Posts by Thomas Castillo11

I was watching some highlights from a recent competition last night—nothing major, just some niche gymnastics qualifying rounds—and I found myself staring at the screen long after the winner had been announced. It wasn't even the person who won that caught my attention. It was the athlete who finished just outside the medals. They were standing there, right on the edge of the podium, looking like they had just undergone a total internal collapse.

It got me thinking about our collective obsession with the top three. In almost every arena of human endeavor—whether it's the Olympics, a corporate promotion, or even just a local hobbyist tournament—we have this weird, binary way of measuring success. You’re either a "winner" because you have a piece of metal or a trophy, or you’re "just another participant." But what about the person who finishes seventh? Or tenth? Or the person who performs a flawless routine but gets docked points for a technicality that feels almost arbitrary?

I feel like we’re losing the ability to appreciate the sheer, terrifying level of skill required just to be in the conversation. To even qualify for a final, these people have to push their bodies and minds to limits that most of us can't even wrap our heads around. They spend years, maybe decades, living in a state of constant physical punishment and psychological pressure. And then, in a single moment of execution, it all boils down to a fraction of a point. If you finish seventh, did you "fail"? Or did you achieve something that 99.9% of the population will never even attempt?

I remember back in high school, I played competitive debate. I spent months researching every possible angle for a single tournament. I felt like I was invincible. When we finally got to the finals, I didn't make the top three. I remember walking out of that room feeling like my entire identity had been stripped away. It felt like the months of late nights and coffee-fueled research were a total waste of time because I didn't have a certificate to show for it. It took me years to realize that the "failure" was actually the foundation of my confidence, but in that moment, it felt like a void.

There’s a psychological weight to "near-misses" that seems much heavier than a total blowout. If you come in last, you can write it off as being outmatched. But if you are *right there*—if you can see the podium, if you can almost feel the weight of the medal—the gap between you and the top feels like a personal insult from the universe. It’s that "what if" that keeps people up at night. What if I had tucked slightly tighter? What if my landing had been two inches to the left?

I wonder if our culture of constant ranking and "Top 10" lists is actually damaging our ability to value excellence. We’ve turned achievement into a zero-sum game. We celebrate the gold, we acknowledge the silver, we nod at the bronze, and then we sort of... move on to the next thing. We treat the rest of the field like background noise. But isn't the real story in the struggle of the person who fought their way to the top tier, only to find out that being "elite" isn't quite the same thing as being "the best"?

I’d love to hear from the people here who deal with high-pressure environments—athletes, musicians, surgeons, or even just people in intense corporate roles. How do you handle the "near-miss"? Do you view being in the top tier as a success in itself, or does the lack of a "win" make the whole effort feel hollow?

wearyraven25 said:Look, man, I agree that they can just blacklist you. Even if you didn't use a voucher to buy tickets, they have people on record, categorized by branch or group. They know how to do their jobs. My point is that we need to focus our fight on those blacklists first. Once that's handled, the whole issue with vouchers and handing over personal data becomes irrelevant.

So we're back to the same point: nothing changes if we ignore the vouchers while still giving up our ID at the gate, as long as those blacklists exist.

I completely understand where you're coming from.

We agree on 90% of this. We just disagree on this one specific thing, and that's that.
In my opinion, having my name printed on a ticket doesn't change anything in the end. There are countless ways they can track me down besides printing a name on some hit list.

Whatever Zachary Carter53 says, I've been trying to make this point for ten posts now. This can only be settled in court, nowhere else.

wearyraven25 said:You’re mixing apples and oranges.
Are we talking about using these lists and buying vouchers/tickets just to secure a spot on a blacklist?

I am talking about fighting against that blacklist.
The point is, nobody should hand over any data to anyone while these blacklists exist, while they aren't torn down, and while people in the stands who have no ban are being blocked from entry.

If we are being consistent, then we won't provide data, even if the Los Angeles Dodgers were playing in the Champions League final, and needed to scrape a point at Yankee Stadium in the final round to win the title.

Fine, that's your opinion.

Mine is that if they want to put you on a blacklist, they don't need you to buy a ticket for the game. They can do that much sooner and much more easily.
Look at how the 12th Man already has a blacklist, yet in all of history, no one has ever bought a ticket using their personal ID. Of course, except for those three girls and one guy from the South.
How does that make sense?
People were arrested for political reasons or for certain slogans, so they are probably on the blacklist. They didn't buy tickets under their own names either.
You're trying to say you can't stop them from putting someone on that list by refusing to buy a ticket in their own name.
Fighting the lists is unquestionable.

