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All-Star festivities in every major American sport are seeing a decline in fan support in recent years. The NBA is no different in this regard, but still has a few problems that are unique to the sport.

The largest reason the NBA All-star weekend has lost so much steam is due to the "24/7" sports phenomenon. Between the Internet, at least 5 ESPN networks, and countless regional Fox Sports affiliates, and sports talk radio, fans can get more information than they could possibly desire, and get it at any time they want it.

This has led to the "nationalization" of the major American sports, meaning that seeing the sport's marquis players is no longer a marquis event. One of the biggest draws to the NBA All-star game was the opportunity to see the stars that you could normally only see if they were fortunate enough to make the NBA Finals. This was especially true prior to the mid-1980's, before the three-headed monster of Jordan, Bird, and Magic pushed the popularity of the NBA beyond it's regional borders.

Another reason for the decline in interest is due to the image problems that the NBA was thrust into. After the departure of the clean-cut Michael Jordan, the NBA was left with a cast of characters that were unable to portray the league in the proper light. The league quickly developed a reputation as a band of "money hungry thugs." Stars like Grant Hill and Tim Duncan were not able to counter the wrong doings of the Portland Trailblazers, Latrell Spreewell, and New Jersey Nets center, Jason Williams. Whether the "thug" tag was justified or not, it stuck with the league. Only now, with faces like LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Carmello Anthony are quickly reversing that view.

On a final note, I don't honestly feel that the fires of competition burn as brightly in the players of today as they did in the previous generation. Michael Jordan and Larry Bird are widely considered to be two of the fiercest competitors ever, in any sport. Those competitive fires were never extinguished simply because the game was an exhibition. Bird had the deepest desire to compete at the highest level against his rival Magic Johnson. Jordan demanded that he outperform anyone in his path. This type of competitive desire inevitably leads to a better product on the court. In a world of absurd contracts and multi-million dollar endorsement deals, competitive fires take a back seat to saving yourself for the future.

There are a number of reasons that the NBA and all other major sports have seen such a steep decline in fan interest and clearly not enough time to name and explain them all. One thing, however, is certain:

Something needs to be done in order to restore the shine to our sports' all-star games.

Learn more about this author, Joe Jenkins.
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