If bowl games have become endangered, all-star games are even more so. These games were once spectacles that allowed the country’s biggest college football stars to share the field. They could even be many fans’ first chance to see most players play for the first time. TV networks went to great lengths to broadcast them. With the internet, though, fans can now watch any player they want in pretty much any game. Moreover, modern all-star games can be costly to run while no longer commanding any real respect from modern television executives.
If these games disappear, I’m not sure most fans will notice. The East-West Shrine Bowl is on a Tuesday this year at the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility. Worse, a YouTube channel streamed the 80th Hula Bowl using an iPhone. Yet, my visit to the Dream Bowl in a 90+% empty AT&T Stadium convinced me that the college football world still needs these games.
Great Experience 🔥 @TheDreamBowl pic.twitter.com/LtGw0Pzm19
— ² (@d1helm) January 13, 2026
College all-star game season has always been one of my favorite times of the year. In the dark years of Army football that I grew up with as a kid, seeing an Army player in the East-West Shrine Game felt like the equivalent of a bowl game. I still remember cheering for Trent Steelman’s rushing touchdown in the 2013 East-West Shrine Game and even for Larry Dixon’s one-yard rush in the 2015 game.
Unfortunately, something has changed since the 2021 season. The East-West Shrine Bowl partnered more closely with the NFL that year and has since invited fewer service academy players. In fact, Army has not sent a guy to the East-West Shrine Bowl since it sent P Zach Harding to the game in 2022. This comes after Army sent players to the game every season from 2001 to 2019, save for 2015. But these games used to be more than just another pro scouting showcase. They were once a celebration of college careers and a ceremonious exit to other endeavors.
When I learned the Dream Bowl invited Army S Casey Larkin in November and that the game would take place at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, I knew that I had to go. I’m only a three-hour drive away, and these chances have become rare. Sadly, Larkin suffered an injury in the Army-Navy Game and did not actually make it into the game.
La’Vontae Shenault (brother of Laviska Shenault) won offensive MVP @TheDreamBowl
— Malik Boynton (@malikboynton2) January 13, 2026
Here you’ll see the explosion and power that Shenault possesses — taking this screen pass the distance. pic.twitter.com/k6pFN37i3L
Instead, Air Force FB Dylan Carson and former Army WR Isaiah Alston became the headliners for me. Sure, Carson played for the Zoomies, but I had no reason to root against him in the Dream Bowl, especially when he would represent the service academies in an all-star game in an NFL venue. He showed a bygone attitude towards all-star games when I talked to him the night before the game.
“No matter what happens with my collegiate career, if I play football at the next level. I’m just really looking forward to serving my country after this with being a pilot. I kind of have a really grateful look into this. So I’m just so thankful that I have the opportunity to keep playing football.”
That these games can be one more go for seniors who are then on to more important ventures, that’s the side of all-star games that the Senior and Shrine Bowls no longer show. The greatest accomplishment of this year’s Dream Bowl was not that it produced any future pro standouts but rather, that it allowed athletes like Carson to end their careers on their own terms.
Air Force RB Dylan Carson spoke with the Broncos at @TheDreamBowl . pic.twitter.com/sezHVGzdLm
— Easton Butler (@Easton__Butler) January 12, 2026
It may be more difficult for Army fans to root for Alston, but I personally had no hard feelings. Even though he did not finish his career at West Point, Alston was one of the most naturally-gifted pass catchers that the Black Knights have ever seen. He still holds the Academy’s career yards-per-catch record with a 21-yard average on 49 receptions.
After transferring, Alston fell into relative anonymity, catching just eight passes across two seasons with Iowa State and James Madison, respectively. Nonetheless, to hold bitter feelings towards him seems unproductive. While I love to see people graduate from my alma mater and lead soldiers, I also recognize that becoming an officer is not for everyone. Alston recognized that and chose a different career path. That’s all.
What a throw. What a catch. @alonzabiii 🤝 @AlstonIsaiah #GoDukes pic.twitter.com/i8vHGbzhEz
— JMU Football (@JMUFootball) November 29, 2025
Carson and Alston both performed well in the game itself. Carson got his fair share of carries, while Alston caught eight passes. Seeing former College Football Playoff starter Cade McNamara throw passes to Alston was admittedly amusing. But you can only get situations like that in all-star games.
Still, my most lasting takeaway happened in the stands. As my wife, two-month-old daughter, and I shuffled to the first open seats we could find, we noticed a section full of referees sitting next to us. They were honing their craft, sharing notes, and getting mental repetitions. Who knows what conferences these referees represented, but it is plausible that one of them could call an Army game and partially impact its outcome.
The referees were not the only ones getting practice reps. Later, we moved to different seats after my wife needed to feed our daughter on the concourse. In our new section, we heard a gentleman repeating the outcome of every play in great detail to others seated next to him. He was not a radio broadcaster, but rather a veteran instant replay review official mentoring younger officials on the process, clearly fleshing out every step and confirming each detail. For example, this gentleman called a fumble by the sideline that the defense returned for a touchdown a “chaos play” and pointed out every reviewable aspect of the play itself. He confirmed whether the runner stepped out of bounds and the actual recovery. Hardly any conferences walk fans through the conversations that occur during the instant replay process, but I got a behind-the-scenes look.
This was a pleasant surprise.
No one would blame anyone for seeing all-star games as nothing more than a mere formality or perhaps another step towards the NFL Draft. However, the Dream Bowl both turned back the clock and looked ahead to college football’s future. The event gave seniors a real destination game to end their careers while refining the moving pieces of these contests many fans overlook. Despite only going to the Dream Bowl to catch a glimpse of a few particular players, I came away with an experience that only showed the importance of all-star games in general.
