Are you interested in the EHT-tournaments?

[Elvs]

And Team Europe success would not have happened if it was Slovenia, Norway or any other nation outside the Big Six.

Again you keep bringing up countries who wouldn't be the first to replace Team Europe and Team North America, and this time you're using nations that are way worse than Germany as examples. In your world, there seems to be clear top six and "the rest", and among "the rest" each nation is as bad as the other. That just tells me you don't really follow international hockey much and that's fine. But Slovenia and Norway don't fall into the same tier as Switzerland, not by a longshot. Them beating Switzerland in a best on best tournament is a bigger upset than Switzerland beating Canada, and EASILY a bigger upset than Switzerland beating Finland or Czech Republic. Even outside the top six, there are layers. Switzerland winning the World Cup would be a much lesser upset than what happened in Lake Placid.

 

[Jahara]

The NHL tried team Europe and Team NA because they want to exclude nations from their Whatever Cup. It was a huge failure with the fans. I haven't watched Team Europe games. Simply not interested. If they won then who would have won?

And as the NHL is sabotaging the Olympics deliberately and the whole idea of the NHL Cup is to create their own "olympics" while killing the real ones. Fortunately for us hockey fans they were dumb enough to come up with the two silly team ideas.

Golf comparison: hockey is vastly popular in those hockey countries. Golf is vastly popular pretty much... nowhere. And again it's an individual sport. Different story entirely as nobody is playing with anybody on a team 90% of the time so nobody cares anyway. The whole discussion point here was team composition. I can tell you with confidence though if say the Davis Cup in Tennis would have some randomly assembled teams of however great and competitive players the interest would be extremely limited. So even in individual sports it does matter and national teams however good or bad are more attractive.

Your arguments are really amazingly illogical. What does it matter if anyone outside Germany wants Germany in the tournament? It's 80 Million Germans that matter as potential audience to follow their team in the tournament. Do you think I am interested in watching all Team Canada games just because you know they are supposed to be good? No, I will watch all Team Russia games in a proper tournament and that's it. And I would watch more games if there were more teams. Against Slovenia and Austria and the UK if they are playing against Russia. I won't watch a 7 game series Canada vs. USA. I will look up the scores.

As for surprise outcomes you don't understand it either. If Latvia just comes close to not losing against Canada it's surprise enough to get people to watch and their fans to cheer. There is no specific need for a surprise contender/winner of the whole tournament. The UK got qualified for the top division at WHC. Their fans will probably celebrate every game regardless of the outcome and the fact that will probably relegated again in May.

Yes, it was a huge failure with the fans. Simple reason about this is that the fans aren't open minded enough. In my view the test with Germany was a much bigger failure. But it is always easier failing in a traditional way than failing when trying something new.

Your golf comparison is not that good. Ryder Cup just like the World Cup is won by team. Having a Team Europe in golf is pragmatic just like having a Team Europe in hockey. And no, no one would care much about a mixed Davis Cup but the strength of the countries in the tennis world is completely different.
Your arrogance is amazingly big. Of course it matters what people outside Germany thinks. If you only ask Germans they would want their team in a big tournament. If you ask someone in France, they would want their team. By having a Team Europe the potential reach is around 185 million.
If you don't want to see to good teams facing each other, it is you that is missing something. I prefer to see Sweden playing Team Europe in a World Cup ahead of Germany, Slovenia, Austria or even a better a better team like Switzerland.

Yeah, a team like Latvia might get close enough to tie against Canada and as I said before, they have their chance at the Olympics. Having a World Cup with teams like that would just make it a weaker version of the Olympics. That is why I don't want small teams in it. Quite simple, isn't it?

 

[Atas2000]

Yes, it was a huge failure with the fans. Simple reason about this is that the fans aren't open minded enough. In my view the test with Germany was a much bigger failure. But it is always easier failing in a traditional way than failing when trying something new.

Your golf comparison is not that good. Ryder Cup just like the World Cup is won by team. Having a Team Europe in golf is pragmatic just like having a Team Europe in hockey. And no, no one would care much about a mixed Davis Cup but the strength of the countries in the tennis world is completely different.
Your arrogance is amazingly big. Of course it matters what people outside Germany thinks. If you only ask Germans they would want their team in a big tournament. If you ask someone in France, they would want their team. By having a Team Europe the potential reach is around 185 million.
If you don't want to see to good teams facing each other, it is you that is missing something. I prefer to see Sweden playing Team Europe in a World Cup ahead of Germany, Slovenia, Austria or even a better a better team like Switzerland.

