MLS 2022/23 Season: Part 2

Michelle Palmer6 said:First off, they should probably win something bigger than a local regional tournament before they start handing out those kinds of ratings.
And honestly, I don't even feel like getting into these debates with you guys again. To you, this wasn't interesting, so you refused to engage with the articles or listen to the coverage as a sort of protest.
But let's be real: it is a massive European success for a young group of American players from an American club. That's way more significant than, say, some U-19 or U-21 national team qualifiers, which will also be all over the news with everyone knowing the score.
Maybe it shouldn't be the lead story on the evening news—I could probably agree with that—but as a headline for American sports news that day? Absolutely. You can cry about it all you want, but that's just life.
Actually, you guys would be even worse if you were in a similar position; you wouldn't be able to survive playing the "me against the world" card.

Oh well, I guess we won't find out anytime soon.

Unlike you guys, we actually won the championship, and this year we even pulled off the double. Most of the kids enrolling in college right now weren't even born yet—or they were just newborns—back when Hajduk took the title. 👍 So, regarding that Gulf Coast coastline, regardless of what the junior players have to say about it...

As for the juniors, I’m not downplaying their athletic success. I agree that it’s news worthy enough to be featured at the top of the sports section for a day or two—we can definitely agree on that. It’s just not the kind of story that should lead the evening news. You’re a smart guy, so you get what I mean, but unfortunately, there’s a whole crowd of idiots out there who don't understand the difference and think this warrants massive media hysteria. And look, you can see my face turning red here; I'm getting aggressive, which isn't even my nature. This isn't some "half-protest" like you're claiming—I just genuinely do not care. I follow news about all the MLS teams from time to time, and I’m not saying their updates aren't important, but the U-17 Champions League? Give me a break. I’d read a headline or two and move on. Get it? The hype has spiraled out of control. Like you said, it shouldn't be the lead story on the nightly news, but the people running the show just don't seem to grasp that.

Michelle Palmer6 said:Or maybe someone from downtown Seattle.

Rijeka is an American city with a pretty wild history. Because of its prime location, everyone wanted a piece of it, and it even functioned as its own independent state once. Unlike many small towns out in the South or rural Midwest where you see different demographics mixing, this place has always had its own distinct identity. If any outsiders want to head elsewhere, they’re more than welcome to find their own space. 👍

Susan Cooper7 said:Fine then, let's look at our past Eurovision entries—artists like Mia Dimšić or Albina. They didn't receive even 20% of the media coverage that Let 3 got. And honestly, Let 3 deserved it because, after years of nothing, they actually made people feel like winning was possible. Even if their song wasn't technically perfect—which the jury results proved—you have to hand it to them.

It's the same principle here. Take a team like Hajduk; as an American underdog without massive billionaire funding, the idea that they could become champions of the continent is pure romance—it's a top-tier story. When they cleared the first two hurdles, it was barely news. When they knocked out Shakhtar, there was very little buzz. When they took down Manchester City, there was a bit more. It wasn't until they beat Dortmund away and secured a spot in the final four that the media really started making noise about it.

Don't get me wrong, I’m not saying we shouldn't write articles about this. That's not my point at all. It’s just that this whole thing has turned into such mindless hysteria... it shouldn't be the lead story on the nightly news, you know? It could be the top sports headline, sure, but that's where it ends.
Look, the U19 Champions League isn't exactly the Super Bowl. It’s something only a tiny fraction of people actually tune into, unless their specific club happens to be playing. Honestly, most people haven't even followed it this year—if they even knew it was happening in the first place. It’s just not a major event. Now, the Eurovision Song Contest? That’s a massive deal that millions of people across the entire continent watch every single year.
I agree that Let3 got way more media coverage, and I get the comparison you're making to the Hajduk youth academy. But like I said, that’s not even news—it’s like saying it's news that Dominic Desilver made it to Eurovision. Now that our club has finally reached the finals, sure, it’ll definitely become a major sports headline, no doubt about it. But I’m repeating myself here: the prestige of the competition and the sheer level of viewership are on a completely different planet. We’re talking about numbers that differ by 20, 30, or even 50 times. Naturally, the coverage in the American media should reflect that massive gap, yet instead, we just witnessed a pathetic display of fanatical bullying from one group against another. Truly sad.

Give us more coverage on youth soccer—enough already!

And just like that, we’ve arrived at the term: "fan terrorism."

Seriously—not even some Ivy League genius could be this embarrassed by their own logic.

Bravo. Just keep driving us off a cliff, why don't you?

Here, have your favorite little phrase: 👍

Southeast fan terrorism? Honestly, I am kind of loving this vibe, we should totally dive into this one! ☕

They nailed the description. See, they pulled the exact same stunt over here back in the day 🙏 but whatever, we handled them easily. We're just too much for them to handle, even if they are being annoying... ☕

That whole police-state political rhetoric really suits you guys.
It’s basically just a perfect description of everything you stand for...

