My God! Doesn't the league realize this game has outlived its usefullness? Its pouring rain and these guys look like they'd rather be shoveling snow than playing in this game. They should have kept the game in Hawaii. At least the Players get a free trip there for the trouble..
Didn't even know they moved it from Hawaii (I knew they had it in Florida and Arizona in 2009 and 2014, but had no idea it went back to Florida last year). Can't believe the NFLPA agreed to that - without a trip to Hawaii, what possible reason is there for any player to want to play in this joke of a game? The amazing thing is that the 7 million or so viewers is more than every college bowl game other than the "big ones", reinforcing that there are fans (i.e., idiots) out there who will watch anything with an NFL brand.
I had fun watching some of the skills competitions. Dodgeball and tic-tac-toe FG competitions were fun.
In this age where you can see any NFL, MLB, NBA, or NHL game on TV the All -Star games are losing their importance. In the past when players didn't move from team to team and you predominantly saw local teams play on TV, the All-Star Games were a way that you could actually watch other stars in their element. Also, the increase of free agency that has come about over the last few decades has lessened the animosity between respective teams / conferences. Although many people criticize the MLB All-Star Game, at least the outcome has some relevance if you reach the World Series. Other than that, I don't see a reason to watch All-Star games anymore.
The baseball All-Star Game also mattered because AL and NL players never played each other (other than in the World Series), so it was the only time you would actually see people like Willie Mays and Ted Williams or Hank Aaron and Al Kaline on the same field. You're out of date about the current importance of the All-Star Game, however - it is no longer used to determine home field advantage in the World Series.
