So, I applied for a press pass to cover World Cup games in Kansas City (and that would be a real stretch of the definition of "coverage," it is just a flimsy pretense for going.) And I'm pretty sure I've been denied (or at least no one has gotten a response to me.) My hat has remained in the ring to work under contract as a broadcast engineer, but it looks like most of the rights owners are sending their own in-house engineers (most times it costs less to hire a local than arrange travel for your own.) My lack of success in scoring a free way into a match means I probably won't be going. Oh well, I'll try again for Olympics in 2028.
SPORTS BALL!!! v2.0
- Thread starter Xprimentyl
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The World Cup is coming to Dallas, and anything more than 5 miles south of here in Plano will be off limits when the time comes as far as I'm concerned. DFW is a clusterfuck of traffic on any given Tuesday; I can't imagine what it's going to look like when it's hosting the world's most popular sport for a whole month. I'm officially of the mindset that attending major sporting events isn't my bag unless it's the 49ers or any F1 race I could ever possibly afford; anything else simply wouldn't be worth the bother.
In other news, Jannik Sinner was beaten in the Roland-Garros. Poor guy has been playing his ass off, non-stop, for 3 months straight, winning everything, taking back the world #1 ranking, breaking records, and it all caught up to him when he started cramping in a match he was winning handily against Juan Manuel Cerundolo. So for the first time in a LONG time, a tennis championship will be won by someone other than Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner. There's a lot of talent out there waiting to prove themselves, but I imagine once Alcaraz and Sinner are back to form, it'll be business as usual between the two of them fighting at the top with 3rd place being basically as coveted/as reasonable an expectation as 1st.
That's why I was trying to get in for free. I'll fight traffic for a big event. I'll pay for the privilege to fight traffic... for fewer big events. Especially if it involves the Truman Sports Complex. It takes an hour to getting in and out for a well attended Royals game.
Tennis' Alexander Zverev won the Roland-Garros, his first career grand slam, defeating Flavio Cobolli in five sets. It was an incredible match. Both players fighting gloves off, teeth out, no holds barred. Zverev cried when it was over... so did I. He's been stuck behind Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz (#1 and #2 respectively) seemingly forever, and the gods smiled upon him when both weren't in the tournament in the final rounds (Alcaraz not at all due to injury.) I know the better story would have been for him to beat one of them for his win, but playing the hand he was dealt, I was over the moon to see him FINALLY win a grand slam. I like both Sinner and Alcaraz, but I think Zverev might be my favorite tennis player. I like players of any game who play with their heart, and Zverev has yet to show me he does anything otherwise.
@Kyrian007 @Xprimentyl Other than getting money out of it this year do most Americans even care about the FIFA World Cup? Most of the time either the US team can't clear the group stage or doesn't even qualify.
In my opinion, most Americans likely don't really care about the World Cup; it's more about the rarity, the pageantry, it being THE event every 4 years, and the opportunity to be a part of a literal global celebration. The World Cup is a massive party with some of the world's biggest celebrities, and America is just happy to be invited as somebody's +1; we're just here for the free cocktail shrimp and chance to photobomb some A-listers.
And the money the WC brings doesn't really matter to the average American either; that's more a focus for politicians and host city governments. The guy who takes off his Dallas Cowboys jersey and dusts off his "Brazil" t-shirt once every four years for the ONE time he might actually sit through a soccer match doesn't care about the economic impact; it's just another opportunity to get rowdy because "sports." I'm sure there are some true fans; soccer IS a thing here, but it's far from the preoccupation it is around the world.
Xprimentyl has it right. I care about the World Cup more than most, and frankly its more about the sport than caring about how my country does. I really don't think the US gets out of group this year. I mean, I'll be watching, but there are much better stories. Mexico got into a pretty competitive group, Belgium is pretty strong and got a favorable group paring. They could make a deeper run. And Argentina, and England have chosen my home state as a base camp. And with the U.S. unlikely to make it far enough to face either of them... that makes them my home teams. One of my friends married an Argentinian, and he's a youth soccer coach and a big Argentina super fan. All that is more interesting to me than how the U.S. does.
I dunno, with people not being allowed into the host country for various reasons, the US has a better chance than usual.
With the group placements, that is more likely to benefit Belgium than the U.S. But seriously, that is utterly garbage behavior by a host country. But the U.S. has been deeply embarrassing to me for about a decade now, so it isn't hard to believe.
I honestly think it'd be fair if the US wasn't allowed to be represented in the World Cup, just like Russian and Belarusian athletes aren't allowed to represent their countries in the Olympics because of the behavior of their political leaders. Let the US athletes play, but under a generic banner, not the US flag, because the behavior of the US president who stands for nothing isn't worth being represented by anything. I know that's probably an unpopular opinion, but honestly, we need more people mad at this administration, and I think embarrassing our country during the world's largest sporting would be the perfect time and place.
I don't know how unpopular that opinion actually is. A: most people don't really care about U.S. Men's soccer (although the Women's team draws better than average attention.) and B: there's plenty of us who agree that would be fitting. I might have been more... sly about it were I FIFA. Like putting the U.S. in a group that never played in the U.S. Scheduling all their games in Canada or Mexico. I'd have laughed my ass off if FIFA had done that.
A comment I saw about the Somali referee getting barred from entry to the US: "We don't have enough referees here?" 
Anyway, it's my first World Cup in a country that not only really cares about football, but is actually participating in it. Kinda sad I won't be watching with my family though. And I'm not sure my girlfriend would want to watch it with me either lol.
Anyway, it's my first World Cup in a country that not only really cares about football, but is actually participating in it. Kinda sad I won't be watching with my family though. And I'm not sure my girlfriend would want to watch it with me either lol.
