'You Don't Have to Be a Die-Hard Hockey Fan to Appreciate Connor McDavid' — Why U.S. Sports Fans Are Cheering for the Oilers

"The Cup doesn't belong in South Florida. It belongs in Edmonton."

Dave Portnoy might not know how to find Edmonton on a map of Canada. But the founder of Barstool Sports knows enough to realize that Connor McDavid is the greatest hockey player on the planet.

And so, like many bandwagon jumpers and casual hockey fans in the United States, he is hitching his wagon to the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

"Somewhere in Canada, near Alberta, I think — I'm not sure — the ghosts of Gretzky, Messier and Coffey are replaced by new legends, McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman," Portnoy said in a tweet. "The Cup doesn't belong in South Florida. It belongs in Edmonton."

Yes, McDavid is finally playing for the Stanley Cup. And no, the Oilers are not the underdogs.

If anything, they are the favorites. Not just in Canada — but the entire sports world.

After all, sports loves its superstars. It is why so many of us are watching Caitlin Clark in the WNBA these days. Superstars are why we all became golf fans during Tiger Woods' dominance and why we all of a sudden cared about tennis during Roger Federer's reign. How many of us became Chicago Bulls fans when Michael Jordan was playing? How many of us were hoping that Shohei Ohtani would land with a contender last summer?

"It's like Christmas in June and McDavid is Santa Claus," said Sportsnet's Kevin Bieksa.

We tend to cheer for greatness more than the name on the front of the jersey.

And there is no bigger name in hockey than McDavid. He deserves our adoration. He deserves to win a Cup. As he showed in Game 6, when he scored yet another highlight-reel goal, he certainly deserves the national spotlight that he has been deprived of until now. 

"Anyone who is looking to get excited about hockey has a lot to sink their teeth into," said sports talk host Mike Golic Jr. "You don't have to be a die-hard hockey fan to appreciate that Connor McDavid … is probably the best player in pro hockey — I think that's pretty inarguable — is making his first trip to the Cup final. It's a pretty damn cool moment."

It's also long overdue.

Ever since he arrived to the NHL as the No. 1 overall pick, the question wasn't whether McDavid would win a Stanley Cup. Rather, it was how many would championships would he win.

I had the honor of covering Sidney Crosby during his  back-to-back Cup runs. I finally got to see Alex Ovechkin raise the Cup after years and years of falling short. I saw Steven Stamkos, Patrick Kane and Cale Makar win.

There was something special in seeing those players cement their legacy with a championship. Now, it's McDavid's turn. And for the casual hockey fans, it's time to see what all the fuss is about.

When asked about handling the pressure of being Canada's team, McDavid embraced the challenge.

"Obviously, we're a Canadian team and we've got great Canadian fans," said McDavid. "It feels good to maybe unite the country a little bit and have something to bring people together. That's what sports is all about, bringing people together. Hopefully, we're doing that for Canadians across the country."

Who knows, the Oilers might also bring fans together across the U.S. as well.