World Handball Championship - THE FINALS

Back in 2007, Germany was getting pushed forward in the most insane way possible—I mean, they were straight up getting clean goals from France nullified during the semifinals.

It seems everyone else received a push, yet we were left to our own devices back in 2009. ☕

tapatalk/good old 4.9.5

Samuel Scott54 said:Omeyer looks way older than he actually is, he's only 38. I mean, Lavorov was still one of the top keepers on the planet even when he was north of 40.

With Omeyer guarding the net, France has managed to snag 8 golds and three bronzes since 2001...

And honestly, as long as he's standing in goal, those French guys are gonna keep taking home the trophies.

But eventually, someone is bound to knock them off that throne.

Terry Fisher2 said:Back in 2007, Germany was being pushed way too hard, honestly. They were even getting legitimate goals from France overturned during the semifinals.

Yeah, that whole thing was just a total joke.

Qatar's gonna walk right over them tomorrow—it’s basically a gift from the Frenchies at this point ☕

Honestly, it’s just pathetic how they even let these manufactured, artificial squads exist in the first place 🙄

I'm not entirely sure, but I suspect the Frenchmen will pull away by at least 4 or 5 points.

quietbison86 said:Honestly, it’s just pathetic that they even let those manufactured squads exist 🙄

But look—two of those takes are basically a carbon copy of what happens in other sports, so whatever 🤣

The thing is, they built this roster following the exact same rules everyone else has to follow—you sit out of the national team for three years and then you're free to play wherever you want 😛

Kyle Morris7 said:It’s possible they aren't pushing as hard because there's no point if the entire tournament was rigged through player bribes. To them, what Qatar spent is pocket change—as old Oliver would say. Besides, those Qatari elites could easily get their money back by betting on the games since they already knew the outcomes. It's a win-win for everyone involved; only the small-time gamblers at the bookies lose out.

So, the Qataris drop millions at the sportsbooks while the bookies just sit there waiting to pay out the winnings. Apparently, they don't mind the overhead.

Robert Doyle8 said:Everyone else was getting pushed forward, except for us back in 2009. ☕

tapatalk/good old 4.9.5

Oh, sure. Everyone was getting a helping hand except for the poor Americans. Yeah, right. 🙄

Does that smiley at the end actually signify anything? 🙂
If you watched the broadcast, you'll remember the narrative—everyone else gets judged by their own backyard standards, yet somehow we're the exception.

tapatalk/good old 4.9.5

graniteotter6 said:🤣

I’ve basically got Stockholm Syndrome here. I used to absolutely loathe this guy, but now? I’m his biggest fan.

We "hate" them when they're the ones standing in our way. Honestly, we might still be "hating" on them if we were playing against the Frenchmen. But when you can actually step back and look at things objectively, you just have to tip your hat and say, "Damn, man... bravo." It was kind of the same deal with Hirscher back when Ivica was actually giving him a run for his money. Now? It's way easier to just admit the guy is a legend. You know plenty of other examples too...

Anyway, this whole thing with the Frenchmen kicked off back in '95 over in Iceland. Maybe people forgot that was their first-ever world title in any team sport. That's when the streak started. Always against us. Whether it's handball or football... who knows if all this would have played out differently over the last 20 years if we had been the ones winning in Iceland.

My money is on the fact that most of the players at that mentioned handball ATD are gonna be Frenchmen. Every single position.

Denmark is doing great again. Denmark.

They always had so much damn character. I mean, from what I remember, everyone showed up to that final looking absolutely mental. One guy went full bald, another was rocking an Adidas hairstyle, a third one had half his head shaved off... honestly, the only thing that stayed normal was that Jacksonian haircut.

Tomorrow, the Frenchies are gonna be such massive favorites—honestly, they’re looking about as unstoppable as the Dream Team was back in the 2010 basketball finals against Turkey 🍿

I remember that final; I had just stepped off the sidelines ☕

George Ward7 said:They always possessed such distinct character! As I recall, everyone showed up to that final with absolutely wild hairstyles. One guy had a full buzz cut, another was rocking an Adidas hairstyle, and a third had half his head shaved; only the Jacksonian look remained untouched.

Actually, Stoecklin was the one sporting the Adidas hairstyle.

Noah Ross7 said:I still have that final burned into my brain; I had just stepped up to the edge of the crowd right when it happened. ☕

Wait, was there even a clear line of sight back in 2010? 😁

jadeskipper74 said:Wait, was there even a line back in 2010? 😁

He's talking about Iceland and 1995.👍

gentlebear47 said:Talking about Iceland back in '95.👍

Heh, alright, yeah, that actually makes a lot more sense than what we were talking about before.🙂

Man, I still remember when those Frenchmen snatched the bronze at the '92 Olympics in Barcelona. It was such a massive shocker back then because handball was basically ruled by Eastern European powerhouses—with Sweden being the only outlier—but after that bronze medal, they totally leveled up! They actually made it to the finals at the next World Cup, even if the Russians absolutely crushed them by about ten goals, and then they went on to take us down in the final at the following championship. That was really the moment their whole handball dynasty started to take flight, you know?