Once a highly-anticipated event for basketball fans, the NBA’s All-Star Weekend has underwhelmed for years, leaving league leadership searching for answers. The All-Star Game itself ended with a final score of 211-186, and it featured zero intensity. Nothing seemed to be at stake, even with each player on the winning team receiving $100,000, and each player on the losing team receiving $25,000. A shot at an extra $75,000 didn’t seem to light a fire under any of the players, many of whom have contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Golf, then, isn’t the only sport struggling to motivate its millionaire athletes.

I thought ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt framed his experience watching the All-Star Weekend well when he tweeted, “It’s really simple. If you don’t care, neither do we.” Amen!

Perhaps the lone bright spot of the weekend was a three-point shootout between Steph Curry, arguably the greatest shooter of all time, and Sabrina Ionescu, one of the best shooters in the WNBA. I’d recommend watching the full five-minute competition on YouTube.

Both Steph and Sabrina had something to compete for. Each a master of their craft, both athletes wanted to prove themselves as the best shooter in the world in front of a global audience. I highly doubt either was thinking about money while grabbing each ball from the rack. The disparity in how the Three-Point Challenge was received by fans and pundits and how the All-Star Game fared highlights a truth every sports fan knows: authentic competition produces excitement, not just having the biggest names in a starting lineup or on a tee sheet.

I’m a proponent of seeing the best male and best female athletes in a particular sport battling head-to-head more often. On Monday night, Rory McIlroy, Rose Zhang, Max Homa, and Lexi Thompson are set to compete in the next edition of The Match, which will take place at The Park in West Palm Beach, Florida. Pitting some of the best male and female golfers against one another in a skins game should make for a captivating product. One issue: skins is a fine format, but I’m a little bit skeptical that it will produce the level of intensity that fans want to see. Those golfers have plenty of money and can donate tens of thousands of dollars to charity without feeling it. What’s really at stake?

To that end, it might be interesting to consider a “Winner Stays” model for future editions of The Match. Whether participants compete as individuals or mixed teams, it’d be compelling if winning meant you’re invited back for the next edition of The Match. The losers can watch the next one from their couches.

Or maybe there’s a better way to motivate the competitors than deploying a Winner Stays model. But in order for The Match to be successful, we need to understand what’s at stake. Sabrina Ionescu wanted to prove she can outshoot Steph Curry. That’s good competition. Is Rose Zhang trying to prove she can beat Rory McIlroy? If not, fans will be able to sense that.

It’s simple: if the athletes care, so will we.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.