Those 22 teenage players are now brothers forever. Many of these guys have played together for years at the USNDT. People have little idea how intense this tourney is in Canada. Then they lived together 24/7 for 3 or 4 weeks weeks for the tourney. They were booed in most games, they were awakened in the middle of the night by Canadian radio stations, they gagged up two goal leads twice in front of 15,000 hostile fans and millions more on TV. Then they won gold on Canadian soil.
I'm wondering, for the NCAA boys on this team, which would be bigger, winning this tourney or an NCAA Championship? Sounds like a silly question, and I know as a Pio fan which I'd rather have, but watching this all unfold it makes me wonder.
As a non-athlete and just a fan, I would think a gold medal means more; unless like for one person (as in Carle, winning the WJC, the hobey, the NCAA, etc etc) But There's an NCAA champ declared every April, and you know it's going to be a US team. Whereas the WJC is not a given. It is earned; and what makes it even more special is how all the players are from different places and teams; they all converge to make the Gold happen. JMHO
Its an interesting question and there's only a few people in the world that can answer it for sure.
Matt Carle and David Warsofsky from Boston University are two that have won both. Mike Eaves & Dean Blais have won both as coaches.
Certainly its a bigger thrill to win a championship as a massive underdog, so that might be a factor. Or in Boston University's case, to win a championship with two goals in the last minute of regulation.
Its probably a bigger thrill to win an NCAA Championship as a Senior instead of say a Freshman, since it represents four years of hard work versus six months.
The NCAA is a club championship played for your teammates, your school and its fans, and family and friends. It's the end of a six month war of attrition. It's a bigger struggle, but it doesn't mean that much outside of college hockey and the 1-2 million of us who follow it.
A world championship is won for your country. It may not take as long, but far more people care about the WJCs globally and in the hockey world than the NCAAs. The TV audience for the WJCs in Canada alone was 6 times the audience (12.3 million) that the NCAA championship generates in America on ESPN.
Even though the WJC is shorter, it's a bigger deal in the hockey world than the NCAAs.
The World Juniors is a big deal in Canada because they win it all the time. Its easier to sell tickets and draw TV viewers when your team is the favorite every year and your team wins 95% of their games.
99% of all Americans have never heard of the World Junior Hockey Tournament or have any clue what it is. Every American knows about winning an NCAA championship, whether its football, volleyball or track.
I don't think whether people know about it makes one or the other a bigger deal over the other. It doesn't lessen one championship over the other. It's funny to read TSN and see all the Canadians still complaining about the game and their biggest gripe: no one in the U.S. knows or cares that the U.S just won the WJC, therefore they "deserved" to win.
16 comments:
Geeze; that's better than the Kurt Russell speech!! How cool they got that on video. Those guys will cherish that for the rest of thier lives
Those 22 teenage players are now brothers forever. Many of these guys have played together for years at the USNDT. People have little idea how intense this tourney is in Canada. Then they lived together 24/7 for 3 or 4 weeks weeks for the tourney. They were booed in most games, they were awakened in the middle of the night by Canadian radio stations, they gagged up two goal leads twice in front of 15,000 hostile fans and millions more on TV. Then they won gold on Canadian soil.
They earned this locker room moment.
I'm wondering, for the NCAA boys on this team, which would be bigger, winning this tourney or an NCAA Championship? Sounds like a silly question, and I know as a Pio fan which I'd rather have, but watching this all unfold it makes me wonder.
What do you all think?
As a non-athlete and just a fan, I would think a gold medal means more; unless like for one person (as in Carle, winning the WJC, the hobey, the NCAA, etc etc) But There's an NCAA champ declared every April, and you know it's going to be a US team. Whereas the WJC is not a given. It is earned; and what makes it even more special is how all the players are from different places and teams; they all converge to make the Gold happen. JMHO
Its an interesting question and there's only a few people in the world that can answer it for sure.
Matt Carle and David Warsofsky from Boston University are two that have won both. Mike Eaves & Dean Blais have won both as coaches.
Certainly its a bigger thrill to win a championship as a massive underdog, so that might be a factor. Or in Boston University's case, to win a championship with two goals in the last minute of regulation.
Its probably a bigger thrill to win an NCAA Championship as a Senior instead of say a Freshman, since it represents four years of hard work versus six months.
The NCAA is a club championship played for your teammates, your school and its fans, and family and friends. It's the end of a six month war of attrition. It's a bigger struggle, but it doesn't mean that much outside of college hockey and the 1-2 million of us who follow it.
A world championship is won for your country. It may not take as long, but far more people care about the WJCs globally and in the hockey world than the NCAAs. The TV audience for the WJCs in Canada alone was 6 times the audience (12.3 million) that the NCAA championship generates in America on ESPN.
Even though the WJC is shorter, it's a bigger deal in the hockey world than the NCAAs.
The World Juniors is a big deal in Canada because they win it all the time. Its easier to sell tickets and draw TV viewers when your team is the favorite every year and your team wins 95% of their games.
99% of all Americans have never heard of the World Junior Hockey Tournament or have any clue what it is. Every American knows about winning an NCAA championship, whether its football, volleyball or track.
I don't think whether people know about it makes one or the other a bigger deal over the other. It doesn't lessen one championship over the other. It's funny to read TSN and see all the Canadians still complaining about the game and their biggest gripe: no one in the U.S. knows or cares that the U.S just won the WJC, therefore they "deserved" to win.
DG, can I post this on the Badger blog?
World Champions > NCAA Champions. Doesn't get much better than putting on your countries sweater.That said an NCAA championship is no small feat.
It's a moot question that doesn't have an answer.It's like having great sex with two beautiful women and then asking which was better.
Who's leading the cheer?
I'd like both women at the same time.
Chuck,
Just grab the embedding code off YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOeGQmvqWmo
Danny Kristo from North Dakota
What a great moment! I smile every time I watch this clip.
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