World Cup isn’t Olympics, but still has its place
Tournament deserves to live on but some tweaking is required
For much of September, we consistently heard World Cup bashers highlight the alleged warts of the tournament — none more so than allegations the event was completely contrived.
There can be no denying the 2016 World Cup was a polarizing display of best-on-best hockey: most of you either liked it, or you did not.
Maybe you had issues with the fact two squads — Team Europe and Team North America — were cobbled together just for this tournament, rather than representing an actual country. Fair enough.
But even if it didn’t mean anything to you, it certainly did for the players. Their emotion was clear for all to see, from start to finish.
Like when a tear trickled down the cheek of the normally stoic Carey Price as he listened to O Canada being played early in the tournament.
Like when young Nathan MacKinnon, having just scored the overtime winner against Sweden for Team North America, celebrated with the unbridled joy of a kid who had just netted the biggest goal of his life.
Like when Team Europe’s classy Anze Kopitar, in a rare display of frustration, smashed his stick in the penalty box after taking a costly minor late in Game 2 of the best-of-three final against Canada on Thursday night.
And like when Brad Marchand, the most diminutive of all Canadian players. catapulted himself into the air in Michael Jordan-fashion after scoring the tournament-winning shorthanded goal, a moment in which The Little Ball of Hate morphed into the Little Ball of Great.
In the end, there was nothing fake or fabricated in the way the players wore their feelings on their sleeves. And for that reason alone — with some definite tweaking required, of course — this tournament should be revived.
It can’t replace the Olympics. Nor should it. There is nothing more special in international hockey than going for gold at the Winter Games. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for the World Cup. Because if millionaires Price, Kopitar, MacKinnon and Marchand can make room for it in their lives — and want to make room for it — why can’t we?
With that in mind, here are some closing thoughts on the tournament:
THE GOOD
Team North America
When speaking of this 23-andunder team, Wayne Gretzky raved about how awesome the future of the sport looks. In watching the MacKinnons, Gaudreaus,
McDavids and Matthews, we were shown how the new generation has taken speed and skill to a new level. And that’s a good thing.
Ralph Krueger’s Team Europe
Remember when they were laughingstocks after being thrashed in back-to-back pretournament outings by the Young Guns? No one is laughing now, not after the heart these guys showed en route to the final.
Referee Cam
What a cool unique perspective this gave us on the world’s fastest sport. Give us more.
Canadian TV Ratings (at least for games involving Canada)
We had our doubts about the traction of this tournament, especially with the Blue Jays locked in a pennant race. But all things considered, broadcast execs should be relatively pleased. Last Saturday’s semifinal showdown between Canada and
Russia, for example, produced the largest hockey audience in more than a year, with viewership averaging 3.1 million viewers on CBC and Sportsnet. Earlier in the tournament, the Canada-Czech Republic game averaged 1.55 million viewers on Sportsnet, almost 600,000 more than the Jays pulled in that night.
Game 2, Final, Canada vs. Europe: The Hollywood Ending
For 56 minutes, little happened. Over the final four minutes, history happened.
THE BAD
Have a Seat ... Please
We were told that ticket sales were good. Yet, even in marquee contests like Canada-Russia, there were chunks of empty seats, mostly in the more expensive sections. There are times where the consumer just doesn’t want to buy into what he/she considers to be a money grab, no matter what the product. Finnish Flash ... In the Pans?
If the Finnish players would have shown the same emotion as the livid Finnish media after the national team went 0-3, maybe they would have fared better. After recent success at the world championship and world junior level, no one saw this disaster looming.
Sad Ads
Let’s be real: the promotional ads for the tournament were lame on both sides of the border. The marketing shtick in Canada was “Who owns hockey?” Not bad, but it could have been so much better given the rich resources of the NHL and NHLPA. In the U.S., a ridiculous host attempting to emulate the famous interview scene from Slapshot was cheesy. It looked more like a skit from SCTV. Check that. At least SCTV skits are funny.
Best-of-3 isn’t the best
You want drama? You want intrigue? Have a winner-take-all, one-game final like the Olympics instead of the best-of-three format used here. Anyone find fault about the level of excitement at the gold-medal game at the Vancouver Winter Olympics? Didn’t think so.
No Cheese, please
Eleven bucks for nachos at the Air Canada Centre food stands? Are you serious? What’s next: paying for each individual french fry?
The Last Word
In order to wrap up the autopsy of World Cup 2016, who better to sum things up than the Great One, Wayne Gretzky.
Said Gretzky: “Canada’s been Canada. We’ve been as good as we’ve ever been ... People sometimes worry we’re going to lose our game. We’re never going to lose our game. It’s Canada’s game.”
It certainly is today.