Handball Euro: America vs. Spain 29-33

Nicole Wright said:God, I absolutely loathe these pathetic comments and news articles on every single sports site. It’s always the same nauseating garbage: "It doesn't matter, guys, things will get better," or "We're so proud of you," or "You gave it your all."

There was zero indication that they actually gave it their all (shout out to the few individuals who did). Instead, you'll have some lazy journalist pick at the coach's decisions, Alilović, or other technical stuff that actually needs analyzing, while everyone else just chases that "golden glow" nonsense🤦
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And of course, the inevitable conclusion is always some excuse about how we're young, or we're building the squad for the Olympics or whatever. 🙄

Who exactly didn't give it their all, in your opinion? Look, if certain players screwed up or just played poorly, that's one thing, but there was absolutely no sign of anyone being nonchalant. If anything, I’d say they overextended themselves trying too hard—lots of unnecessary drives and similar mistakes.

Jonathan Barnes5 said:Just one question... Fine, let's say we want a world-class coach. Who’s actually footing the bill? Otherwise, we're just settling for another Djetic appointment again...
I'd love to see River take the reins, but he's way out of our budget...The Federation can barely afford basic necessities...And Noka wouldn't show up for peanuts, and honestly, I'd even question his motivation at this stage...
What about Wenta? Schwalb? Gislason? Vranjes?..

What is wrong with Ivica Obrvan? He's basically the savior of American handball according to Babić. Where are you even getting that loaded statement from? As far as I know, the national federation is the most financially stable organization around, aside from Brand and his crew.

dustypanther6 said:Who exactly do you think didn't give their all? Look, there's a massive difference between individual players having a bad night or just being outclassed, and actually lacking effort. I wouldn't call it nonchalance; if anything, I’d say they were overextending themselves too much in certain moments, trying to force plays that just weren't there.

The real danger here is that if we manage to scrape by and qualify for the tournament—which will likely be at least 4th place—everyone might try to sweep the recent failures under the rug. This specific result doesn't reflect our actual level, much like how things looked back when we finished 7th despite only having one loss. If the French had managed to beat Norway, we'd be sitting here looking like total pushovers against Denmark right now, and nobody would be celebrating this as a successful championship run.

Brian Doyle6 said:That’s the core issue right there, but I’m going to have to disagree with you on the idea that this is only happening to us. If the Americans walked into a semifinal after playing a game like that, they’d be just as gassed and ripe for an upset, regardless of their reputation for being in peak physical condition.

So what, Babić was screaming "play 6-0!!!!!!!!!!!!" from the bench, but the players were too exhausted to actually hear him? 🤦

Sam Murphy said:Look, if we're this exhausted, we might as well just admit we're getting smoked by Norway right now. The coach should just come out and be honest: "We aren't ready, so let's just try to lose by as few points as possible."

The Norwegians have never been known for their flashy playstyle in any team sport, but man, they are absolute tanks physically. I wouldn't be surprised if that strength difference ends up being the deciding factor in the bronze medal match. It’s just typical—our coaches and players will stubbornly cling to the idea that "tactics" will save us, even though we all know how much weight is actually put on "strategy" over here.

I honestly don't get why Metličić, a guy with actual experience and common sense, would put himself in a position where he's cleaning up the messes left by a notorious figure like Babić. If he had replaced Alilović with Stevanović after a performance like that—given the excuse he provided—he might as well have handed in his resignation right then and there.
What bugs me most is that even as a conservative, the reasons behind Stevanović being benched feel toxic; it clearly has nothing to do with his skill level or current form.

dustypanther6 said:So you're telling me Babić was screaming "play 6-0!!!!!!!!!!!!" from the bench, but the guys were too exhausted to even hear him? 🤦

Look, sometimes players just tune out their coaches or don't give a damn—I won't get into that—but our guys played a SOLID game today and you can't fault them. They clearly wanted the win and left everything out there on the court. If you really want to nitpick, the goalies weren't exactly elite; if they'd saved just two more easy ones, we could've flipped the momentum, but let's be real: American goalies aren't exactly known for being world-class superstars.

dustypanther6 said:What could possibly be wrong with Ivica Obrvan? He’s basically the godfather of the sport when it comes to Babić. I'm not sure where you're getting that bold claim from; as far as I can tell, the federation is one of the most financially stable organizations out there, second only to Brand and his crew.