You're repeating yourself. Whatever. You guys are right—everyone for themselves, and so be it.

wearyraven25 said:Fine. If staying home until things settle down is what I have to do, then I'll stay home.

Or is it better to fight the voucher system by heading down to the Rose Bowl and buying a ticket at the window with my ID?

Which way lets me sleep better at night?

Okay. When we draw Rapid Vienna in the third round and the Austrians start demanding paperwork, I assume you'll be staying home too.

When the membership department asks for your full name to set up a subscription, I assume you'll be staying home then, too.

driftingfalcon88 said:Whatever happens, happens. I won't GIVE them my name. If they go under, they go under $17. It’s not the first time and won't be the last.
If I hand over my info, it’s no different than if I applied for a Vaučer myself. It's the exact same thing. So why act tough? We could just request 4,000 tickets through the Vaučer and everyone heads down south... why complicate things? Why fight at all?🤷

Honestly, I'm bored of this constant arguing.
Imagine the scenario: you show up at the gate and they ask for your ticket. You hand it over, and they tell you, "Sir, this isn't your ticket because the details don't match your ID." Then they just write down your info from your ID anyway. What then? Should I pull out some white-out and try to erase them from their list? That's insane.
I could drive from Miami to New York and back and get blacklisted 14 times by then.
Your little protest would only work if you stayed home. That’s it. Because that's the only way you won't give up your data.

The point of my reasoning is that the damn name and surname don't matter. They can get that information however they want and put you on a freaking blacklist. What matters is whether your name remains unlisted on that blacklist.
And amen..

driftingfalcon88 said:How things turn out, they’ll take their own names. Not happening.If it all goes down, it goes down. $17It’s not the first time, and it certainly won't be the last.
If I just give them the name, it’s the exact same thing as applying for the Vaučer myself. It’s identical. So what are we actually doing here? We should just request the 4,000 cards through the Vaučer and everyone heads down south. Why make it complicated? Why bother fighting at all?🤷

Honestly, I’m just done. I don't have the energy for this anymore. We'll talk later this week if we can actually get on the same page, because right now, you're just not getting what I'm saying. Peace.
😬

silentotter17 said:The difference is they really want to screw you over here. They saw they couldn't pull it off with the vouchers, so now they're trying a different angle, even though it's the same old game!

What happens in a month or two when they realize everyone rejected the vouchers but accepted the personalized tickets? Then the people working the ticket booths will have a massive line of people they aren't allowed to sell to, and we'll be right back where we started!
I'm not giving my name, not because I'm worried they'll know I'm a Los Angeles Dodgers fan—they can figure that out from my season tickets anyway—but because I don't want some jerk to screw me over using their stupid "laws." You still have to go to the game in LA, but I refuse to hand over my private data just to buy a ticket!

Let me push back on that. We are on the same side here, so don't think I'm supporting this. But that logic is shaky and easy to dismantle.
Here is what Svetin said at the press conference regarding the vouchers:

"Vouchers are used exclusively to stop fans who have been legally banned."

That statement proves they can't play us long-term. In this ridiculous country, they might manipulate some dumb cop into banning you on the spot, or tell a cashier not to sell you a ticket this week or the next, but this won't work in the long run. That blacklist can only contain names of people with actual legal bans, which is already regulated by law. That excuse was debunked a long time ago.
They aren't idiots. They know this, which is why they are being so careful about how they present themselves to the media.

It’s a waste of energy fighting with them like this, but whatever. Once he falls, all of this will collapse.

feralwolf16 said:What about the people who are already on the blacklist at the gates? And you think that list won't just expand for the next game at Yankee Stadium if we hand over our data now? We’re eventually going to get to the point where they use vouchers for one season to ban the very people they want to keep out of the stadium. Or maybe they'll stretch it over a few rounds—honestly, I don't care. I just don't want to hear all this talk about "struggle," "resistance," and "ideals" when, in the end, everyone just happily accepts some garbage because it's packaged differently. If nothing else is working, why lead the people who actually stood by us (just eight vouchers) into a battle that we essentially surrendered before it even started?

P.s. I don't know, you've only known me since yesterday, so you don't know my take on the World Cup or the Euros... You know I've always had a bad taste in my mouth regarding big ideals when people regularly buy tickets through the federation. Aside from the federation itself, that whole thing ruined the national team for me long ago; it doesn't even exist in my life anymore. But fine, if this is the next step in the MLS, then fine. Talk all you want about how you're fighting, but just let regular people grab their vouchers and enjoy the game...

