Well to be fair international competition outside of the Olympics is simply much less ingrained into the North American hockey mindset. At the club level it would just be a really difficult sell to market a new trophy up for grabs against Euro competition. Heck, even restricting things to the NHL most fans think the President's Trophy is meaningless by itself.
Would CONMEBOL, which has 10 countries, agree to have half as much voting power as the 10 countries in NAFU and UNCAF combined? I wouldn't have a problem with an NHL champions vs. European champion hockey game or series, but I don't think the NHL will agree to it. One difference between hockey and soccer is that soccer uses one game or two leg series to decide things and the NHL uses seven game series. NHL fans who aren't soccer fans might not like the concept of aggregate goals where not all wins are equal. How would you propose an NHL champions vs. European champion hockey game or series be formatted. As a compromise between a two leg series and a series where you need to win four games, there could be a three or four game series with one team hosting Games 1 and 2 and another team hosting Games 3 and 4 (if necessary) and the team that hosts first could alternate between continents. If one team won the first three games, they would win the series with no Game 4. If one team won their third game in Game 4, they would win the series. If each team won 2 games, aggregate goals would determine the winner, although it would need to be decided if that should include aggregate goals in overtime or if games should be allowed to be draws. I have no idea about the format of the European hockey champions league.
Until European hockey decides to have the same rules and NHL rink regulation sizes imo they have every right to not play them.
As pointed out, the CWC isn't an easy sell in Europe either. I lived in the US for eight years and am aware of the insular sporting mentality. Still, there is an element of arrogance that intercepts any notion of playing with the rest of the world. The one with the rink size and rules is a cheap excuse, the NHL still wouldn't play us. Anyway, don't want to turn this into a hockey discussion. The point is MLS fans should be grateful that a platform like the CWC even exists. Us European hockey fans would love something similar.
You can have a different setup, that was just an idea. The point is the Caribbean "political" issue can be overcome if the CFU gets more money.
I reckon they're decent, twitter feeds are usually bumpin for this event. Fans will tune in to root against their league rival. I'm pretty sure people would be watching the game in a Latin American pub, and in some Asian or African pubs. The event has traction, it's here to stay and has been good for world football. All non-Euro teams know the goal is the CWC, and interest is rising.
That's my point. Back when it was called the Intercontinental Cup it was actually a worthwhile game (it was just one game by the time it the competition was retooled - far easier to get people to tune in) and the South American teams were more competitive. You basically lumped in the two competitions together and implied they were comparable. Clearly they're not. Nowadays it's a European entrant whose interest in the competition is limited but who nonetheless always wins. Not exactly a compelling competition. Well this is a strawman if ever there was one. I didn't say anything about cancelling the competition. All I said is it is unrealistic to claim that MLS clubs would take a World Club Cup berth more seriously than a hypothetical competition in which clubs receive a 5 million dollar bonus just for participating and as much as 30 million for winning it, and it was condescendingly implied that I have no idea what I'm talking about because the CWC is supposedly an extremely presitigious competition. Nobody claimed it wasn't unique. The original statement was that MLS teams would snub a "marketing tournament" with prize money of half a billion dollars because they would consider the Club World Cup to be more important. I said that claim is ludicrous. That's all.
You reckon that... well that's okay. I reckon they're not. I tried to find any mention of Club World Cup ratings on google and couldn't come up with anything whatsoever, so it's pretty obvious this tournament isn't setting the ratings on fire much of anywhere.
Excuses? Sorry I have watched the Golden Gophers play their home games on a regulation size Olympic size rink and I have also seen them play away games on NHL regulation rinks they are completely different different games. Not even the same type of hockey. Totally different.
I like that there's a Club World Cup even though that normally means rooting for a Mexican club. I root for the champion of CONCACAF regardless of what country they are from unless they are playing Manchester United. Without the CWC I would probably know less about the top clubs in confederations other than UEFA and CONCACAF.
Well, like I said, many NHL fans don't even take certain NHL trophies seriously, so I'm not sure the arrogance on hand is as simple as not wanting to play with the "rest of the world." One could say the NHL already plays with the rest of the world since there is no shortage of high quality Euro players in the league. Similarly, you likely won't find many Canadian fans who are extremely keen on following the hockey careers of Canadian players in Europe, and it's not so much a matter of being anti-Europe or anti-Canadian, but simply the reality of the pro-NHL standpoint. Same goes for soccer. The reality of the cultural mindset is key. It only makes sense that some competitions will be construed differently depending on region. I don't blame certain Euro fans for maybe not caring too much about the CWC.
Well the World Cup should be a 1 game (or 2 game) series between the Euro Champion and the South American champion. The rest of the world cup teams are just bulk. Then again the resent World Cup champion would have been Spain or Uruguay and not Germany.
