat skeptical of the NHL's new 3-on-3 overtime format at first, but after seeing it in action, it's awesome! Wide open ice, scoring chances galore, fast-paced, back-and-forth hockey. Everyone has embraced it. But overtime lasts just five minutes. Why not try it for a full 20 minutes? And the All-Star Game is the perfect place to do it. The NHL will never replace the traditional 5-on-5 game during the regular season, and no one will ever ask them to. But this is the All-Star Game we're talking about.
Best of all, this is something fresh and new that still feels like it's a return to something more traditional. Sure, there'll only be three skaters and a goalie on each side, but you'll know who to root for. If your favorite team is the Rangers, all of the Rangers will be on the same team (and every team has to be represented, which is my favorite part of the baseball All-Star Game). You won't have Mats Zuccarello taking shots on Henrik Lundqvist anymore. You'll also know the other guys on your team. With fantasy sports and the ability to watch every game, people have become fans of specific players more than specific teams. But they're still more likely to watch their favorite team play than somebody else. And who does your favorite team play the most, and thus you're more familiar with? The teams in their division. You'll actually be rooting for those guys for a change.
On January 31, there will be two All-Star Games (yet another reason moving the Pro Bowl was incredibly stupid). I can't wait for one, and can't be bothered to watch the other. Who knew a little format change could do so much?
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