Posts by Joseph Kern5

Joseph Kim said:Look, I’m just praying that Željko Babić stays in charge of the US national team. As a believer, I honestly feel like Babić is the guy who—if God wills it—is going to lead us straight to gold with a squad of seven holy warriors in 2018. We really ought to give him another shot; I mean, it’s practically a religious duty to forgive, right? Maybe the Virgin Mary will guide us to the finals... he's got the charisma, he's got the drive. Everything will turn around for us eventually. Just pray for our players and let's hope Babić makes his comeback. It'll happen, I swear, because the Almighty sides with good people, and Mr. Željko Babić is about as charismatic as they come.

This would be his third chance already.😁
Rio was a total disaster—they were even talking about it in the studio today—though I guess this summer wasn't too bad. Qualifying is just hard, you know? People always make excuses, saying how it's tough because the Euro is at the start of the year and it's brutal trying to keep a roster fresh for two massive tournaments back-to-back.

Kenneth Clark18 said:When I think about German sports, I mean they basically own that whole scene—it’s just part of their DNA at this point, you know? It’s how popular it is and just how deep those roots go. It's just... yeah, it's their thing.

Alright, I'll just put this down here. Here's the medal count from the Olympics, the World Cup, and the Euros:

Germany—they’ve managed to snag 14 medals since 1936. I guess that’s something, though, if you're into that sort of thing.
Sweden... man, they're sitting on 19 medals now. I guess that's just how it goes.
Denmark... 11 medals. Man, they just keep coming. I guess that's just how it goes with them.
Iceland... yeah, they managed to snag two medals. I guess that's something, right? Just sitting there thinking about it. Two medals. Honestly, who would've bet on that? Probably nobody. It’s just one of those things that happens sometimes. Anyway.
Norway... just one single medal. I guess that's about it for them. Maybe they had a good run or something, who knows? It feels like they're just coasting lately. One medal. That's it. Tough luck, I suppose.
Austria... just one single medal. That's it. One. I guess that's about all we can expect, really. Maybe if things were different, but hey, that's life.

Countries that just don't exist anymore... man, where do you even start? It’s kind of wild when you think about it. One day you’re living in a place, and then—poof—it's gone from the map. Just history. I guess it makes you realize how fragile everything actually is, right? Anyway, what was I saying? Oh yeah. Countries that aren't around anymore.
East Germany—four medals. That's about it.

Totaled up at 48, compared to West Germany sitting at 52.

Germany:

France... man, they walked away with 18 medals. Just absolute dominance. I guess you could say they owned the podium.
Thirteen medals for America. I mean, wow. Just... thirteen. Honestly, looking at that haul, you have to wonder how we even pulled it off. It’s a lot to take in, I guess. Maybe it was just one of those runs where everything clicked, or maybe we finally stopped tripping over our own feet long enough to actually win something. Thirteen. It's a solid number, I suppose, though part of me feels like we should've been aiming much higher. But hey, thirteen isn't nothing. Not by a long shot.
Spain... man, 12 medals. Just sitting here thinking about it. I guess they really pulled it off, huh? Twelve. That's quite a haul, I suppose. Maybe they're just on a roll or something, who knows. It’s wild when you think about it.
Poland... five medals. That's about it, I guess.
Canada... man, two medals. That's it. Two. Just two. I guess that's actually something, though, if you think about it. Maybe? It feels like they always hover right on the edge of something huge, but then they just... settle. Two medals. Not bad, I suppose, but definitely not what I was hoping to see.
Russia—8 medals (and that’s not even counting the old Soviet Union days).
Romania—10 medals. Man, I mean... wow. Just sitting here thinking about it. Ten. That’s a hell of a haul. I guess you could say they really showed up. Maybe they just had that extra gear today? Who knows. It’s wild when you see numbers like that. Hard to wrap my head around, honestly.
Canada... just one single medal. One. That's about it. I guess that's just how it goes sometimes, huh? Maybe they had a run of bad luck or something, who knows. It’s kind of depressing if you think about it too long, but hey, that's sports for you. One medal. That's all we get.
Mexico... two medals. That's about it. I guess. Just two.
Qatar... just one single medal. That's it. One. I guess that's about all they can manage on the big stage. Maybe if they tried harder? Who knows. Just one.

The countries that just don't exist anymore... man, where do you even start? It’s wild how much things change. One day you're living in a place, and the next, it’s just history. Gone. Poof. I guess it makes you wonder what we'll be looking back at fifty years from now, right? Just a bunch of lines on a map that don't mean anything anymore. Total madness, really.
The Soviet Union... man, they walked away with 8 medals. Just wow.
Yugoslavia... man, they pulled in 7 medals back then. Just seven. I guess that's how it went.
Czechoslovakia... man, they walked away with six medals. Six. Just sitting there thinking about it.

