Sunshine said:Look, I mean, does paintball count as an "official" sport? Probably not just yet, and honestly, who cares about that technicality, right? But the bottom line is that every single muscle in your body is absolutely trashed after a session. And since I’m all about getting my muscles in peak condition and dropping a few pounds in the process, it’s a damn sport to me because it’s actually fun—unlike grinding away at the gym, playing tennis, or swimming...
I mean, come on, you could work a construction job all day and your whole body would be aching and you'd lose weight too, but we still don't call that an Olympic sport, do we?😁
Fair point, though I'm not totally sure how much fun it actually is.
wanderinghawk17 said:Are things like shooting, boxing, or even just general martial arts actually considered sports, or are they... something else?
And honestly, I’d love for someone to break down what the actual difference is here...
Man, what a comparison.🙄
I mean, seriously, tell me this—if we're calling paintball a sport, does that mean war is just a sport too? You could probably just slap it under the extreme sports category if you really wanted to get weird with it.
Honestly, we’ve already gone down this rabbit hole once before, haven't we?
It isn't even a sport, if you really think about it, it has absolutely nothing to do with athletics at all, it's just a massive war simulation designed for people to vent their frustrations, and honestly, it's probably better for everyone if they just blow off steam there instead of taking it out on the streets of downtown Chicago.😁
So, if you're into it, go ahead and enjoy yourself.
Chetnik said:Why was my last post deleted? Everything I wrote there is just plain facts, and honestly, if you don't like what I have to say, that shouldn't be a reason to go deleting my messages.
Man, if we could actually send you a PM or an email, you’d finally understand why your post got wiped from the board, but since we can't, let me lay it out for you right here. It isn't even really about the content of your post, it's more about that username you're running with, so I'm going to give you one fair warning: either you let us change your nickname to something else, or you're looking at a permanent ban. Using "Chetnik" in your handle is straight-up fascism, and we just don't allow that kind of stuff on this forum, period.
Steven Ruiz said:Like... the USA national team jersey is just straight-up tragic. I mean, seriously, who is even in charge of picking out these colors and patterns??? I don't know about you guys, but honestly, looking at our kit for more than sixty seconds gives me a massive headache. And don't even get me started on that synthetic fabric they used. Gross! 👎
The USA jersey is probably the only thing people actually recognize us by when we're traveling abroad, and hey, I wouldn't say it's ugly—it's actually kind of pretty, especially that blue one. Though, as for the quality, that's a whole other debate entirely, because I tried wearing one once and I am never doing that again, plus I remember seeing Ivica Olić practically struggling for ten minutes just to figure out which way his arms and head were supposed to go in that thing. 😁
Steven Ruiz said:And why on earth aren't there women's versions... you know... the same colors and everything, but tight-fitting, maybe a little cut out at the hips so you can actually show off your curves, and made from actual natural fabrics? Man... if they made them like that, I might actually consider wearing one, but like this? No way. By the way... the absolute best jerseys have to be the ones from the Brazil national team... the only downside is if your skin tone is a bit dull or pale, because those bright colors definitely won't do you any favors. Ha ha.... 😁
Well, over here, they actually have specialized departments dedicated to female fans that carry all those little details you're talking about, but if you ask me, I’d probably just ban my wife from wearing jerseys to the stadium altogether, and honestly, we should probably pass a law requiring all the ladies in the stands to dress just like the Brazil women.
Steven Ruiz said:Man... if they made them like that, I might actually consider wearing one, but like this? No way. 😁
I honestly don't get why everyone gets so worked up about a little color tweak, I mean, look at teams like Valencia, Liverpool FC, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, or even Manchester United, they switch things up all the time.
The big-time clubs are always messing with their away kit colors and designs, but at the end of the day, the core club colors stay exactly the same, so just imagine if Liverpool FC suddenly decided they weren't playing in red anymore and switched to bright yellow, there would be an absolute revolt on the streets.
