I respectfully disagree with your opinion here. I never participated in the NWC (for context I was three years old when I first started playing NES, was four in 1990 and my older brother is on the spectrum so something like the NWC we never even learned about until years later), but when I first heard about the event, probably around 1998, I was amazed. I saw photographs, and the whole thing just clicked with me, it felt like something I would have liked to be a part of. Sadly, such hype and promotion just doesn't occur anymore, well it didn't really occur back in 1998 either. It's sort of like how my grandmother attended the world's fair, and the things she saw and remembered from then. I would have loved to do that too, but sadly we just don't do things like that anymore, at least not on such a memorable scale with all the hype and pomp and circumstance.
So that's why I chose the NWC. I'd likely prefer the gray version tbh. I'll most likely never be able to afford one, and even if I could, unless I were super rich, I doubt I'd ever feel the desire to drop that sort of cash on a single shelf piece, as I'd rather go on holiday or something. That being said, it is a cartridge that I've wanted for decades, and I think it is safe to say that this cartridge means more to me than just something that is cool or trendy, as I was into this stuff way before that even became a driving force.