And with both teams loaded with NHL players, who really cares anymore who wins these professional games. I certainly don’t.
There was a time when the Olympics meant the best in amateur athletic competition, then John Thompson took the air out of the ball and the US lost a basketball game. From that game on we had NBA players competing in the Olympics, beating teams by 50 points. It morphed into all the different events, now it’s pros against pros.
The old Soviet block basically fielded pro athletes (fully state funded and rewarded) while the US sent amateurs in keeping with the old olympic ethic. I get what you mean, however. The olympics meant more back then, if not for the Cold War implications then for the David vs. Goliath professionals against amateurs match-ups.