Yeah, a team like Latvia might get close enough to tie against Canada and as I said before, they have their chance at the Olympics. Having a World Cup with teams like that would just make it a weaker version of the Olympics. That is why I don't want small teams in it. Quite simple, isn't it?

Sorry, but we are sick and tired hearing from those glorious "reformers" of this world that the audience is to blame for not accepting their work of art new approaches.

Sometimes a pile of turds is just a pile of turds. And it doesn't take an open mind to see it for what it is.

The arrogance? Try ignorance. You just dismiss the fact that very obviously people living on a tectonic plate that carries the name were not invested into Team Europe, because their cultural backgrounds suggest different attachments. Look, I am born and raised in Europe technically, but have no idea how it should make me route for Team Europe in whatever competition. Nor do I see why I should open my mind to the idea. Your approach defies logic. Let's not give people what they want or find entertaining, let's force some entirely made up and rootless concept on them and if they shrug it off blame them for being "not ready". I've seen that often enough. It's a bad excuse for a bad idea.

 

[Elvs]

 

[Jahara]

Sorry, but we are sick and tired hearing from those glorious "reformers" of this world that the audience is to blame for not accepting their work of art new approaches.

Sometimes a pile of turds is just a pile of turds. And it doesn't take an open mind to see it for what it is.

The arrogance? Try ignorance. You just dismiss the fact that very obviously people living on a tectonic plate that carries the name were not invested into Team Europe, because their cultural backgrounds suggest different attachments. Look, I am born and raised in Europe technically, but have no idea how it should make me route for Team Europe in whatever competition. Nor do I see why I should open my mind to the idea. Your approach defies logic. Let's not give people what they want or find entertaining, let's force some entirely made up and rootless concept on them and if they shrug it off blame them for being "not ready". I've seen that often enough. It's a bad excuse for a bad idea.

Sorry, but we should be more sick and tired hearing from those dull people who just seem to think what everyone else is thinking. But I guess that is the easy way.

I am aware that Team Europe can't raise the interest like a traditional national team may have. If some player from your country is a part of this team it may give the interest a boost. If you are in to the sport, you may appreciate all the good players gathered in one tournament. Otherwise it is a bit funny how you speaks about logic. Like it is logical to cheer for a bunch of players just because you happens to be born in the same country.

And in thise case I much prefer a pile of turds (Team Europe) over a mountain of turds (Germany).

 

[Elvs]

Sorry, but we should be more sick and tired hearing from those dull people who just seem to think what everyone else is thinking. But I guess that is the easy way.

I am aware that Team Europe can't raise the interest like a traditional national team may have. If some player from your country is a part of this team it may give the interest a boost. If you are in to the sport, you may appreciate all the good players gathered in one tournament. Otherwise it is a bit funny how you speaks about logic. Like it is logical to cheer for a bunch of players just because you happens to be born in the same country.

And in thise case I much prefer a pile of turds (Team Europe) over a mountain of turds (Germany).

Do you blame people living in Toronto for rooting for the Maple Leafs? Or people living in LA rooting for the Kings? Rooting for a bunch of players who aren't even born in the same city, they just happen to live there because they signed contracts and can be traded anytime...

According to your logic, the only thing that matters is having the best players on the ice. So why don't make all teams mixed teams? Why should all the swedes be lumped onto one team? You must really love the all star game. So many cool names on the ice at the same time, playing for nothing ...

 

[Atas2000]

Sorry, but we should be more sick and tired hearing from those dull people who just seem to think what everyone else is thinking. But I guess that is the easy way.

I am aware that Team Europe can't raise the interest like a traditional national team may have. If some player from your country is a part of this team it may give the interest a boost. If you are in to the sport, you may appreciate all the good players gathered in one tournament. Otherwise it is a bit funny how you speaks about logic. Like it is logical to cheer for a bunch of players just because you happens to be born in the same country.

And in thise case I much prefer a pile of turds (Team Europe) over a mountain of turds (Germany).

I will never appreciate "all the good players gathered". It's pointless to me. I get bored out of watching NHL games when there are only a couple of Russians involved. I used to selectively watch the Datsyuk shifts in Detroit late in his career. The rest of the team was just not worth it to me.

And it is perfectly logical to cheer for players born in the same country, speaking the same language, having the same culture, being from the city/village nearby. Look at the US being the nation of immigrants basically, much less rooted in history than any european nation and look at all the patriotism there. And Americans can barely comprehend how deep those cultural roots go in Europe. There are deliberate attempts nowadays of breaking this up, but the fail expectedly. Thus there will still be more interest for a underdog team of fellow countrymen than any high flying bunch held together by a random selection only.

