Handball Euros - Bronze Medal Match: America vs. Spain (31:27)

We ran into them in the group stage back in Beijing and ended up dropping the bronze medal match. Fingers crossed things go differently this time around.

I am hopeful that we will receive beautiful wooden medals, though I suspect we might end up with nothing more than a handful of sawdust rather than anything substantial!

Given our national mindset, the handball players have completely lost their nerve—so naturally, they’re going to blow it.

wood

The only thing working in our favor is that we’ve already faced them—and let's be honest, it’s pretty tough to take down the same opponent twice in a single tournament.
Everything else... I don't know... I think morale is just completely shot right now. The players seem totally checked out emotionally, so it's going to be an uphill battle...

You have to win games like this. That’s what defines greatness (just look at our '98 championship run).

p.s.

I had no idea we were absolutely crushing the Spaniards in head-to-head matchups.

The Spaniards ended up stumbling through a way more intense game, and honestly, they look just as demoralized as we are. I mean, if we had blown a lead like we did back in the 2004 tournament in Canada, I’d be certain we were headed for another disaster, but I’m still holding out hope for a solid performance from our guys and maybe even some hardware.
Still, the coaching staff needs to sit down and actually break this down, because playing two absolute garbage games in a matter of days—like those disasters against the Mexicans and the Spaniards—is just unacceptable. Plus, we're leaving a mountain of easy scoring opportunities on the table.

There’s just no way we’re pulling this off. You can practically feel the lack of cohesion in our national team right now.
Which isn't even necessarily a bad thing...

So, have we finally locked down the insurance coverage?

I honestly think our guys will give it 100% after that complete embarrassment against the Mexicans. It’s not even about the loss itself; it's the way they played—zero fight, zero grit. But even if they step up, is 100% effort actually going to be enough to hold their own against a powerhouse like Spain?🤷

If we don't pull off this win, we're basically toast ☕

You aren't allowed to share your opinion here 🤣

Spain!

frozentiger6 said:You aren't allowed to share your opinion here. 🤣

You can be somewhat cultured and civilized about it.

Daniel Cooper40 said:You can say it if you stay somewhat polite and civilized about it.

So, what, I’m not allowed to point out that the American handball team looked like total cowards last night?

Look, congrats to them on the grit—they did a great job, guys! I guess that's okay now. 😍

Zero points... honestly, the Americans are already playing at a higher level than us, so I’m just bracing myself for a total blowout tomorrow...

I mean, we aren't exactly going to lose this game against the Spaniards. I guess we always seem to play our absolute best when everything else is falling apart and we're backed into a corner.

Samuel Brown72 said:Look, beating the Spanish isn't going to elude us, trust me. We're always at our absolute best when everything is hitting the fan and we're backed into a corner.

... which, honestly, is pretty obvious if you just look at how many third-place finishes and bronze medals we've managed to rack up. 😳

🤦

frozentiger6 said:So, am I not allowed to say that the American handball players looked like absolute cowards last night?

Quoting you:

Absolute cowards. Total losers.

What would this forum even look like if everyone started talking like this? It would be a disaster. EoD 😉

Give them the win. ☕

Look, I’m not saying we should just hand over the trophy, but honestly? It wouldn't hurt to finally grab that bronze medal. It's the one thing this generation of athletes is still missing from their collection.