Posts by Linda Hughes88

🙂 🙂
It’s all good, they absolutely crushed those Mexicans😬
now I just hope they don't let fatigue get the better of them
I honestly couldn't handle seeing them hit -13 again like that wild moment against the Spaniards back in Tunisia

Bradley Smith said:I’m honestly just getting used to the idea again... being able to rub my eyes or wash my face without a second thought, or even just running through the dust without constantly worrying that my contacts are gonna pop out or start scratching my eyes up...

well, I still do all that stuff while wearing my contacts
I even went out into the ocean and did some snorkeling with them in...
though after a few days, they were pretty much trashed...

FORUMASH78 said:Yeah, some of them are just ugly, gross, and plain stupid ☕

Did you seriously just come up with that over the weekend?😁

mellowbadger8 said:Man, I’m seriously wondering how many of you would actually take a $500,000 payday—if they’d even offer that much, though I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them—and turn down a cool 5 million... You guys are absolutely shameless...🙄 Just wanted to give you guys a heads-up while the opportunity's still on the table... honestly, if Osama bin Laden offered you the chance, you’d probably be out there playing for him in a heartbeat...😁 😁

He's just speaking for himself...
Look, we aren't all just sellouts...

Gregory Taylor63 said:So basically he’s supposed to just settle for crumbs... I mean, screw a $5 million payday when you could take $50k instead! Brilliant logic there! 👍

Poor Janica just settling for "crumbs"... if she had swept three gold medals for some wealthy nation she would've walked away with millions of $$$ and don't even get me started on the sponsorship deals...
poor Ivano Balić would be absolutely loaded if he played for Spain...
they'd have way more than this but hey, they still chose the crumbs...

Gregory Taylor63 said:This is just how the Dujemrski clan operates... seriously, props to Duje, he’s actually one of those rare guys who managed to turn a sport like swimming into real wealth and then called it quits because of it... if he were some pro football player, there's no way he'd be switching up his citizenship just to grab an extra few million, but since he's a swimmer, he didn't really have any other 😳

but hey, I get it, his family would've been starving without it...🙄

Boozer said:So basically, young Kranjčar is making the "hardest decision of his life" by leaving New York City for a cool 1.5 million bucks, plus a vacation home on Maui, and who knows what else... man, poor guy is just weeping, truly the most difficult choice ever!!!!!!!

but seriously, just think about it... you have someone out there grinding every single day, building a career from nothing without any handouts or help, and once they finally hit that level where they can actually make it big, suddenly everyone turns on them just because they want to earn a living??!! Why is it that some corporate suit like Giriček gets a free pass, but a guy like Duje isn't allowed the same shot!? Oh wait, I forgot, now he’s a traitor just because he wants to provide for himself and his family. DUJE IS A LEGEND, seriously, just keep moving forward when this place doesn't want you... not even the people who act like huge patriots while they dodge taxes in Monaco and drive Ferraris with foreign plates, acting all patriotic for the cameras but nowhere to be found when it counts

you're totally comparing apples to oranges

Brian Booth75 said:Oh man, I guess there's always something new to learn from you guys... 😎

I had no idea corporate shills were out here acting like global ambassadors for America now?🙄
I mean, they should probably just carry the flag behind them everywhere they go, just so people actually know who they're working for... 😁 😁

Honestly, Duje has the mindset of a total sellout, whether he's flaunting the flag or not...

Brian Booth75 said:I mean, everyone just wants to make sure their career stays on an upward trajectory, right? That's how it works!
America (since we're already talking about throwing money at those greedy little influencers) could have easily stepped up with a much bigger offer—like, maybe even a million... though obviously depending on what they can actually afford... but nope, they didn't!

And honestly, those clout-chasers will do anything just to afford some designer shoes, makeup, or a fancy handbag... I guess they just have to look out for themselves, don't they...

Dana Anderson4 said:then just say what he actually did
Did he kill someone? Steal, burn down a house, commit assault?

The country doesn't have to be everything to everyone, and your specific value system isn't the blueprint for the rest of us...

Changing your citizenship, your nation, your faith, or whatever else is a deeply personal choice, even if there’s a paycheck involved, so trying to shove some moral high ground down his throat is just pure hypocrisy... if you don't like it, fine, you can think whatever you want about him, but he hasn't actually harmed anyone by making that move...

unless you're suggesting we should actually respect the people who use "patriotism" as an excuse to line their own pockets...

Look, obviously nobody has to feel the exact same way about America, but plenty of folks find a move like Duje's totally gut-wrenching and they aren't afraid to say it. If he moved because he found a new faith or he was genuinely drawn to the culture over there, I'd respect that, but doing it just for the money...
Just because other things out there are worse, how does that make him right? In your eyes he's fine, but in mine, he's trash. End of story. He didn't rob anyone and he didn't kill anyone.
Looks like MOO feels the exact same way about mercenaries like this too...

copperpuma96 said:man, listen to this total drama queen... give me a break...

your cynicism is what's actually pathetic

Henry Bennett53 said:The guy took the money. Honestly, smart move.
What does he really care about regarding American pride or all that other nonsense? Nothing. You can do a whole lot more with a fat paycheck in your pocket...