Do you realize that for every single game next year, they'll be asking for info? That's become the "norm" everywhere. It isn't even being done under any pretense of security to identify "troublemakers"; it's happening because soccer has turned into pure consumerism. I remember going to a local pickup game during the Euros two years ago, and I didn't give a damn what name or surname they had on record for me. You rent a movie at Blockbuster, you give your name. You grab gas at a Shell station, you give your name. This stuff is everyday life.

And now suddenly giving a name is the issue? Is the reason, of course, that blacklist?
If they—or rather, he—want to put us on a blacklist, do you and driftingfalcon88 really think they can't do that without having names and surnames on the tickets??
They can recognize the model and the number on an Adidas jacket easily enough.

What I meant was, once everything is forced through, we'll settle this in court because we have the power to do that. You can't settle this on the streets because the law is on our side this time, and it's constitutional. The time for these things will come very quickly, because as they say, no one stays on top forever.

ps. For driftingfalcon88 and those who bought tickets under someone else's name: in Iceland recently, a few of us couldn't get tickets because people were selling them ten minutes in and we were late, so we stood a bit ahead of the stadium. Once the crowd thinned out, they started checking names. Regular people, wearing baseball caps and stuff, bought tickets from scalpers just 50 meters from the entrance, and they wouldn't let them in because the names didn't match. And that was in freaking Iceland.

silentotter17 said:What’s the difference with the vouchers?!🤷 All I see is that you aren't from the South, otherwise everything is identical. You still have to hand over all your personal data!

I honestly thought you guys would grasp the MCML concept by now..
Think about it. Is it the same when you go to the World Cup 2016 in France where you have to provide everything for a ticket just like with the vouchers? Was it the same during the World Cup 2006 where they required the same info as the vouchers? Of course not.

The difference between a voucher and these tickets with your name on them is that someone else can come in your place to buy the ticket and you can actually attend the game normally.
Who is actually afraid of having their name printed on a ticket? I don't give a damn what my name says on the ticket; I'm not worried about being "exposed" for going to a Yankees game.

With the vouchers, you have to register up to two days in advance, and then some council of "geniuses" at the top, acting like a bunch of zealots, decides whether or not they'll give you the ticket based on your past (non-)offenses. That is unconstitutional, and we need to resist it.

They don't have a legal basis for that. In this specific case, the law is on our side. It's up to us whether we let them walk all over us. If we act smart, we win. If we don't, everything goes dark.

Melissa Reyes45 said:Sure, everything is great for everyone else. But honestly, forget about it. A friend of mine works at a local government agency and tells me that when there's a big game involving those Chicago and Newport crowds, they actually encourage the firefighters to be on duty at the turf field just so they can fight. It's all a setup. After every match, some guys—the kind of people you'd hear a person from Imotski complain about—will claim two or three injuries just to collect worker's comp. Not to mention this one guy who went on medical leave for psychological reasons because he couldn't sleep due to the "explosive noise" of the crowd. His employer paid for his entire R8 leave. Eventually, the unit commanders had to shut that whole operation down once they realized what was happening. They realized money was being wasted on these fake claims, so they said let them fight like it's a small town in the US back in '95.

You are completely out of your mind, haha..
Written by someone else 🤣 🤣 🤣

Dennis Davis97 said:here you go again, acting like you know everything😛
We were having a decent, constructive conversation about t-shirt designs without any nonsense. Then you jump in with those extreme, aggressive vibes. This isn't the place for that. Stop tagging people and calling names. Just let people write.😉

If I'm such an idiot compared to you all, why would I bother trying to enlighten you?😬

Basically, this discussion will just devolve into arguing about Thor Steinar and other nonsense. You won't change anything anyway. The person deciding what goes on the shirts probably won't even look at this thread, if they ever look at it at all.

@ola juve 😍

I honestly can't tell if everyone is just pretending to be clueless or what...:
Anyone who actually understands how a working group operates knows exactly how marketing functions and the value it brings to the team. If you're feeling lost, you should probably just grab someone's number and call them, or thank god, there's always someone available to chat with over the weekend.
You could also just shoot a DM to tablet100. He's a decent guy.
Or does everything really have to be spelled out in a public thread?
Just trying to help. Peace