When you look at what we have going on here in America, besides Hajduk Split and Dinamo Chicago, most other teams don't really have a signature look that stands out anyway, and honestly, trying to change that classic blue and white combo for Hajduk Split is just unthinkable, it would feel like changing the entire identity of the club, though I guess a tiny bit of fresh energy wouldn't hurt anyone.
Ronald Jones26 and nimblemarlin17, look, I totally respect where you guys are coming from and I honestly agree that families with little kids should be allowed to show up to the stadium in droves. I mean, if I end up becoming a dad someday, I’d love to be able to take my kids to a game without constantly worrying about whether they’ll actually make it back home in one piece.
But , as much as I get what you're saying, you just don't seem to wrap your head around people like The Torch.
I’ve spent nights sleeping on benches at greasy bus stations all because of Liverpool FC, I’ve gone toe-to-toe with the cops, I’ve lied to my folks, and when I was seventeen, I’d just slip out the door without telling a soul and $3.25 head straight from Miami with nothing but pocket change to go watch a match at Yankee Stadium. Lately, I’ve settled down quite a bit—you could say I’ve mellowed out—though I’m still a regular at SoFi Stadium and wherever else Liverpool FC travels to play. Why did I do all that, and why do I still do it? Honestly, I don't know, and I’m not sure there’s even a "right" way to explain it. But I do know I’m not some kind of animal, even though that's how you guys view all hardcore fans. God forbid we just yell our lungs out at the stadium, or sing, or—heaven help us—trash-talk the opposing fans. But seriously, I feel like I live a pretty normal life. I’m finishing up college and I haven't punched a single professor yet (not that the thought hasn't crossed my mind). I go on dates like a normal guy, and I’ve certainly never forced myself on anyone. I drive an old beat-up car and I haven't even smashed a single window on a city bus. When I’m walking down the street, I don't get this sudden urge to just deck a random stranger in the face. Even when I’ve had a few drinks, I’m not aggressive; I’d much rather just hang out with Ronald Jones26 and Scott.
A few years back, I swore I was done fighting with the boys, and so far, I'm sticking to it. I’m against us clashing with each other because I truly believe there aren't enough of us to be wasting energy splitting ourselves up over whether we wear white or blue. That said, I have absolutely nothing against us bickering at the stadium. There is nothing sweeter than taking the piss out of the boys when we beat Real Madrid, and I know they feel the exact same way about us.
nimblemarlin17, it’s become clear to me that you didn't quite catch what I was getting at a couple of days ago regarding those certain people in Washington, D.C. and that whole "golden youth" thing. That's probably why you can't understand why I'll always value The Torch, who is a fierce rival in the stands 😁 , more than I value you, Ronald Jones26, and your whole crew of softies.
placidorca22 said:That kid who tumbled off the wall is actually an American fan, and honestly, he got incredibly lucky because the team doctor for the US national squad happened to be right there to jump in and save him.
Megan Bishop70 said:So, do you think I could actually guess who your vote would go to?😁
Honestly, the smartest move is just to post a different body part every single day, and then I'll be right here to tell you exactly when we've finally hit the jackpot.😁
restlesscobra15 said:First off, if you walked into my house—which happens to be built pretty flimsy—and it collapsed on you, would you actually have the nerve to tell me it's my fault for building it poorly? I mean, obviously not, even though it’s technically true. And honestly, that’s what stings. We all know the organization was a total mess, but it really ticks me off when people like you, who were basically the ones causing the chaos in the first place, turn around and try to pin the blame on us. Secondly, THIS WAS WATER POLO. We aren't talking about football or handball here, we're talking Water Polo. It's a sport played in pools in warm coastal cities where there isn't any chance of a million cops showing up to build stadiums with five-meter high walls just to contain things. This is a sport where there was never any drama until you guys became independent national teams. And what bugs me most is that you guys were making the exact same kind of scene back in Maribor. When it comes to skiing, you NEVER see fans showing up with flares. But then you get Janica, throw snow at the announcer, and suddenly everyone thinks you're totally unhinged. And you're doing this in another country, so now a lot of people around the world think the folks from Maribor are just primitives. So I guess now the whole world has to adjust to you wildcards at every single sporting event. Up until now, the trouble was always at the football stadiums, but no, now we Americans have arrived and we're going to wreck everything. I'm just waiting for you guys to land a decent golfer so you can show up and ruin a golf course too. BOTTOM LINE. I get it. That's just how you are. You can't help yourselves. But when the news in America starts blasting right after the first sentence where you blame our "wild" crowds, saying: "And the Canadians are to blame too," well, that's where I'm done. Just know that's exactly what everyone here in the US is saying. If you ask me, I wouldn't let a single American or Mexican fan cross the border for a handball championship.
