MLB All-Star Game: Do You Care?

I certainly don't.

It seems as though more and more Americans are agreeing with me as well.

In 2011 the Major League Baseball All-Star Game had an average of 11 million viewers. That was down from 12.1 million in 2010. In 2009 and 2008 the average viewership was 14.6 and 14.5 million viewers respectively.

The highest viewership for the All-Star Game was back in 1976 when the game got 36.3 million viewers. Ever since that time the average viewership has steadily declined.

It's not just MLB either. I am not a fan of any of the "all-star" games (in the NFL it would be the Pro Bowl). I think they're all a waste of time.

Adding the gimmick of the winning league getting home field advantage in the World Series is the most ridiculous thing any sport has ever come up with. Why on Earth would a meaningless exhibition game played in July hold a greater weight that a 162 game schedule that covers (sometimes) March to (sometimes) October? I have no idea and I am amazed that the rule still lives today. Obviously the thinking was, after the tie in 2002, players and managers would try harder to win the game. I don't think that has been the case and the numbers certainly show that fans have lost interest in the gimmick.

Please, Bud Selig be a pioneer and cancel the Midsummer Classic.