It's feels like a somewhat circular reasoning; the 'status' of the final was elevated simply due to the fat that it was contested by two 'box office' teams; therefore the competition holds greater weight; therefore the teams contesting the final gain more caché. I suspect most Mackems themselves...
Quite right. There are valid reasons, largely around fixture congestion and the simple fact that this just isn't as big a deal for them than it is for us.
That said I'll be happily panto jeering on the day as well. Let's face it we won't have a win to celebrate so we may as well make the most...