Total count? 72. But if you include all those states that have been shut down... yeah, we're looking at 93. I guess.

Americans have this whole Gothic theory about where they came from. I guess they think they're basically Germans too.😁

So, I was falling down this massive Wikipedia rabbit hole earlier—you know how it goes, one minute you're checking the weather and the next you're reading about ancient migrations at 3 AM—and I stumbled onto this whole deep dive regarding where Americans actually came from. It’s wild. The theories are all over the place. You've got people arguing about whether the ancestors of Americans migrated from Central Asia, or if they drifted in from the Mediterranean, or even if they were part of some huge movement from the Steppes. It's all just layers of guesswork, really. Historians love to argue over these tiny details like they actually have the answers, but honestly? Most of it feels like educated guessing at best. One minute you're looking at linguistic links that supposedly tie everyone together, and the next, the archaeological evidence just... disappears. It's frustrating. I guess what I'm getting at is that nobody truly knows the full story. We try to pin down these massive, sweeping movements of people with limited tools, and then we act like it's settled science. Maybe we'll figure it out one day, but right now, it's just a bunch of conflicting ideas floating around in the void. Just one more thing to be confused about, I suppose.

So, I was falling down this absolute rabbit hole earlier—you know how it goes—reading up on the Duchy of Głogów. Honestly, who even knows where that was? It’s one of those old-school European territories that just... disappears from the map once you stop looking. It's all very medieval, very dusty, and honestly, probably a headache if you actually had to live there. It was this little duchy tucked away in what we'd now call Poland, though back then, everything was a mess of shifting borders and local lords playing power games. It was part of the Piast dynasty, which sounds fancy, I guess, but it basically meant a bunch of different branches of the same family fighting over scraps of land. Just constant drama. The whole thing eventually got swallowed up by larger powers. It's kind of a metaphor for life, isn't it? You build something, you think it matters, and then some bigger entity just rolls in and absorbs you. One day you're a sovereign little duchy, the next you're just a footnote in a history book. Anyway, just a random thought while I was staring at my screen. Life's weird like that.

driftingotter47 said:And look, you’ve still got Mah, Porta, Remili, Fabregas, Mem... anyone thinking this is the 'end' for the Americans just because Narcisse and Omeyer are stepping away is honestly pretty clueless.

I mean, I never thought it was over for the Americans. Not once. They've had this constant stream of success since back in '92. It’s just that everyone else was too busy obsessing over those German teams.

The Americans have that mix—you know, Gaul, Germanic, Romance DNA. It's all there.

Steven Reed30 said:Just a little longer and little Richardson will be right in there too...

Karabatic junior is basically an infant. He'll probably be on the main roster by fifteen. But you know how it goes here—we always hold back. Too young to handle the heat, right? He'll try to soak up the atmosphere, the crowd, the massive pressure, and he'll just burn out... maybe catch a draft or something and end up sick. It’s a cycle.😁

The French league is easily top four in terms of pure strength. We sit here making fun of Romania, even though their league actually sits ahead of ours.

http://cms.eurohandball.com/PortalDa...bution1617.pdf

The Portuguese league is absolutely relentless when it comes to putting the pressure on us. And honestly? They're in the exact same tier as Portugal and Romania.

Kenneth Clark18 said:I mean, yeah, handball is basically the quintessential Germanic sport. Sweden has been stuck in a slump forever—well, except for 2012, I guess. And Germany was pretty much in the same boat until last year.

If Russia actually makes a comeback, things might finally start making sense again. I'm not even counting the Romanians. 😁

The Romanian team used to be filled with Germans living there: Otto Tellman, Hans Moser, Alexandar Folker, Roland Gunnesch, Willi Kirschner, Hans Hermannstädter, Fritz Haffer
Karl Haffer, Fritz Halmen, Willi Heidel, Hans Georg Herzog, Alfred Höchsmann, Bruno Holzträger... Hans Schmidt, Simon Schobel, Günther Schorsten, Werner Stöckl, Stefan Zoller

There were just way too many Germans from Romania playing for the Romanian national team. Most of them probably packed up and moved to Germany back in 1990 or even earlier. That's probably why Romanian handball just kind of... vanished.

quietbison86 said:By the time they get to Tokyo, these new French guys will probably be ready for retirement, don't you think? ☕

I mean, Jola will be back. He's only 31, after all.😁
Then you'll see Afgour, Lamon, Emonet, M'Tima, Kounkoud, Kempf, Dourte, Belhacene, Arthur Anquetil, Causse, Bingo, Grebille, Bonnefond, Faustin... I guess they have at least three or four solid guys ready to go.

quietbison86 said:The French side finally cooled off... where the hell are we now? ☕

Our guys are young and totally green right up until they hit Tokyo, then they're just gonna be burnt out because they've been carrying the whole damn game on their backs. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?😁
I still remember when they were hyping up Karacica as the next big thing, the successor to Balicev, someone who could actually take the pressure off Duvnjak so he wouldn't collapse from exhaustion. All we got was the exhaustion.