 

[Jussi]

Jahara seems to be completely oblivious to the fact that Europeans follow their national team and really don't give a rats ass about the quality of players in the tournament or the quality of play IF their team wins. To many Finns (general population old enough), the 1995 World Championship gold is is still the most important and memorable gold we've won, even though there were no NHL players and despite the fact we won in 2011 with NHL players in the tournament, because it was the first one. WE Finns follow our national team in EHT tournaments, Worlds and Olympics because it's tradition and they are proper tournaments. Last World Cup no one cared. As I said, media forgot about it as soon as Finland had played their last game and the general population ignored it. Usually everyone, even those who don't usually care about hockey, talks about our national team during Worlds and Olympics at workplaces but last World Cup no one cared.

 

[Jahara]

Do you blame people living in Toronto for rooting for the Maple Leafs? Or people living in LA rooting for the Kings? Rooting for a bunch of players who aren't even born in the same city, they just happen to live there because they signed contracts and can be traded anytime...

According to your logic, the only thing that matters is having the best players on the ice. So why don't make all teams mixed teams? Why should all the swedes be lumped onto one team? You must really love the all star game. So many cool names on the ice at the same time, playing for nothing ...

No, I don't blame them or anyone cheering for their country. I do the same during WC/Olympics. I am questioning having countries as a concept but that is something that everyone just have accepted. The NHL style with players thrown around like a lottery is just something strange to me. I prefer the European model with local players. Having a Team Europe is just a bit part of a World Cup and it is not like every team is that kind of mix. All star games is just something for the kids and the result doesn't matter or says anything. That is a big difference to the World Cup.

Jahara seems to be completely oblivious to the fact that Europeans follow their national team and really don't give a rats ass about the quality of players in the tournament or the quality of play IF their team wins. To many Finns (general population old enough), the 1995 World Championship gold is is still the most important and memorable gold we've won, even though there were no NHL players and despite the fact we won in 2011 with NHL players in the tournament, because it was the first one. WE Finns follow our national team in EHT tournaments, Worlds and Olympics because it's tradition and they are proper tournaments. Last World Cup no one cared. As I said, media forgot about it as soon as Finland had played their last game and the general population ignored it. Usually everyone, even those who don't usually care about hockey, talks about our national team during Worlds and Olympics at workplaces but last World Cup no one cared.

I am aware of how people in Sweden and Finland seem to follow their team and don't even bother that much about what kind of tournament it is. A tournament like the World Championship is just nonsense to me and the result is more or less a lottery, depending on having the right players outside the NHL. The same thing applies to the latest Olympics. Still people in Sweden seem to think that the gold in 94 Olympic or 87 World Championship was some kind of real deal. It wasn't.

I understand that the Finns liked the 95 Gold but that was just another nonsense tournament and didn't even have NHL in it. Coming second in 04 and 06 was a much bigger achievement since the best players was there. If the people don't want to follow a world class tournament just because their country is out, they are missing something. It is not like I stopped to bother about the Fifa World Cup this summer after the Swedish QF defeat.

 

[Elvs]

No, I don't blame them or anyone cheering for their country. I do the same during WC/Olympics. I am questioning having countries as a concept but that is something that everyone just have accepted. The NHL style with players thrown around like a lottery is just something strange to me. I prefer the European model with local players. Having a Team Europe is just a bit part of a World Cup and it is not like every team is that kind of mix. All star games is just something for the kids and the result doesn't matter or says anything. That is a big difference to the World Cup.

You question having national teams as a concept? The biggest market for sports. But yes, let's remove national team sports from the calender so we can attract less fans... And no, not every team is mixed and that's the problem. Either go all national teams or make all teams mixed. Or just make a 7 game series with 2 teams - team North America vs. team Europe. At lest then, both continents would be represented with their best players which was FAR from the case during the 2016 World Cup.

I am aware of how people in Sweden and Finland seem to follow their team and don't even bother that much about what kind of tournament it is. A tournament like the World Championship is just nonsense to me and the result is more or less a lottery, depending on having the right players outside the NHL. The same thing applies to the latest Olympics. Still people in Sweden seem to think that the gold in 94 Olympic or 87 World Championship was some kind of real deal. It wasn't.

