Ok, maybe I was being too strong on that. Maybe this isn't the very perfect best-on-best and a perfect international tournament, and anyone is free to put it below the olympics and such. But it's still a damn good and special tournament that the players seemingly care about and I'm pretty sure the win would mean as much for them as any other WC/olympic win. For that reason I think people should give a little bit more respect to this tournament. I wouldn't say a thing if the hockey was "just ok", or if there was no real effort worthy of comparing it to the SC playoffs or olympic games, or if you could tell that players are not THAT excited on the ice, etc. You know, I would get it then, and really wouldn't put much value into it. But if it's the opposite, again I think this tournament deserves more respect than it gets. If someone's opinion is that it's simply not at olympic-leve etc., or that it doesn't really count with the other World Cups/Olympics, fine, it's your bussiness obviously. But you should acknowledge, in my opinion, if the players feel perhaps differently and put some value into it. You know, just imagine a theoretical situation. You and Sidney Crosby are in a restaurant the other day and talking as best friends, or as close family friends for example. You talk about bunch of things, like friends do, etc. You then ask him what it actually means for him that he won this World Cup or how he's enjoying it, etc. He says it's really something amazing and special and up there with the olympics or stanley cup, etc. Would you then really say something along the lines that it wasn't a "real tournament", etc.? I think that would be somehow awkward and even insulting. You know what I mean?
I know I'm different on this here, but that's just the way I am. I put a lot of value, importance, and significance into what players who play the game actually think about it, or how much effort and preparation and motivation they put into it, or which achievements matter the most for them, etc. I would change my opinion if the players didn't really care that much and you could somehow see it, even if just slightly. And I'm ready to admit I was wrong if players from the NA team or European don't look too much interested or don't play really with full effort or fully motivated (which I think you can see on the ice more often than not), or if the wins aren't taken that much seriously, there's many game situations you can see how much it matters to them. Whether the players are really upset and try hard, or rather act like "nothing too special happened" when they win.
So, perhaps I'm sorry I was being too aggressive, but I also think this tourney really deserves a bit more respect than it gets from you guys, even if it's on a "different scale" than the olympics or other tournaments.
I know I'm different on this here, but that's just the way I am. I put a lot of value, importance, and significance into what players who play the game actually think about it, or how much effort and preparation and motivation they put into it, or which achievements matter the most for them, etc. I would change my opinion if the players didn't really care that much and you could somehow see it, even if just slightly. And I'm ready to admit I was wrong if players from the NA team or European don't look too much interested or don't play really with full effort or fully motivated (which I think you can see on the ice more often than not), or if the wins aren't taken that much seriously, there's many game situations you can see how much it matters to them. Whether the players are really upset and try hard, or rather act like "nothing too special happened" when they win.
So, perhaps I'm sorry I was being too aggressive, but I also think this tourney really deserves a bit more respect than it gets from you guys, even if it's on a "different scale" than the olympics or other tournaments.
You will certainly be proven wrong on these point, just not right now. In 7 weeks or so. I know people will be rather amazed by the quality of hockey so they might somehow forget that they originally thought it would be a flop, or that there would be empty arenas, that the attendance would be bad, that the hockey would suck, etc., but I hope someone like you will come here and admit they were wrong about this.
