Is the Slam Dunk Contest Deteriorating or are we just spoiled?

Last night, around halfway through the slam dunk contest I had an epiphany. See I was trying to figure out why none of the dunks seemed impressive, even though on paper they were feats of human performance. Let's see there was Rudy's one handed grab of a pass off the back of the backboard, JR's double bounce dunk which didn't look that good but must have been a bitch to get the timing right, Dwight's alley-oop on a 12 foot rim and Nate Robinson's dunk over dwight. All of these dunks seem spectacular, yet as I was watching it live I just wasn't excited. Not one of them made me jump up down as if Greg Paulus sunk another 35 footer. This made me wonder why though, as when that guy from the Harlem Globetrotters dunked on 12 feet I went crazy, yet Dwight's off the backboard on the same height with almost no effort seemed almost routine. After a good nights sleep I have come up with three potential reasons why I, and several other people who I know watched the dunk contest remain unfazed by last nights event.

1. The lighting. Before you dismiss this is a minor part of the slam dunk contest puzzle, think about this: If you ever played NBA Live 06 (or whichever one is the first one with the dunk contest), then you remember how there were lights everywhere, and after each dunk the arena went dark except for some spotlights. This is similar to how it was a couple years ago (circa the robbery of Andre Iguodala). However, this year it seemed like the recession poured into the NBA arena and David Stern opted to go with 'let's make it feel like a high school gym' approach. Whoever saw last nights contest must admit that there was a theatrical element missing.
2. The expectation of Dwight Howard. Let's face it, I was watching the contest on tv and I could feel how Dwight had the whole gym in the palm of his hand right before his first dunk. Everyone, including myself, were awaiting some elaborate plan where dwight would arrive on segway and dunk with it (ok not that but you get the point). The problem is, there was such a build up that anything less than impossible would be unacceptable. Sometimes hype is a bad thing. The thing is, it looks like the hype for the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest is already building, as Lebron James pronounced that is entering his name into the event. Sorry Lebron, but you are going to build up such expectations over the next year that unless you do a 360 double through the legs you will be deemed a failure.
3. The last reason is that we are spoiled. Yes, we take it for granted that these guys are doing something inhuman every year. Personally, I judge everything against Vince's 2000 campaign, and that along with my stubbornness of considering anything other than Vince's dunks 'average' is the reason why I am so unmoved after a slam dunk contest. I can only remember one other dunk that I deem to be of Vince caliber: Jason Richardson's off the backboard through the legs, which was pure perfection (how Fred Jones WHO? took the title that year I will never understand). It's not just Jason and Vince who are culprits, we can put EA sports into that list as well. By making it possible for us to virtually do a double through the legs or a 720 tricks us into thinking that anything less is nothing, even if we are comparing virtual with real life. We are stupid that way.

Below I have provided some highlights of the dunk contest as well as Vince's and Jason's massacres. Enjoy.