I understand that the Finns liked the 95 Gold but that was just another nonsense tournament and didn't even have NHL in it. Coming second in 04 and 06 was a much bigger achievement since the best players was there. If the people don't want to follow a world class tournament just because their country is out, they are missing something. It is not like I stopped to bother about the Fifa World Cup this summer after the Swedish QF defeat.

People enjoy the World Championship because they don't wanna go four years between every major international tournament. Your comparison with the Fifa World Cup is straight up ridiculous, sorry. At least our national team had a chance in the world cup of soccer. They were there, and even in tournaments when they're not there they were given a chance to qualify. With the hockey world cup on the other hand, you don't want certain nations to have any chance of competing at all whatsoever, even when results prove Slovakia and especially Switzerland can be competitive, yet you want to borrow their players for your own amusement.

Funny enough, you're saying you're rooting for Sweden. Then you should be aware that the only two teams that forced Sweden to overtime in world championship the past spring, were in fact Slovakia and Switzerland. This while Sweden had arguably their strongest WC team ever, while Slovakia arguably had their weakest ever. No Chara, no Halak, no Tatar, no Panik, no Gaborik etc. They had a total of 18 declines which is devastating for them. Clearly the results doesn't matter to you, as you only want the coolest names to be playing. If they don't play in the NHL, they don't appeal to you, and so maybe it's you who should widen your views, and be "more open minded" as you put it...

 

[Jahara]

You question having national teams as a concept? The biggest market for sports. But yes, let's remove national team sports from the calender so we can attract less fans... And no, not every team is mixed and that's the problem. Either go all national teams or make all teams mixed. Or just make a 7 game series with 2 teams - team North America vs. team Europe. At lest then, both continents would be represented with their best players which was FAR from the case during the 2016 World Cup.

People enjoy the World Championship because they don't wanna go four years between every major international tournament. Your comparison with the Fifa World Cup is straight up ridiculous, sorry. At least our national team had a chance in the world cup of soccer. They were there, and even in tournaments when they're not there they were given a chance to qualify. With the hockey world cup on the other hand, you don't want certain nations to have any chance of competing at all whatsoever, even when results prove Slovakia and especially Switzerland can be competitive, yet you want to borrow their players for your own amusement.

Funny enough, you're saying you're rooting for Sweden. Then you should be aware that the only two teams that forced Sweden to overtime in world championship the past spring, were in fact Slovakia and Switzerland. This while Sweden had arguably their strongest WC team ever, while Slovakia arguably had their weakest ever. No Chara, no Halak, no Tatar, no Panik, no Gaborik etc. They had a total of 18 declines which is devastating for them. Clearly the results doesn't matter to you, as you only want the coolest names to be playing. If they don't play in the NHL, they don't appeal to you, and so maybe it's you who should widen your views, and be "more open minded" as you put it...

No, I am questioning the whole concept of having countries, But I suppose that is some other discussion. National teams is quite interesting when it actually is best vs best. If it is six national teams and one mixed team once, I don't have a problem with that. Team North America vs. Team Europe would just be dull.

And speaking of dull. That is exactly what the World Championship is. It is held every year when it should be held every odd year between World Cup and Olympics. It is just a quite pointless tournament stacked with second grade players and some randomly inserted top players that usually wins it. Still those games get way to much attention. Just another nonsense tournament that the hockey world has played to much of during history.

Switzerland and Slovakia is still outside the Big Six and still have their chance to play the Olympics. If they happen to get a bit better I may change my mind. But no, I don't think they are good enough to make room in a World Cup format with a round-robin.

 

[Elvs]

Switzerland and Slovakia is still outside the Big Six and still have their chance to play the Olympics. If they happen to get a bit better I may change my mind. But no, I don't think they are good enough to make room in a World Cup format with a round-robin.

Alright, confirms that you care more about how teams look on paper than actual results. Switzerland is not good enough because you don't like their roster, got it. Next, let's demote whichever SHL team has the worst team on paper instead of the team that finishes last. Vegas should also have been stopped from playing in the Stanley Cup finals. Because on paper, they should have finished bottom 3 and so it was obvious that they were never gonna challenge Washington for the Stanley Cup.

 

[Elvs]

Last two best on best Olympic meetings:

Switzerland 1-0-1-0 = 4 points
Canada 0-1-0-1 = 2 points

Total score: Switzerland 4, Canada 3

World championship meetings since 2010:

Switzerland: 2-2-1-2 = 11 points
Canada: 2-1-2-2 = 10 points

Total score: Switzerland 20, Canada 21

---

Conclusion = Switzerland not good enough

 

[Jon Riley]

And Team Europe success would not have happened if it was Slovenia, Norway or any other nation outside the Big Six.

