America loses an Olympian: Jakob Fak heads to Canada

Jakob is the real deal; you’re just being a coward because you're too afraid to step up 😁

His coach is out here claiming Fak would be pulling in way more money back home in the States. Basically, he's just chasing trash through the cracks...

frozentiger6 said:He was offered the exact same contract terms as Ivica Kostelica, but apparently, that wasn't enough for him. So, goodbye, Fak.

Honestly, who cares? If America isn't good enough for him, then he isn't worth anything to us either.

I'm with you there—forget about Fak. Cheers to Bulgarian Nikolay Pesalov:

🤣😂

That sums it up perfectly.
Pešalov = Fak. It doesn't matter how many medals he won for Bulgaria; he effectively burned his bridges the moment he moved to America just to chase a paycheck. Now, he’s stuck living in Sofia like a complete nobody, and honestly, nobody even cares about his situation or how he's getting by. It’s as if he simply vanished from the map.

George Robinson43 said:Biathlon has basically been a one-man show anyway. Popularity isn't going to spike or tank.
If I were in Fak's shoes, I wouldn't act like that. But if he decided to sell himself to the highest bidder, then good luck to him—for better or worse.
I have zero respect for Bulgaria, whether we're talking sports or anything else. I hope he faces nothing but failure and leaves his sponsors pulling their hair out. 🙂

👍

Taylor Cook63 said:Maybe you guys aren't reading closely enough? He had perfectly fine conditions. The issue is he expects to be treated like a pro athlete. Well, that’s just not how it works.

Good grief... Seriously, what makes some average American soccer player deserve special treatment? Talk about a warped sense of values. Honestly, looking at how things work here, I can't blame anyone for wanting to get out.

What really gets under my skin are those idiots who feel forced to congratulate this sellout just because they’re terrified of being labeled "unpatriotic" if they dare to speak up.

The level of insecurity driving this miserable crowd is honestly unmatched anywhere else on the planet.

David King6 said:Man, oh man... Like, what on earth would an average American soccer player actually deserve in terms of special treatment? It’s such a twisted set of values. Honestly, looking at how things work here, I can't blame anyone for wanting to pack up and move elsewhere.

Look, I never said they *deserve* it, I was just talking hypothetically about a pro athlete a la Petrić (money)

The guy basically hinted at retiring less than twenty-four hours after grabbing a medal. What kind of ego does that take? You win hardware and immediately start talking about walking away. I figured maybe it was about the money, which isn't exactly classy either, but I suppose I can see where he's coming from...
Now his coach is out here claiming he’d pull in way more money playing in the States.😕

Like George Robinson43 said, good luck to him over in Canada. Let's just hope that one medal is the only bright spot in his entire career.

It was obvious he was going to jump ship ages ago; only the naive ones actually thought he’d stick around here.

frozentiger6 said:It’s honestly hilarious seeing these fools rush to congratulate this sellout just because they’re terrified of being labeled unpatriotic if they dare to speak up.

What kind of massive inferiority complex is driving this unfortunate nation? It's truly unparalleled anywhere else on Earth!

Fak is a hero. People like Petrić are fools, and guys like Vanja Udovičić are complete idiots. He walked away from hundreds of thousands of dollars simply because he refused to play for another country.

Kudos to Fak for finally getting out of this wasteland!
There is absolutely NO LIFE here.

Good for him for heading over to the States—let those empty-headed Americans sulk about it all they want.

Man... just let me follow you around and polish your gear while you pick up the brass

Let’s go, Duje! Get us to the World Cup!!🙂

darkwolf61 said:Kudos to Fak for getting out of this wasteland!
There is absolutely NO LIFE here.

Good on him for heading to Canada; let those empty-headed Americans sulk about it.

A pretty spot-on take regarding Fak's departure:

http://mojzagreb.info/american/american...kih-odlazaka/

That comment is out of line. I won't get dragged into politics right now—we could go down that rabbit hole all day if someone actually wanted to start a thread about it...

At the end of the day, there are plenty of examples of athletes turning down much wealthier national teams than ours here in the States. Even Fak's coach claimed money wasn't the issue.
In other words, the guy is just a jerk. There's no need to overanalyze it.

Why are you guys so pissed? I chose Team USA and that’s just how it is. No hard feelings on my end, honestly, since we didn't really pour much into his development anyway... plus, losing him isn't like we're losing anything massive.
As a person and an athlete, I genuinely wish him nothing but the best. I don't see any reason to be bitter. I mean, I'm as patriotic as they come, so I'm definitely not out here wishing him bad luck or anything.🤷If he feels like playing for the US isn't right for him, then he's not right for us either. It's as simple as that.

The issue isn't really about him choosing Canada; he just wanted to go, plain and simple.
The real problem is all these self-proclaimed philosophers showing up, trying to find some profound, hidden meaning behind a basic decision.

Terry Reed13 said:I mean, it’s not even really about him choosing Canada... like, you can say he just wants to go there or whatever, but the real issue is all these self-proclaimed philosophers popping up trying to find some deep, hidden meaning behind his move.

Man, what "deep meaning"? There isn't any. He's just like a bunch of people I know who would sell their souls just to get an American passport.
He's clearly part of that crowd, plain and simple. There's no big wisdom or anything behind it, I guess.

For a Canadian, he’ll never truly be Canadian, especially since he turned his back on his roots.

It's a shame.

He might be a former American, but he certainly isn't becoming one. You could say nothing at all, but let's not be overly harsh, right?

Besides, they say biathlon is an individual sport anyway. So, let him be. His wins or losses won't stir my emotions any more than the successes or failures of someone like Miran Jukić. In other words, not at all.