Once upon a time the ASG was played as a matter of pride by the players to prove their league was better than the other. The gams was played seriously and was good entertainment because it was played seriously. Now we've come to a time where that pride of league pretty much doesn't exist and the game is almost played with the seriousness of the celebrity softball game. Just a gathering of super rich people getting together for a pick-up ballgame. Unfortunately, if one wants the game to be played seriously now, money has to be involved. Perhaps if the players on the winning team each receives half a million dollars and the players on the losing team get nothing, the game would probably be played with more seriousness. That's me definitely being cynical, but I really believe it, seriously.