Is the success of a team noone cares about really success?

 

[Jon Riley]

By having a Team Europe the potential reach is around 185 million.

Yeah, potential is the key word. Only problem, you reach none.
Nobody cares and nobody will, ever.
Not only you do not reach fans that do not see their nation compete, but you also invalidate the format of the whole tournament losing fans from the big six as well.
The last hockey world cup has been a forgettable, and forgotten, event and will ever be if they do not change the format. It's not the fanbase that is conservative it's the format that is trash.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Is the success of a team noone cares about really success?

The point of international tournaments is to feel proud of what your country has done. I have never felt like a European. I am a Dutch citizen. I support the Dutch national team in any sport. When the Dutch volleyball team won gold at the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, the entire country was happy. "WE" won gold. That is what it's about. Team Europe was a gimmick. It didn't represent anything. Swiss, Slovene, Norwegian and German fans weren't cheering for Team Europe. They have no connection to a team Europe. We, the Europeans, didn't give a flying f*** about team Europe.

 

[Jon Riley]

The point of international tournaments is to feel proud of what your country has done. I have never felt like a European. I am a Dutch citizen. I support the Dutch national team in any sport. When the Dutch volleyball team won gold at the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, the entire country was happy. "WE" won gold. That is what it's about. Team Europe was a gimmick. It didn't represent anything. Swiss, Slovene, Norwegian and German fans weren't cheering for Team Europe. They have no connection to a team Europe. We, the Europeans, didn't give a flying **** about team Europe.

I'm Swiss, I mostly grew up in Italy, I moved to Norway. I feel very european. What the swiss team do in international tournament do not make me particularly proud because, as Jahara says, I think that borders are a most a completely arbitrary and meaningless perspective to evaluate reality.
That said, I consider the idea of team Europe totally ridiculous and unappealing as much as you do. Who would ever support a team europe? I support and will always support the swiss teams, in every sport. For me it has nothing to do with pride, more with traditions. I could not be less "nationalistic" in my views, yet I want to see Switzerland play (and possibly beat Germany).

 

[Elvs]

The point of international tournaments is to feel proud of what your country has done. I have never felt like a European. I am a Dutch citizen. I support the Dutch national team in any sport. When the Dutch volleyball team won gold at the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, the entire country was happy. "WE" won gold. That is what it's about. Team Europe was a gimmick. It didn't represent anything. Swiss, Slovene, Norwegian and German fans weren't cheering for Team Europe. They have no connection to a team Europe. We, the Europeans, didn't give a flying **** about team Europe.

I can only imagine a conversation between Jahara and a casual Swiss sports fan ...

Swiss guy: "I never thought I'd get into hockey, but it's pretty cool now that we are challenging Canada at international events".

Jahara: "You shouldn't care about World Championships. World Cup is the real deal".

Swiss guy: "World Cup? Sounds exciting. It'd be cool to see Switzerland do some damage there".

Jahara: "They are not there".

Swiss guy: "Oh ..."

Jahara: "But there's Team Europe, they should have a few Swiss players".

Swiss guy: "Uhm, ok. Seems a bit strange, but I guess it could be cool teaming up with the Swedes and Finns".

Jahara: "Well, you see the Swedes and Finns don't represent Europe. Not the Czechs or Russians either".

Swiss guy: "Hmm..."

Jahara: "Yeah, but you should totally get behind this team"

Swiss guy: "If they win, where do we celebrate?"

Jahara: "Probably nowhere"

Swiss guy: "What national anthem do we have?".

Jahara: "Green Day - Wake me up when september ends".

Swiss guy: "..."

Jahara: "Hah, how do you like hockey now!?"

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I can only imagine a conversation between Jahara and a casual Swiss sports fan ...

Swiss guy: "I never thought I'd get into hockey, but it's pretty cool now that we are challenging Canada at international events".
Jahara: "You shouldn't care about World Championships. World Cup is the real deal".
Swiss guy: "World Cup? Sounds exciting. It'd be cool to see Switzerland do some damage there".
Jahara: "They are not there".
Swiss guy: "Oh ..."
Jahara: "But there's Team Europe, they should have a few Swiss players".
Swiss guy: "Uhm, ok. Seems a bit strange, but I guess it could be cool teaming up with the Swedes and Finns".
Jahara: "Well, you see the Swedes and Finns don't represent Europe. Not the Czechs or Russians either".
Swiss guy: "Hmm..."
Jahara: "Yeah, but you should totally get behind this team"
Swiss guy: "If they win, where do we celebrate?"
Jahara: "Probably nowhere"
Swiss guy: "What national anthem do we have?".
Jahara: "Green Day - Wake me up when september ends".
Swiss guy: "..."
Jahara: "Hah, how do you like hockey now!?"

