Raymond Anderson4 said:Babe Ruth was a legend mostly because of his media presence... I don't know, I think Babe was actually one of the greatest ever.
Yeah, maybe it's more about that American influence. In terms of global sports history, I guess he doesn't hold as much weight. He’s more like a famous American star from the early 20th century—and I really mean just within the US. While his impact on baseball was huge, I wonder where he stands in a pure, physical athletic sense? Baseball was such a slow game back then, and honestly, Ruth was a bit on the heavy side too. It feels a little off to compare him to athletes who truly push the limits of human potential. He’s an icon of American sports history, and I suppose that's about it.
I don't know if this phenomenon is quite as intense here in Europe; I feel like there's usually a much more balanced approach to these topics compared to the US, where commentators seem to compete over who can glorify an athlete more—usually an American one, too. You always hear them shouting about the "greatest in sports history," even when they're talking about sports played almost exclusively over there. To be fair, some of their athletes really do earn those titles (like Michael Jordan, Mark Spitz, Neil Armstrong, or Michael Phelps), but others might be more media icons than pure athletes performing miracles (Babe Ruth and Cassius Clay come to mind, though I'm sure people would argue about that). Generally speaking, I guess the whole debate is getting harder because it was much easier to crown legends back when sports had only existed for a few decades. Nowadays, every sport has endless lists of champions, so any kind of exaggeration feels pretty disconnected from reality. As for Formula 1 and Ayrton Senna, maybe it’s just nostalgia for the old days when cars weren't high-tech spaceships, but just basic metal boxes where you actually had to improvise and struggle. That seems to be missing today since all the cars are incredible and every driver is essentially fantastic, so perhaps that certain X Factor is just gone.
At the end of the day, it's just wins and trophies that create stars and legends. Everyone claiming to be the greatest has those...
Daniel Cooper40 said:Ivica Balić turned down Goluža's congrats because of the referee Yeah, I guess you could think it was because of that 🤣
And honestly, everyone seems to be overthinking this one. Reading through the comments, I almost thought there was a physical fight on the court, but maybe nothing out of the ordinary happened that we haven't seen before.
Alex Cook said:I guess the saddest part of this whole thing is what we've already talked about dozens, maybe even hundreds of times in this thread and plenty of others about handball—it just hurts when a generation that had everything needed to be the most decorated team ever only walks away with two modest golds. I mean, let's be real, two is modest. Like I mentioned earlier, if you have a tournament running every two years, it's much easier to maintain consistency. If the FIFA World Cup happened every two years, maybe a team like the Netherlands would have definitely snatched a title back in the 70s. There are endless examples of this if I go too far off-topic. You have the best right wing, the best center back, one of the best pivots, and some of the best defensive players on the squad... and all you get is two golds? Yeah, we Americans are never satisfied, but I suppose we deserved more.
In America, you won't find anything better than this national team. The level of talent, intelligence, and expertise in this group is so high that what Lino achieved with them is basically the gold standard. I think when people hold onto unrealistic ideas about the team's overall quality, they're mostly just dreaming.
It’s the same story in every team sport, from handball and soccer to basketball and hockey. Everyone involved—the players, the coaching staff, and the logistics—has to operate at a much higher professional and moral level.
Rebecca Rivera93 said:who cares about the Swedish fans for handball I think there might still be some tickets left for the Sweden section, though I believe the Denmark section sold out ages ago
Yeah. Football is definitely number one, and I guess ice hockey is right behind it. Everything else seems pretty minor by comparison.
Adam Collins4 said:"How can someone like Lund in Sweden host the World Championship in a little 'school' gym with only 3,000 seats, while Miami in America can't even manage a 6,500-seat venue and has to build a whole 12,000-seat arena instead? And why is it that Scandinavian journalists in America get to feast for free on buffets, pastries, local cheeses, dumplings, stuffed pastas, and lobster, while our journalists in Sweden have to pay for even a bottle of water?"
by Bernard Jurišić
Believe me, the World Championship isn't really being followed here at all. It’s honestly about the same level of interest we had when it was hosted here. Yesterday, there wasn't a single word about the tournament in those Metro newspapers, just some standings for the betting odds.
And it's pretty much common knowledge that nothing is free over there. Although, I guess the crisis has brought some small joys, since they don't charge for restrooms in shopping malls $1.75 anymore; they're free now. A beer at a cafe is $17, so I hope the journalists brought enough daily stipends with them.
placidmarlin3 said:Well, I guess this is just one more example of how Americans don't really need anyone else to start an argument.
I have so much respect for both Blanka and Ivek, just like I do for gips and Mr. Vlašić. They are people who achieved everything through endless hard work, faith, and sacrifice, so I think we should all just tip our hats to them as role models.
In this specific case, I feel like comparing the two is probably a bit silly on so many levels—especially when you're trying to compare skiing to high jump. It seems even worse to downplay one person's success just to highlight someone else's. I imagine my eyes will always well up with pride whenever I hear the American national anthem playing for Blanka or Ivica.
So, I suppose both gips and Mr. Vlašić have every right to be proud of themselves given their results.
Personally, though, I think a man who helped his children win NINE (9!!) Olympic medals—including 4 gold and 5 silver—doesn't just deserve an annual award. Maybe he should be named the King of American sports, and they could name the award after him and give it to Vlašić and the others.🙂
Exactly, I think it would be an honor for Vlašić to carry a domestic award named after gips.