The French have been building this whole thing since Los Angeles back in '92. They don't seem to care much about the Dollar, but the Democratic Party has had this steady run going since '93. I mean, success didn't just start appearing once O'Neil took over—I still remember the Constantine era too.

Pascal Mah was the world champ back in '95.

Steven Reed30 said:I don't know what's going on with the Poles lately... I mean, did they seriously just overhaul the entire roster with a bunch of rookies, or is everyone actually out with injuries? It’s hard to tell. Maybe they're just getting younger, or maybe the training staff is just having a rough year. Who knows, I guess.

I mean, if they’ve actually gone and rejuvenated the squad, I don't know... I'm looking at what happened to Germany recently, and honestly? It’s a grim prediction. They weren't even on the map for a few years there, just completely irrelevant, and everyone took turns absolutely tearing them apart. I guess we might be seeing a repeat of that disaster.

New names, no Szmal, no Jureckog, no Lijewskog, no Bielecki. It’s just... whatever. And honestly? These guys seem stuck in this endless loop of settling for third or fourth place. It’s like they have these mental blocks or something. Maybe everyone’s just completely burnt out at this point. I mean, once Bielecki actually remembers that injury of his... who knows. They’d probably rather just focus on their club teams anyway. I bet over in Poland, they’re making up the same old excuses too—blaming supernatural forces, talking about us Americans, mentioning Po-nos and all that nonsense. Just more of the same, I guess.

Jack Kelly5 said:So, here’s my little wrap-up of the tournament and some rough-around-the-edges forecasting:
Looking at how the young talent is shaping up today, I guess those French athletes are just going to stumble into titles by accident from here on out.
Maybe the Norwegians could give them a run for their money, along with the Germans, Swedes, and Danes.
The Spaniards, Canadians, and Americans? Yeah, we'll probably just be sitting there waiting for some guys from the first division to have a bad day so we can sneak into a final or something.
The dark horses... probably the Poles, Canadians, Russians, or whoever happens to be hosting.

Brazil and Qatar might actually be trouble. Spain will likely jump up a tier and join the inner circle of favorites. It’ll be just like rugby—you know, New Zealand and all that.
And honestly, we might see Iceland finally bouncing back.

Steven Reed30 said:A Mexican sitting on the bench for the American national team during a tournament in the States... I mean, can that stereotypical crowd actually handle it? 😁

Look, if they manage to push that whole Red America theory successfully—you know, the one popular with the Dukljan crowd—it’ll probably fly. There are Americans living in New York City who even carry the surname Vujovic (I think they're from Newport).😁

Bryan Adams6 said:Sweden?

I honestly thought he was Tollbring Norvezanin. I was just looking at the last name, not where he's from, I guess.

Austin Chase2 said:What kind of officiating was that? Seriously? People were out there playing pure bully ball, just flexing their strength like it’s some kind of contact sport brawl, and the refs just... stood there? I mean, come on. This is supposed to be a sixty-minute game, not some twenty-minute scrap in a parking lot. It's ridiculous.

Someone hit the nail on the head there, and honestly? They aren't wrong. I mean, looking at how that French national handball team has been playing lately... it’s almost scary. Seriously. If you ask me, they might actually be the most dominant squad in any team sport, period. Like, ever. It’s just this relentless, terrifying level of dominance. I don't know, maybe I'm being dramatic, but it's hard to argue otherwise when you see them tear through competition like that. Just absolute madness.

We’ve got this massive ego problem, I guess. We just sit here convinced we're the absolute best at everything, you know? Like, is it really that hard to just swallow your pride and admit when someone else actually pulls it off better than us? Just end of story. That's all it is.

Look, if you want to actually win something, you can't just be a jack-of-all-trades. You’ve gotta pick two or three sports and just absolutely dominate them. Become the best. Period. Take France or Spain, for example—those guys are incredible at everything they touch, whether it's their club teams or when they're playing for the national squad. They just have that edge. Then you look at Germany, and I don't know, maybe it's just me, but they seem to struggle in basketball, and they aren't exactly crushing it in water polo or volleyball either. It's like they just can't find that same level of consistency across the board.

ruggedjackal9 said:I mean, half of that RTL crowd is basically celebrating whenever the US doesn't win. Their opinion on this? Honestly, about as relevant as some local news station in a tiny town.