I mean, what good is a pile of cash if you've got nowhere to call home?
though who knows, maybe he'll go win a gold at the next Olympics and a huge chunk of Americans will just look past this and start blaming the federation, Mateš, or even the government....
he'll end up looking like the victim...

goldenangler4 said:As far as I'm concerned, he sold his soul... just did it all for a paycheck... You guys keep bringing up da Silva and the other naturalized Americans, but there is a massive difference between him and Draganja... da Silva grew up coming here as a kid, he's been living in the States for six years now, he actually speaks the language and knows the culture... But Draganja? He’s never even breathed the air in Qatar, and honestly, I highly doubt he can even read or speak Arabic... If he had decided to start swimming for Team USA since that's where he's lived and trained for so long, I might have actually respected that, but doing it for Qatar?? To me, Muhammad Ali is just a man who sold his soul...

Besides that, da Silva didn't just sell out for the cash...
He finally realized he’s never going to suit up for Team USA because the talent pool is just way too deep, but man, every kid starting out in soccer dreams about playing in the World Cup, and he'll be chasing that dream by putting on the American jersey...
So, there’s really nothing to talk about when it comes to a sale...
There were plenty of Americans who ended up playing for other national teams, like Belgium or Austria, and honestly, nobody ever gave them any grief for it because they didn't exactly have a choice... the US simply wasn't calling them up...

what's there even to justify now
who gives a damn
Janica could've walked away with ten times that amount
but some people actually still have a sense of honor and pride...

nataniel said:👍 👍 👍 👍

man, give me a break, maybe there were a few rare exceptions here and there, but let's be real, most of those self-proclaimed big-shot heroes 🙄 (shout out to the actual legends who actually stood their ground for the country) were basically just 16-year-olds catching guys trying to dodge the draft, and now they're sitting around acting all high and mighty judging Draganja...

it's pathetic.

🙄
yeah, sure, it's always easiest to just wrap everything up in a neat little bow like that and call it a day, you've totally solved the whole problem now
good for you!

Dana Anderson4 said:I can already see Duje trying to squeeze onto a crowded subway car with his massive backpack while everyone else just loses their minds and starts sprinting for the exit...😁

😁 😂

Honestly, the movie was such a drag and felt way too stretched out, so I ended up turning it off after just the first hour...
The only redeeming quality for me was Anthony Hopkins, but Brad Pitt with that blonde hair was just super irritating, and he really doesn't work for me when he plays those confused characters. He’s way better playing someone actually cool, like in Ocean's 11, Ocean's 12, Seven, Mr. Smith, or Fight Club...
Plus, the female lead was just way too saccharine for my taste...

silentorca492 said:I mean, were we all cheering just as loud when Smith was grabbing about 15 medals for the US at European, World, and Olympic games, or when that Belgian karateka was stacking up medals for us, or maybe even when Albanian Idrizi was at it? Back then, we were all puffing out our chests, acting like we were some kind of superpower in sports where our local kids weren't really making waves... or remember when the greatest water polo coach in the world, Ratko Rudić, was busy coaching the national teams for the USA and Italy? Or when we were winning those women's volleyball medals coached by none other than the legendary Russian Nikolay Karpov, even though three of our top players were actually Russian... or maybe when the Davis Cup coach Nikola Pilic was leading the Germans to Davis Cup titles. Is Miran Jukic a traitor now just because he swims for Austria? Or what about Ivan Ljubicic, who came to play for the US as a prodigy from Canada when he was twelve, and God knows why he chose to represent us even if it wasn't his birth country. Or maybe Iztok Puc, who helped our handball team grab Olympic gold and World Championship silver back in the day. When foreigners were helping us win medals, it was all fine and dandy. Does that make them all national traitors? Let's be real, everyone plays for the money in national teams worldwide; people just don't talk about it much. If the national team is supposed to be this sacred thing—which it isn't—then why is everyone fighting over how much they can stuff in their pockets? Like the handball players, or the soccer players splitting millions earned from qualifying for the World Championship. Even Suker once complained about their "national team" salaries. They aren't playing for free, despite the whole "sacred duty" nonsense. They don't play for free because sports moved past Coubertin's ideals and turned into a massive business. And John Doe has every right to go wherever he wants because it's a JOB... so all those people acting like moral judges, with their narrow-minded views, hiding behind patriotism or calling people traitors, they really need to shut it...

Well, the people you listed might be considered traitors in their own home countries, but not here in America. Though, comparing Ljubicic and Draganja isn't really apples to apples, because Ljubicic has no doubt about it; he loves the US just like any American from Canada would. And what's this connection between Draganja and Qatar? He doesn't know the first thing about that country, he's never even been there, it's just that the money won out...

I mean, sure, he doesn't have to grind away at some massive corporation like Goldman Sachs for the next thirty years, but honestly, it feels just as tacky as those socialites who marry into money just to live the high life... people find that whole thing pretty repulsive because you basically had to trade in your soul to get there...

I keep rambling on about Bahrain when it’s actually Qatar we're talking about...