It was only a matter of time before sports became the subject of a post.  In a couple of weeks, the National Hockey League will be holding its annual All-Star Game in Dallas.  What makes this year's event different from others is that the NHL introduced an online ballot, enabling fans to repeatedly vote for their favourite players from across the league.

While the top candidates for each position were crafted by the league, they also allowed for "write-in" candidates to be added.  And it took very little time for message boards, blogs and websites to throw their support around an underdog.  The result was a grassroots campaign to ensure Rory Fitzpatrick, a veteran NHLer with a modest scoring record, was named to the All-Star team.

VoteforRory.com quickly appeared, along with countless pages and groups on Myspace and Facebook.  YouTube is home to several Rory Fitzpatrick videos, including some political type "attack ads" with the hope of increasing his popularity leading up to the January 2 deadline.  By late December, Fitzpatrick was sitting second in his division with over 400,000 votes cast.

Critics like the CBC's Scott Morrison have been vocal, stating that fans have exploited a "flaw" with the NHL's voting system by casting ballots for someone who is "unworthy".  Hockey Night in Canada's Don Cherry even shared his thoughts recently calling the support of Fitzpatrick a joke.

In this context, I disagree.  First and foremost, this is a ballot for an All-Star game, not a general election.  The process in place allows for multiple votes, and as such the results could be skewed by those who take the time to vote often.  The intention was for fans to vote for who they wanted to see in the lineup.  If the purpose was for only the "deserving" players who are having a good year to appear, then it defeats the purpose of the NHL allowing fans to select a write-in candidate.

The NHL will announce the roster for the All-Star Game in the coming days, and it will be interesting to see whether the campaign succeeded and if there is any fallout from it.