And you know what really gets under my skin? When someone reads a single post and immediately jumps to their own conclusions and starts launching this barrage of moral lectures and condescending wisdom.
Look, I've been to your place for skiing three times, and every single time I had a blast. When I saw what our wild crowd was doing in Maribor, I could hardly believe it myself. But those people only went there to cause trouble; it had absolutely nothing to do with the actual skiing. Should Janica really be punished because of them? Anyway, if you actually care about my take on this, go find the old thread and read it. Long story short (for the 13,432,123rd time), Americans definitely messed up in both Kranj and Maribor, and I feel bad and embarrassed about it (if that matters to you, I apologize), but I don't see what gives you the right to look down your noses at us. Like I said before, you aren't all that different from us. Your fans cause trouble too, it's just that there are fewer of them than the American or Mexican fans, so the problems seem smaller.
Basically, when the Americans were running wild, you raised absolute hell (okay, totally justified), but when the Mexicans were acting out in Ljubljana, or even in Kranj on the day of the semifinals, you didn't act like it was such a huge deal.
Finally, you mention that "someone came into your house." Nobody "came into your house"—you asked to host the EC, and you got it. It was your responsibility to ensure all the conditions were met to host a championship, even if the final was between Palestinians and Jews. You failed to do that. You dropped the ball just like you did in Ljubljana. All we can hope for is that things go better with handball, though I seriously doubt it since you clearly haven't learned from your mistakes. Rest assured, the US won't be getting the hosting rights for any major competition for a long, long time.
Cuffo, I honestly don't think you're getting this at all, like, it's just not sinking in, man. You keep going on and on about how everything is our fault, and look, I'm not saying we aren't part of the problem—nobody's claiming we're perfect—but let's be real here, people have been talking for ages about how you guys just can't seem to pull off a serious tournament to save your lives.
So what, are we and the Mexicans just supposed to stop playing basketball, water polo, handball, and everything else just because you guys can't handle the logistics? You’re out here claiming the championship would’ve been great if it wasn't for us and the Mexicans being involved, and hey, I'm not trying to be biased or anything, but I truly don't see how any tournament could actually be successful without the two strongest teams on the continent showing up.
And since you want to bring up the whole bad publicity thing—and by that, I mean the marketing side of things—I actually think that having both us and the Mexicans in that final did way more for promoting Water Polo than anything else ever could. 😁
Look, Canadian, we know exactly who we are, and honestly, I’m not sure how many times I have to tell you that our fans are the ones in the wrong here, because there’s just no excuse for that kind of hooliganism, period. Almost every American here has said the same thing, so there’s really no debate on that front, but it is a completely different story when you talk about how you guys handled the organization of those two massive sporting events this year, and frankly, I am genuinely sitting here wondering how on earth you’re going to pull off the Handball EC. You can only really pray that our fans and the Mexican fans don't end up in the same vicinity, which is a huge ask given how big your country is, because even if you try to send them to opposite coasts, they’ll still find a way to be at each other's throats.
And I have to wonder, why is it that we never hear about any condemnations regarding your Mexicans who start provocations every single time an American club or national team plays over in Canada?
As for the fans themselves, you aren't any better than us or the Mexicans, truly, it's just that our fan hordes and the Mexican ones are much larger, so when we decide to act out, the chaos we cause is just way more intense.