For the national anthem, they might as well play all European anthems simultaneously because it will sound as amazing as the idea of Team Europe truly is

 

[member 305909]

Jahara seems to be completely oblivious to the fact that Europeans follow their national team and really don't give a rats ass about the quality of players in the tournament or the quality of play IF their team wins. To many Finns (general population old enough), the 1995 World Championship gold is is still the most important and memorable gold we've won, even though there were no NHL players and despite the fact we won in 2011 with NHL players in the tournament, because it was the first one. WE Finns follow our national team in EHT tournaments, Worlds and Olympics because it's tradition and they are proper tournaments. Last World Cup no one cared. As I said, media forgot about it as soon as Finland had played their last game and the general population ignored it. Usually everyone, even those who don't usually care about hockey, talks about our national team during Worlds and Olympics at workplaces but last World Cup no one cared.

Indeed, everyone old enough to remember 1995 remmeber where they were when Finland won the world championships. I was that day in Helsinki and it seemed like all the lunatic bins had released their patients.

However, when Finns memorise for example the 2003 quarter-final defeat of being up 5-1 but still losing 5-6 people talk about it as it was amusing.

Different story with the olympic final 2006. Nothing amusing about that. Everyone I have asked about that match have said that when the final-buzzer went they either switched off the TV or turned to another channel. Watching the celebrating Swedes would have been too much to bear.

 

[Jussi]

Indeed, everyone old enough to remember 1995 remmeber where they were when Finland won the world championships. I was that day in Helsinki and it seemed like all the lunatic bins had released their patients.

However, when Finns memorise for example the 2003 quarter-final defeat of being up 5-1 but still losing 5-6 people talk about it as it was amusing.

Different story with the olympic final 2006. Nothing amusing about that. Everyone I have asked about that match have said that when the final-buzzer went they either switched off the TV or turned to another channel. Watching the celebrating Swedes would have been too much to bear.

It. Never. Happened.

 

[Jussi]

Yeah, potential is the key word. Only problem, you reach none.
Nobody cares and nobody will, ever.
Not only you do not reach fans that do not see their nation compete, but you also invalidate the format of the whole tournament losing fans from the big six as well.
The last hockey world cup has been a forgettable, and forgotten, event and will ever be if they do not change the format. It's not the fanbase that is conservative it's the format that is trash.

This. European sports fans are very territorial and patriotic when it comes to team sports. They want to at least beat their neighbor if there's no other success. There is no "European unity" when it comes to team sports. Ryder Cup is different in that it's mostly followed by countries where golf has traditions and is watched, followed and played a lot. Outside of those countries, it doesn't really draw front page headlines (thinking about Finland of course). Either a Finnish player has to have won something or a boring news day otherwise, those are the only chances of golf becoming headline news. Of course the fact that the sport is more or less hidden on pay tv now, also helps. I used to watch Masters or British Open when it was on free tv and there was nothing else on.

 

[member 305909]

Indeed; I have previously never met anyone who would have been even remotely interested in NBA basketball but all of a sudden when there is a Finn playing in the league people are talking about as if they cared.

 

[Jahara]

Blah Blah Blah.

Well, hell hell yeah then. Let's just keep playing the World Cup just like before with a dull Slovakia and a crappy Germany for the sake of it. Things should just keep on being like they have always been.

Or just make a short reflection on how good the 2016 format was compared to 2004 and even 1996. I know my stance.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Well, hell hell yeah then. Let's just keep playing the World Cup just like before with a dull Slovakia and a crappy Germany for the sake of it. Things should just keep on being like they have always been.

Or just make a short reflection on how good the 2016 format was compared to 2004 and even 1996. I know my stance.

Yeah, the "World Cup" is such a success that they waited 8 and then 12 years to have another one. It's a bogus tournament. It has no prestige. It's a tournament everyone has already forgotten, whereas the IIHF World Championships are a success each year. Fans from all over the world travel to wherever it's hosted and they are supporting their countries.

As I said before: People here aren't cheering for a team Europe. It's a gimmick and nobody cares.