I'd like to see both: country unrepresented AND they never play at home, but that's leaning into a level of pettiness that begins punishing the athletes, and they're not to blame for any of this country's geopolitical nonsense.
Besides, Trump would probably just throw a billion dollars at his own "Trump Cup" to rival the World Cup, promise the biggest names and greatest matches in the sport, then we'd be saddled with a half-constructed soccer pitch in the White House's backyard when Congress denies him the funding to finish yet another vanity project.
And what country would that be? Your profile say the Philippines, so I guess I've always assumed you were there; did you move away?A comment I saw about the Somali referee getting barred from entry to the US: "We don't have enough referees here?"
Anyway, it's my first World Cup in a country that not only really cares about football, but is actually participating in it. Kinda sad I won't be watching with my family though. And I'm not sure my girlfriend would want to watch it with me either lol.
I'm picking a general kind of disinterest in the world cup this year. At first it felt like an Argentine thing, but even if it were a localized phenomenom, what's it say when Argentina isn't feeling it? Maybe it's cause it's high to replicate the high of 22 - we were dragging a lot of pent up frustration from the 14 finals, and 18 was just deplorable - and after the 22 win 1) it just doesn't seem that important anymore and 2) what even are the chances of winning two in a row? I doubt Messi is going to play better than he did 4 years ago. I kinda wish he'd ridden into the sunset after Qatar.
In any case the local media is barely covering the cup mere hours before it begins. Then I tried the Mexican news and the overall sentiment in the street is most people are just bothered by the fuss.
In any case the local media is barely covering the cup mere hours before it begins. Then I tried the Mexican news and the overall sentiment in the street is most people are just bothered by the fuss.
Hmm I should probably change that on here, although if I recall correctly they just based that on my IP address at the time without asking lol. I'm studying in Sweden right now. They have a fairly spotty record in the World Cup, so they seem quite excited about this year (although I don't think many believe they will get too far).
I won't be so pretentious as to say I've any particular interest in the WC, but one thing I DO like about it here in America this year is watching so many people, if even only for a month, actually celebrating other countries and welcoming them into their cities. Like this video, a black police officer hyping up Egyptian fans; I promise you that dude never watched a minute of soccer in his life let alone the Egyptian team, but took the opportunity to embrace and celebrate with their fans. There's be so much hollow "America" pride and xenophobia shoved up our American asses these past few years, I'm glad there's still some of us that aren't MAGAoypic and actually welcome the world around us.
Meanwhile, the Spurs vs. Knick series has fans at each other's throats.
Search underway for New York mob that attacked Spurs fan following NBA Finals game: NYPD
Te New York Police Department said it is searching for members of a mob that beat down a Spurs fan and stripped him of his team jersey.
abcnews.com
This is a ridiculous statement. This administration hasn't done anything that any other administration hasn't done, it's just been more transparent / "not even trying to hide it because they don't give a fuck" essentially. Why is Iran allowed in the World Cup when their government killed over 30,000 of their own citizens in a 2-day period this very year? Acting like the US is so bad that they shouldn't be allowed to be represented in the World Cup or Olympics is simply a ridiculous statement that is all emotion and no objectivity whatsoever.
Even if that sentiment were the case, it'd be exacerbated by the fact the current president is a complete and utterly infantile, senile, megalomaniacal narcissist whose judgement is questionable on the best of days, and absolutely bat-shit crazy the other 363 days of the year. How is it the whole world sees a difference you claim isn't there, and its the handful of indoctrinated cultists who see "the truth" for what it really is?
I posed this question once before: if I killed 1 person, and someone else killed 10, does that make them a better or worse murderer? Don't excuse shit behavior because it's historically been done to other extents. Can I name a perfect, flawless president? No. Can I name the worst this country has every elected into office? Yes. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go pay $5.00 per gallon for gas because Iran's nuclear threat we ostensibly obliterated a year ago is now so nigh we had to go to an illegal war to stop it.
Mexico beats South Africa 2-0. Weak opening game. Mexico dominated both halves yet kept missing easy strikes. And even though they're leading by 2, the captain goes on to make a criminal foul at the last minute for no reason other than to get carded away from this game, the next and gift SA a free kick (which of course they waste anyway).
On the showbiz side of things I'm not a fan of the Americanization of the sport. Hydration break 20 minutes into the first half, what? And the clock keeps going? And there's a potato chip cam doing replays? And the ref is doing POV shots now?
On the showbiz side of things I'm not a fan of the Americanization of the sport. Hydration break 20 minutes into the first half, what? And the clock keeps going? And there's a potato chip cam doing replays? And the ref is doing POV shots now?
OMG, I just realized that the Knicks won last night. I was at the restaurant with friends and we left when the Spurs were up like 15 with like 7 mins left and I just assumed they won. I check my YouTube feed and see reaction videos to the Spurs blowing it and I'm like "no fucking way" and then go to see the game highlights.
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Why is it now magically not OK for the US to be represented in some sporting competition but it was fine say 15 years ago? Just because your team didn't win the election it seems.
www.newsweek.com
Also, gas is $3.20 where I'm at.
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I'm not defending Trump, I'm calling out the double standard and hypocrisy. Trump is a completely unelectable candidate but so was Kamala, acting like Kamala would be an even just OK president or better than Trump is as delusional as thinking Trump is a good president. Democrats just elected a literal Nazi but then act like the US is fascist country because a non-elected person gave what looked like a Nazi gesture.
Why is it now magically not OK for the US to be represented in some sporting competition but it was fine say 15 years ago? Just because your team didn't win the election it seems.
Iran school strike: Trump civilian death count compared to Obama and Biden
A preliminary inquiry reportedly found a likely U.S. strike on a girls’ school in southern Iran killed more than 165 people.
www.newsweek.com
Also, gas is $3.20 where I'm at.