The last game was huge in Argentina at the least. And I would bet that the previous final had considerable media impact in Morocco.
Another reason why it wouldn't happen is the amount of extra games Stanley Cup champs have to play and much much more travel overall. NHL Champion Min 98 games Max 110 League+playoff+Champions League Austria Min 80 games Max 89 Czech Min 78 Max 87 Finland Min 86 Max 97 Germany Min 78 Max 90 Sweden Min 83 Max 95 Norway Min 71 Max 80 Slovakia Min 82 Max 91 Denmark Min 62 Max 71 France Min 51 Max Max 64 UK Min 79 Max 85 KHL doesn't compete in Europe but just for comparison KHL Min 72 Max 88
Well, it's got ways to go, but reading a feed like this: https://twitter.com/search?q=#desveladarayada gives much hope for the future. Fans were amped, it was hype, it is nowhere near an irrelevant event. And there's no way this ACL is happening, so it's moot to compare which tourney teams would prioritise. Currently, the CWC is the be all end all for non-Euro club football. The current system will stay for the foreseeable future.
TV money? The CSL just secured itself USD 1.25 billion domestically for five years: https://www.soccerex.com/news/2015/09/ti’ao-power-wins-chinese-super-league-broadcast-rights (The CSL has 16 teams)
Still need that catalyst. It's what galavanizes the casual fan and country, which allows the game to move to the next level. They are right there, and when it happens it will be obvious.
So the gophers around you are made of gold, and play hockey? I would guess it is totally different, regardless of whether a rick is Olympic or NHL regulation (these are different sizes, right?).
Yes they are different rink sizes. The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers play a different styles to suit each rink they play on. When they are home it's way more skating and puck possession involved and when they are on the road it's puck possession and grinding the games out.
Well I went down to the local arena Asked to see the manager man He came from his office, said, "Son can I help you?" I looked at him and said, "Yes you can..." I want to Drive the Zamboni...hey I want to Drive the Zamboni...Yes I do! Now ever since I was young it's been my dream That I might drive a Zamboni machine I'd get the ice just as slick as could be And all the kids would look up to me I want to drive the Zamboni...hey I want to drive the Zamboni...Yes I do! Now the manager said, "Son, I know it looks keen But that right there is one expensive machine And I've got Smokey who's been driving for years." About that time I broke down in tears. Cause I want to drive the Zamboni...hey I want to drive the Zamboni...Yes I do!
It might be logistically really tough with currently different times to end seasons throughout the Americas, some for understandable reasons like weather. But if they could virtually sync them up in some way, at least in key countries, I'd like to see them have a true Champions' League where the top teams from that actual season are playing each other for regional prominence. Unlike currently UEFA Champions' League where it's up to top 4 best, from the previous season. There are instances where teams are shells of their former selves. Plus it's anti-climactic because of a continental winner not even being a league winner, how far away it is from when you (nearly) topped your own league, and purely how ridiculously long the tournament is. Ideally you'd have, right after the season, a tight tournament over a few weeks to a month, ala the World Cup, to determine who's best. How they'd determine the size of the tourney, which leagues auto qualify, and which have to put in more work, is another matter, based part on merit and part on money. I'm thinking 8-16 team tourney with surely the Brazilian, Argentinian, Mexican, and MLS winners in it. Then single head to heads with the next most high profile league winners like Uruguay's, Chile's, Colombia's, Paraguay's, Costa Rica's, etc. Then the minnows have longer qualification for one spot, or eff 'em, because let's face it, they aren't winning crap. You could have seasons end a little earlier in lesser leagues to accommodate (league games aren't as big of moneymakers for them anyway). You could also get a little creative (in a 16-team tourney) and include both conference winners, apertura/clausura winners, so you get more than 1 team from the sexier leagues, and have the playoffs for the league title in those countries after, as a consolation, the bigger prize, or however they want to think about it. Plus, there would be the decision if you wanted to hold the 8-16 team tourney in a neutral location or do home + homes for 3-4 weeks. I could see benefits and drawbacks to either plan. Long travel with home and homes, and potentially sparse attendances at a neutral location, especially if the home team(s) get knocked out early. But it could be a big hit with the right location, teams, and an exciting single elimination. Like I said it's logistically really tough and could fall flat, but UEFA Champions' League had plenty of logistical challenges. And across the pond they've come up with a similar idea to close the gap significantly, but to do that you're going to have to take chances, be different. You're not going to achieve it by offering a generic product of something consumers already have. And ironically, one advantage the Americas have over UEFA is not having so many viable countries/leagues. That's one reason it takes so damn long so you need to do it over the course of next season.
China needs better domestic player or an increase in the foreign player limit, they have the money (some teams) and they do have fans, their domestic players are just bad.