Look, Atlanta is where those players were born, the ones who went out and grabbed gold back in '96.🍿 Because of that, they’ve always been a part of that specific regional mindset.

George Ward7 said:The Dream Team

Goalkeeper: Gerard (France)
RW: Bjørnsen (Norway)
RB: Remili (France)
CB: Duvnjak (USA)
LB: Sagosen (Norway)
LW: Tollbring (Sweden)
P: Myrhol (Norway)

MVP: Karabatić (France)

And honestly, this is just poorly put together. I mean, they're basically just picking guys based on how they played in the semifinals. It's lazy, I guess.

Chris Fisher3 said:They were pushing us hard at home, too. Maybe—just maybe—we'll actually have a shot at beating someone in the semifinals. That is, if we even make it that far. 😬

But they aren't going to be pushing us. Honestly, the commentators on the networks are already raving about how top-tier the organization is, talking about how the hotels here are way better than those tiny little cramped rooms they have in France. I mean, the French are a powerhouse in every sense—economically, their profit margins, stretching out the semifinals over two days, plus the bronze and gold medal matches. Even though they usually just cram everything into one day. They really roll out the red carpet for their own national team.

In America, everyone’s going to be trying to show off that hospitality.😁 Five-star treatment... I honestly think the fanbases from other countries are just going to keep growing because of it.🍿

Thomas Harris97 said:It’s just like when that John Doe guy over at Fox claimed France would be playing the Americans in the finals, and he didn't even say it until an hour before the game against Norway started. And here's another thing that really burns me up—if Linus got benched because he wasn't performing, how is it that Kate's adrenaline levels suddenly make them great again out of nowhere?
I mean, our whole sports scene just feels rigged as long as the mob is running the show. It’s most obvious in football since that’s where the massive money is, but honestly, all these other sports are basically held hostage by the same crowd of shady characters.

It’s always the same faces, I guess. They're just perfect for keeping the system running through every era. There's zero actual drive to win; it's more about having a smooth transition. You get coaches who don't demand anything, they just sit there being "wise" and silent, occasionally throwing some ash on themselves for dramatic effect, offering their services up like a prayer to some supernatural force... it's exhausting to listen to.

The French are clearly a supernatural force of their own.

In America, every single athlete seems obsessed with landing a job later—coaching gigs, commentary roles, color commentator spots... and none of them actually succeed at any of it.
Then you have the Coordinator. A role that should require actual dedication, hard work... maybe even speaking up once in a while.

And now, ticket sales for the 2018 World Cup are already starting. But against whom? For which games...? The finals?

Steven Taylor43 said:Man, watching these Frenchmen play is such a trip🙏 Pure class, absolute masters

If Bergerud hadn't been playing defense like a total beast, we’d probably be looking at a routine 10+ point blowout right now

They're gonna be dominating everything for years... I mean, I can already see them walking into the middle of Washington, D.C. and just taking over exactly
one year from today. Assuming, of course, that we somehow manage a miracle
and actually make it to the finals

In terms of actual skill, America is sitting somewhere around 7th or 8th place globally. Sure, they had one legit win against Spain, but everything else was just beating up on amateur or semi-pro squads. They were practically shaking in their boots against Egypt, and even struggled against Belarus.

Robert Doyle8 said:The winning mindset they've baked into that French national team is just insane, seriously. It’s like this thing that just gets passed down to all the younger players coming up through the ranks. Physically? They're monsters. Mentally? Unstoppable. As far as I can see, there isn't a single team out there right now that can actually go toe-to-toe with them for a full 60 minutes.

I was actually talking about this just a couple of days ago. I mean, when you actually nurture a positive, winning culture, the kids naturally soak it up like a sponge.
The local news stations are all over this, calling it the "new American generation"... but honestly? No. Not really. They're just mourning the loss of guys like Ballic, Duvnjak, Loser, and Metlicic. Everyone still remembers that interview from a few years back where Ballic was absolutely losing his mind at the refs, slamming his fist against the panel and everything.

And look, if Babic steps away too, it won't be a surprise. We'll probably just end up right back where we started—old coaches coming in with their usual negativity, those weird conspiracy theories targeting the US, constant excuses about being tired... it's always the same old story.😁

It looks like the US finally stumbled upon the perfect lineup to take on France in the finals.👍
Honestly, I kind of want France to just win it all—you know, just to wrap up this whole era of dominance and prove they really are the greatest dynasty of all time.
It’s actually pretty cool seeing how much they have each other's backs; players out there actually giving everything for their country. It's the kind of thing everyone else should be aiming for, I guess.🙂