What if they had leaderboards that were just for show, like the rankings for POTD or Free Company? Would anyone care then? It's doubtful. PVP players need something to work toward too. But opening it up for more players is a good thing, since we WANT more people to play PVP even if the game wasn't designed for it at its core. Let's say Rank 1 is the highest you can get and you start at 50 or something and work your way up. Wouldn't it be enough for you if YOU achieved Rank 1 along with several others? Or does it HAVE to be you to the exclusion of everyone else?

(Granted if FFXIV PVP was an actual e-sport having such a ranked leaderboard would make sense, but it's not and despite their best efforts, it will never be).