It's all thanks to Funimation really.
When I first saw the series (4kids version,) I was pretty lukewarm about it. "A Pirate anime, cool, that's never been done before." I also didn't know Luffy had stretchy powers at first, because I saw the part of the opening where Sanji did the spinning legs thing and I just assumed that was the style, and that everyone stretched to some degree.
Well, I didn't really watch it much, only really watching when the Sanji eps were playing on Cartoon network. I was a Narutard at the time by the way, so OP didn't hold my interest all that much but I still thought the fights in OP were cool.
When Funi got the rights i was also lukewarm about it. "Feels more like an anime now, pretty cool." But I was still a Narutard at the time, and after 2 Naruto eps, Funi One piece would be on, and I'd be like "Well, it's not too bad, I'll sit and watch because nothing else is on." And after a week or two I couldn't get the 3rd opening theme out of my head.
When Cartoonetwork stopped showing it, I really wasn't all that phased. "At least Naruto's still here" I thought, but I still missed hearing that catchy opening. I looked up the opening on youtube around a year or so later to hear it again, then I realized there was a Japanese version, as well as the other openings which lead me to We Are, which became my favorite song of the series. From there, I looked up all those "funny One Piece moments" videos and I was pretty much hooked on the spot. It was only then that I felt remorse for not caring when Cartoon Network pulled the plug on the broadcast of the series. :<
You had a Goldmine CN, and you threw it away.