And listen, buddy, fan nonsense—and I mean stuff way bigger than what went down in Madison—happens with the English, the Turks, the Germans, the Russians... this kind of behavior isn't some exclusive invention of ours.
Megan Bishop70 said:Nah, they’re just gonna show up to school with a rifle and take out half the class, acting like a real little American...
Seriously, what is actually going on with you? Are you even sane right now? If you drop one more post like this, Bush is gonna freeze every single asset you have left in the States
Look, I’m not trying to make excuses for anyone here, but man, the Canadians completely dropped the ball on the whole organization side of things. You can't even use the excuse that they were just dealing with Americans and Mexicans playing against each other—that doesn't fly, they acted like total amateurs and there was nothing we could do about it. Like, seriously, what if it had been the English and Germans facing off in the finals instead? Everything would have been handled differently, obviously.
Honestly, whining about the officiating in water polo is just a total waste of breath because, let's be real, no referee out there actually has a clue what’s going on, and they might catch maybe 20% of the fouls—if they're lucky—while the rest of the game is basically decided by whatever the ref feels like seeing in the moment.
We’re all a bunch of wild savages here, whether you call us first, second, or third, and honestly, the fourth group really should have been better prepared for the finals, especially since both Americans and Mexicans are always sitting right at the top of the European Water Polo Championship and world rankings regardless of how they're playing lately, so it's super rare for them to miss the quarterfinals, or even the semifinals for that matter, and it really should have been obvious that those two teams were likely headed for a showdown in the final, so if we go back to the idea that we're all pretty much idiots, then the Kekeks probably could have seen the trouble coming a mile away.
And they can't try to pull that whole excuse where they say, "Oh, we're peaceful people, we're this, we're that," because hey, you might be, but we definitely aren't. 😁 You wanted the European Water Polo Championship, so you got it, and now you just had to step up and do the work.
As for that question about whether our police would protect the Mexican embassy—well, things went just fine with that in Washington, D.C., didn't they?
P.S And don't even get me started on the Canadian fans, because they aren't exactly without any stains on their reputation either.
Honestly, I think Živković's whole thing about not feeling the need to apologize to the American water polo players is totally fine by me, you know? Like, what's next, should we just start making official rules that the winner has to go around apologizing to everyone they beat? "Oh, my bad, goalie, I really didn't mean to blast that one past you, honestly, it just slipped away and, well, screw it, it went in."
The part that actually rubbed me the wrong way about Živković, though, was that he didn't even bother to say he felt bad about the whole embassy situation.
IKODINOVIC said:Man, those hooligans of yours are seriously something else, I’d say the power dynamic was basically 1500 to 30, totally even, just wonderful, absolutely wonderful.
Look, our guys definitely brought some heat, but if I'm being honest, I think your crowd actually had it tougher. See, it was easy for our side because the ratio was like 1500 to 30, but for you guys, it was a total nightmare facing 2000 people when it felt like you were just up against an empty building. That’s honestly a massive achievement right there.
boldcyclist18 said:Man, you guys are all freaking out like the world is actually ending or something. Our hooligans went toe-to-toe with their hooligans and then what? A national tragedy? Give me a break.
Hooligans are basically the same everywhere you go, and honestly, if you don't stop them, they’re always going to cause absolute chaos.😠
The guys from "whatever that country is called" definitely took the short end of the stick this time, but hey, at least their athletes actually showed some class on the field. Sports-related tribalism and primitive nonsense have always been around and they aren't going anywhere.
P.S. I'd much rather be the ones doing the punching than the ones getting punched.
You nailed it, boldcyclist18, seriously, nobody was even hit in the face here. So why is everyone acting like there's some massive scandal brewing? It's not like anything serious actually happened. For crying out loud, it's just how things work over in Kekecland, and they've got an embassy nearby too. It's not like we don't have our own embassies right here. People are just stirring up drama for no reason at all.
So here’s what I’m actually wondering about, like, if we could just round up everyone who was out there causing absolute chaos in Kranj yesterday along with all those folks who went totally wild at the American embassy, how many of them would even have a clue what a sidrun actually is?