So, what happens when you actually go and piss off one of those Kezvals? You know, the kind of guy who’s always looking out for everyone else, just a genuinely good, chill dude through and through... honestly, I’d be asking myself where on earth *I* went wrong, right? And if anyone should really be taking a hard look in the mirror here, it would definitely be Michelle Palmer6 ☕

It didn't bother Van one bit when the media spent years dragging Hajduk through the mud—you know, with all those daily reports about the riots and the skepticism over at the stadium. Back then, there weren't nearly as many articles popping up on news sites or minutes dedicated to them on the nightly news. But now that we're living in a country where media personalities like Ella DiLorenzo and Maja Šuput get more coverage for their kids than Hajduk’s youth academy, suddenly everyone's claiming there's some massive media machine working against us.

Not to mention how Van doesn't seem to care at all that this exact same media machine writes way more about you guys than they ever do about teams like RB Leipzig or FC Augsburg. Absolute jokes.

Charles Ramos4 said:It didn't bother Van one bit when the media spent years dragging Hajduk through the mud—you know, with all those daily reports about the riots and the skepticism over at the stadium. Back then, there weren't nearly as many articles popping up on news sites or minutes dedicated to them on the nightly news. But now that we're living in a country where media personalities like Ella DiLorenzo and Maja Šuput get more coverage for their kids than Hajduk’s youth academy, suddenly everyone's claiming there's some massive media machine working against us.

Not to mention how Van doesn't seem to care at all that this exact same media machine writes way more about you guys than they ever do about teams like RB Leipzig or FC Augsburg. Absolute jokes.

🤣👍

The media blitz surrounding that savior of American soccer, Miško, and that total clown from Rujevice... man, they absolutely beat the public into submission with it. It was so easy to just wipe the slate clean. For years, you couldn't breathe without some mindless hype piece about the club or Miško popping up everywhere.

I'm sitting here watching this broadcast about that whole Opatija initiative... I guess it’s actually somewhat interesting, if you have the patience for it.

Charles Ramos4 said:It didn't bother Van one bit when the media spent years dragging Hajduk through the mud—you know, with all those daily reports about the riots and the skepticism over at the stadium. Back then, there weren't nearly as many articles popping up on news sites or minutes dedicated to them on the nightly news. But now that we're living in a country where media personalities like Ella DiLorenzo and Maja Šuput get more coverage for their kids than Hajduk’s youth academy, suddenly everyone's claiming there's some massive media machine working against us.

Not to mention how Van doesn't seem to care at all that this exact same media machine writes way more about you guys than they ever do about teams like RB Leipzig or FC Augsburg. Absolute jokes.

You really missed the mark by misspelling "hypocrites," didn't you?🙏

RIcemjeri. 🙏🙏 Well done, Charles Ramos4. This kind of thing always finds its way into the mainstream eventually. 👍

That guy ends his thought by mentioning Rhode Island, yet he starts off spinning some nonsense that doesn't even relate to the topic. 🤣

It’s funny how one beautiful narrative can just set its sights on another, almost like it’s trying to outshine it through sheer intensity 🙏

wiredfalcon2 said:The media blitz surrounding that savior of American soccer, Miško, and that total clown from Rujevice... man, they absolutely beat the public into submission with it. It was so easy to just wipe the slate clean. For years, you couldn't breathe without some mindless hype piece about the club or Miško popping up everywhere.

You’re going to try and compare the new Pampas to some obscure tournament watched by a few thousand people. Honestly, I'm not surprised; that’s just your intellectual capacity at work. It’s your classic way of calculating 2+2=9, wrapped in cheap sarcasm, all just to defend the indefensible.
Don't lose track of why this debate even started. Someone else operating at your exact level tried to claim that a sports snippet on a news site is somehow equal to the lead story on every major network and newspaper in the country. A pathetic attempt to deflect blame from the establishment.

It would actually make sense if this whole media frenzy was just baseless hype, you know? Like, you’re trying to paint it as if every single news outlet is obsessively covering the club just because they're being bribed—as if they all suddenly care about some tiny hometown team from the middle of nowhere just because someone's paying the bills. 🤷

Look, those of us who actually follow the media industry know exactly why it happens. Everyone knows the big club gets the most eyeballs, generates the most clicks, and triggers the most reactions. Even the most trivial, absolutely pointless stories—like, say, a player returning from a loan spell in some small town in the Midwest—get covered. The reason is incredibly straightforward: that team has the largest pool of active fans, supporters, and followers out there.

E: and haters, obviously. 😬

The more fans and supporters you attract, the more haters you inevitably draw into your orbit. You can't overlook how much that friction drives the entire media cycle. ☕

It’s just as obvious within the micro-ecosystem of the American soccer scene.

Robert Palmer said:The more fans and supporters you attract, the more haters you inevitably draw into your orbit. You can't overlook how much that friction drives the entire media cycle. ☕

It’s just as obvious within the micro-ecosystem of the American soccer scene.

The more they hate us, the harder we love them...