My All-Star experience. . .

I was lucky enough to go to All-Star weekend in Philly, and I had a great time. I was still as excited to go to the events as I had been when I was a kid. There were many highlights and disappointments along the way, and here are a few:


--The Celeb/pro/wnba/old-timer thing. The NBA has long failed in its attempts to find a good event to fill this spot with things like "2ball." I found this to be a great event. Although, the rockets team got spanked, I loved watching moses still battle down low, the cavanagh guy completely shut down Justin from NSync, Marciuliionis raining three's, and the torkgulu(?sp)/moses battle got pretty intense by the end.

--The 3 point contest was another highlight....it actually had the best 3 point shooters in the game. The close finish simply added to the excitement.

--Dunk contest. Can we say huge decline? First, the players involved were scrubs. Steve was the only guy who could atleast be mentioned with the top 10 dunkers in the league. How does the NBA compensate for the bad lineup? They make it worse by adding gimmicky b.s. that sucked. Part of the greatness of the dunk contest lies in the unknown and in creativity. We all wait in expectation to see what they will try next and how they did it, etc. The new format takes that away. I admit it is interesting to see the new guys try to match the legends, but it is really unfair (steve can't palm the ball well enough to even do that 360). Also, to you guys who are wondering why cuttino was the passer, the NBA pretty much forced players to choose a teammate who was at the weekend if they had one (do you really think wallace would have chosen cwebb). The NBA needs to find a way to restore the dunk contest to the pedestal it once occupied in days such as nique vs. jordan

--The game. I thought it was great. There was sloppy play, but, come on, its the all-star game. the amazing dunks by tmac and garnett, simply jordan's presence, and the incredible 3 point barrage made it a very exciting and fun game to watch.

--Kobe. Was it not obvious that he was blatantly going for MVP? The guy was hogging the ball 10 times more than is expected in a game where hogging the ball is the norm. I laughed when he was booed, and I booed him as well for these reasons. I didn't come just to see Kobe shoot as many shots as he could while he was on the floor, I came to see all the players put on a show. I did actually feel a little sorry for the guy when I remembered that Philly is his hometown. But who cares? I hate the lakers and kobe, and I think his ego is big enough where this blow to it won't hurt too much.

--STeve Nash was staying in the room right next to mine. I really like this PG and his skillls, and I was very very excited when I saw him go into the room next to mine. He was really friendly, and he even initiated a "hello how are you" line to a friend of mine.

--The countless celebs/athletes that I ran into in itself made the trip incredible for its "people-watching appeal." Just to name a few: Iverson, T hardaway, Joe frazier, and peja. (I never saw steve but always saw his friends/entourage in the lobby)



All and all it was an unforgettable experience. I got in to philly and left so quickly, that it hasn't totally hit me yet, but I can't wait for when it does. I thought the NBA tried to make everything a little too gimmicky and flashy to try to create excitement around the event. I think this is a mistake, the weekend and the events create all the excitement necessary. With all the best players in the world there, celebs, and the greats, the events make it hard not to feel a sense childish excitement and awe. However, I wouldn't solely place the blame for their "gimmickness" on the NBA. Why can't the players realize that they are PAID to PLAY the greatest game around? Most of us struggle to find time away from our work and schedule to play a game that they get paid MILLIONS for. Who makes the huge salaries for playing a game possible??.....the fans, and the fans are who are star weekend is made for. Therefore, there should be vince, kobe, tmac, etc in the dunk contest, and the only reason I can give for why there isn't is selfish players who don't realize the debt THEY owe to the fans, not the other way around. I applaud steve for participating in the dunk contest despite all his nagging injuries, etc. Hopefully, the players can bring back the excitement to things like the dunk contest, and not leave the NBA with their hands tied trying to fill the void of excitement in the fans created by the players.


Michael

 

Obviously, the fact that Kobe is a laker played a part in the booing. After all, they booed Derek Fisher when he was introduced in the 3 on 3 thing. But, I must say that the main reason for the boos was his selfish play. No one booed him in the first quarter or so, but right about when I thought to myself "God, Kobe sure is going for the MVP, could he pass the ball from time to time?" the boos began. I am not saying that the would definitely boo anyone else, but the boos at the all-star game were because he was hogging the ball and taking away from the game. The didn't boo before when they simply didn't like him, but the fact that they didn't like this guy and he hogged the ball is what led to the boos. . .

Michael

 

wrath_of_khan...

I got the tickets from the Rockets org, because I went to the game with a friend of mine who is closely linked to the team

Michael