So you've never watched any hockey besides the NHL and the Olympics since you can't be bothered to watch any hockey that doesn't have all the best players participating?
Weird.
I grew up on minor league hockey so I don't really give two ****s if the best players are there or not.
Hockey is hockey.
Also, considering I can hardly afford NHL games and definitely can't afford Olympic games I would go crazy if I was like you and could only be bothered to watch the best. I guess I'm too big of a hockey fan to be that picky.
Jump to conclusions much?
Just because other tournaments or leagues don't have the best players in the world doesn't mean I don't watch them, but when there are 2 tournaments going on at the same time, I am forced to watch one over the other and in my case, and most people's cases on this side of the water, the NHL prevails... ESPECIALLY when MY team is making a run for the Cup thank you very much.
But I like what you did there, assuming I'm not a hockey fan because I don't give 2 ***** about a "world championship" that doesn't have the best players in the world participating in them, including those players of the European nations. When I watch the CHL, AHL or NCAA, I don't assume the best in the world are going to be in it because those leagues aren't boasting such a title, are they?
If it was on at another time of the year, or didn't overlap the Olympics, I would watch it. I watch college hockey and watched CHL when I could. I'll also watch a bit of the Memorial Cup.
The fact that you can't wrap your mind around the fact that culturally, the World Championships have never really been relevant except for a few times in the last century to Canadians and Americans is mind boggling.
But since you enjoy it, all the power to you. I hope I'm not preventing you from watching it in any way shape or form.
It's no real shocker that the Stanley Cup is eons more important to North Americans than Europeans. Which is why it boggles my mind that come this time of year, people such as yourself and from across the pond seem to come to this revelation that everyone should be involved in this tournament when they fully acknowledge in the past that to North Americans, the WC have never been a big part of our "hockey culture"
As far as most of us go, WE KNOW FULL WELL THE BEST don't play in this tournament. I believe the Olympics settled that score for us a few months ago. I don't need to watch another World Championship tournament when we JUST had one with higher stakes, a larger platform and better players across the board.