Like I mentioned before, there isn't anything inherently wrong with him, but it's going to be an uphill battle for him to get a fair shot—given who is calling the shots—after everything that went down with the Chicago team.
If a major organization like Chicago had to make drastic cuts to player salaries, one can only imagine the kind of pressure the national federation is feeling right now.

It honestly breaks my heart that we can’t seem to play through a single tournament in any sport without some level of sheer stupidity getting in the way... Only a complete moron would decide to put Alilović in after a performance like that.
The loss itself isn't even the issue; we're fighting for bronze, which, if I'm being honest, I didn't even expect from this squad.
But it feels like we can never just have a normal tournament and a decent result—whether it’s gold, bronze, or even just finishing fifth or ninth—where you can look at the standings and say, "Okay, we did what we could, this is who we are, and we earned our spot."
There always has to be some layer of heavy-handed idiocy involved in everything we do...

The Lady stayed home last night 😢

Richard Lee47 said:Betraying our own people!!!!

The real question is whether the Virgin Mary stood with her son or with the Americans.
Maybe Babić has an answer.

First they dig up Golez, then they find someone even more clueless right after him. It’s just a cycle of digging up bigger idiots one after another...

Mary swung by this morning from the neighborhood watch and told me the Americans lost their game.
"So I just told that idiot he should probably learn the basic rules of handball, because I can't be expected to keep up with every single play when I actually have a life to live."

George Robinson43 said:Babb killed 🙏 🙏

Watch this statement carefully:
I honestly thought Stevens wouldn't be able to hold up his end for two games straight!!!!!

🤦
It’s hard for me to even find words for this... 🤣

George Robinson43 said:Babb killed 🙏 🙏

Watch this statement:
I honestly thought Stevens wouldn't be able to hold up his end for two games in a row!!!!!

Get that moron off the national team...

The man is genuinely dim-witted, which almost makes him charming in its own way...

I didn't lose my cool too much after that blowout against France; honestly, they’re just three levels above us right now.

But this? You’re up by three, you've got a real shot at pushing it to four, and you haven't even trailed for twenty-five minutes—then the second they tie it up, everything just falls apart.🤦

Look, we used to pull stuff like that off back in our glory days.👎

Honestly, as much as we loved mocking the way the French fall apart when they face us, those matchups actually served as a reality check. They showed us exactly where we stand on the global stage—it’s a wake-up call. If we played ten games against them, they’d walk away with nine wins without breaking a sweat.

Then there was the game against Poland. Let’s be real: mentally, those guys are far more fragile than us—total chokers. They walked onto the court thinking it would be a cakewalk, and instead, they ended up losing in a fashion you maybe see once in a lifetime.

For six or seven years now, we’ve been fed this endless narrative about "rebuilding" the national team. First, we were building for New York City, now we’re supposedly building for Rio, and so on. Every time we stumble into a bronze medal or a fourth-place finish, we just sweep our systemic issues under the rug. This tournament? It wasn't some display of elite talent; it was just a perfect storm of lucky breaks that landed us where we are.

And frankly, it's a waste of breath talking about Babb... Forget about miracles or divine intervention—success comes from pure, relentless work, grueling sacrifice, and pouring literal blood, sweat, and tears into the craft. You need actual knowledge and constant self-improvement to get results.

I'd say the Suker brand is finally facing some serious competition when it comes to making bold statements.

George Robinson43 said:Babb killed 🙏 🙏

Check out this comment:
I honestly thought Stevens wouldn't be able to hold up his defense for two games in a row!!!!!

Get that amateur out of the national team.

🙏 🙏 Every streak eventually comes to an end.

I honestly thought Alilović might pull off ten saves in a single semifinal game, just once in his career
Too bad I was wrong. I guess there'll be plenty of other opportunities for us to blow it in the semifinals later on.

I mean, how were we ever supposed to expect anything when they have Jesus on their roster? 🤣

Jokes aside, we just weren't showing up yesterday. Aguinagalde and that Jesus Garcia guy absolutely tore us apart. Honestly, if our goalies play with such a pathetic save percentage, we wouldn't even win some low-tier local tournament.

I knew we were cooked the second they pulled ahead 8-1. We just aren't built like the Americans or the French—we don't have that mental toughness to claw back from a deficit like that or actually flip the script. Our headspace just isn't there.

And all this whining about Babb being "exhausted"... 🙄 then how on earth are we going to handle the UN qualifiers that happen right around the Champions League finals? 🙂