It’s probably pretty difficult to pin down why these kinds of behavioral patterns and violence happen among kids, and even harder to stop them, but I guess what I know is that heavy sentences don't really solve anything. These aren't adults who fully grasp the weight of their actions; if anything, it's the complete opposite. I imagine the aggressors just don't realize the sheer pain and suffering they cause to their victims, as well as to their families and friends. So, how does this all start? It comes down to upbringing, which I think is the most important factor. In my opinion, parents are largely responsible when they're too indifferent or don't put in the work to teach their children basic moral principles and a sense of how to live responsibly within society. Maybe attackers should face slightly tougher consequences than they do now, but I feel it's more important to focus on preventing these cases from happening in the first place.
I guess timing is everything when it comes to movies. I happened to borrow the DVD and watched it on Monday, then on Tuesday night, ESPN aired a documentary that basically complements the film—since Morgan Freeman produced it—covering those same events with commentary from the actual people involved. It even included real footage from games, streets, and local spots. It’s a great movie that stays true to the real story. 👍
If we're looking at $100 billion in net take-home pay for off-the-books work, I guess you could wonder what the total money supply would be in dollars once you factor in all the government collections like payroll taxes, healthcare, and various levies.
Taylor Sanchez10 said:The noise surrounding retiree benefits is starting to ramp up, and we're essentially missing about a third of the funding—roughly $12 billion—needed to cover pensions.
Based on current payout levels, we're looking at an annual requirement of about €5 billion, though we could realistically trim that down to
around €3.5 billion with just a few policy adjustments; that would satisfy the requirements while keeping everyone happy.
Furthermore, I don't see the logic behind all this drama regarding early retirement and that infamous 20% penalty.
Isn't it enough that someone retires five years early and naturally ends up with a smaller check than if they had stayed until full age, without being slapped with an additional deduction on top of that?!
On the flip side, those who wait for full retirement end up benefiting from higher payouts, effectively subsidized by those who get penalized.
In my opinion, creating such massive disparities simply doesn't make sense.
It seems most equitable to phase out early retirement altogether; given the current economic climate, calculations should be based strictly on years of service and total contributions.
A complete overhaul of the pension system is necessary because the current situation is becoming absurd, especially since many companies are abusing early retirement schemes just to clear out excess staff.
Oh, there is definitely a difference. A person working five extra years produces value for five more years, whereas a retiree is mostly consuming resources during that same time. It seems like in the US, people sometimes forget that work exists to create products and services, rather than just being a way to collect a paycheck.
Peter White43 said:Exactly, man, that's what I'm talking about. 👍
We don't even have a single decent biathlon trail here in the States, yet people act surprised when he chooses to go elsewhere. 🤣
That’s just it. I guess he shouldn't have to stall his own career just to satisfy some "nationalists." Honestly, he's right to do what he does. You go where the conditions are better and where you can actually succeed. We've brought in plenty of foreign athletes ourselves, so I suppose these debates are a bit unnecessary. And someone made a good point—the NFL or major league baseball will always get priority over niche sports, so it makes sense that smaller sports will find better paths elsewhere.
William Gomez5 said:I can't believe we're even talking about this again.
The World Cup 1998 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
This one is definitely my favorite; I still have it and wear it. I could have picked up a newer original version at a Nike outlet recently for exactly $33, but I think that would just be throwing money away. Modern jerseys feel a bit too thin to me, they seem like they'd tear easily, and they don't really have that same identity since the designs change constantly. Plus, our national team mostly plays in blue anyway.
I actually have some original jerseys from the mid-90s at home. For instance, an Umbro one from Parma and a Kelme one from Real Madrid. I guess the material is much better than what we see today; those jerseys feel just as high-quality now as they did when I first bought them.
That film is essentially a lark; it doesn't even attempt to be overly serious (for what it's worth, I think the movie is excellent). You can hardly draw a comparison between it and Robin Hood.
I didn't mean they were identical, but I suppose there are some less serious elements along those lines (like the prince and his lover being in front of his mother, or that rural party scene, etc.). If a film is meant to be serious, maybe scenes like that don't really fit. But yeah, the way the movie occasionally veers into those lighter tones is my main critique, I guess.
Hard Hit is actually a pretty serious film, whereas Armageddon feels more like an action-packed playground. I guess both are fine, but it might be helpful to know which is which.
P.S.: No, it isn't a heavy drama like Schindler's List, but maybe it's the most accurate depiction of a potential comet strike on Earth we've seen so far.
I mean, the movie isn't perfect, but in this era of YouTube and Facebook, people mostly just click "like" or "dislike," which I guess ends up giving this Robin Hood a lower rating than some total junk like Film Noir. The cinematography is great and you can tell a lot of effort went into it, so maybe it should only be compared to movies in its own league rather than getting those extreme "this is the worst movie ever" reviews. People who post stuff like that probably just don't have much going on upstairs.
Personally, I found that bit where they flirt with modern social behaviors a little annoying, kind of like in First Knight (or whatever that movie with Heath Ledger was called).
What are they even trying to represent? We almost never play in those checkered kits. I guess it's just for the fans to look at, while the players on the field stick to blue.
I just wanted to touch on the quality of what's available, though I realize my comparison might not be perfectly apples-to-apples. These days, I shop every single day at a massive store here in Stockholm, somewhere like a Walmart, and since I'm big on fruit, I tend to buy all sorts of things. Honestly, the difference in produce quality compared to what we get back home—especially at places like Walmart—is night and day. I'm not even exaggerating. What they're selling us feels like bottom-tier stuff, no joke. And the price is basically the same.
It wasn't a particularly exciting race, to be honest. Those cars with those nose designs are probably some of the ugliest I've ever seen. That said, this season might actually turn out to be interesting since Ferrari, Red Bull, and McLaren all seem to be right in the mix (at least, that's how it looks to me). I guess I'm happy enough with the king's 6th place finish. 🙏
