Offside Chat Archives (2014-2021)

Since we’re already talking about the pandemic, what’s everyone drinking?

For me, it's Budweiser.

Saladin and the coronavirus alike

brightpilot6 said:😂

And honestly, we’re already miles ahead of them in the grand scheme of things.

A royal Goat... hmm... what about Presbyter John? In the glorious Middle Ages, nobody could even touch him, let alone his kingdom, which was easily the greatest of them all.☕

Just your classic case of mythomania here. 🐔

So, did he rule on Sundays too?

Just give me Mansa (not Igor, man) every single day of the week

Paul Sanders5 said:He basically swept through all of Europe. Even when other countries teamed up, they had the advantage in almost everything, but it didn't save them. Plus, look at how he reorganized the state—he started with France and then that whole system just spilled over into everywhere else.

Ace was obsessed with conquering stuff. He had these massive plans for restructuring the government—kind of hazy and vague if you ask me—but he wasn't even that worried about the details. His main headspace was just conquering the known world. If he’d actually made the call, he probably would've made it all the way to China. Maybe we wouldn't be dealing with all this chaos today.

The Mongols actually had a realistic chance at bridging East and West, but the death of Ogedei Khan halted those plans (though, honestly, they didn't have a specific roadmap for Europe anyway). It’s pretty wild to think they ruled everything from the shores facing Japan all the way to the Cliffs. 🙏

If anyone is looking for a great mix of fiction and history, they might want to check out the Mongol book series by Conn Iggulden. They are fantastic novels that follow that unstoppable war machine as it tears through Asia and Eastern Europe. The brutality of those campaigns is hard to wrap your head around, even compared to modern warfare. I suppose you could say a good part of the world hasn't quite recovered, even after 700 years.

Paul Sanders5 said:He basically swept through all of Europe. Even when other countries teamed up, they had the advantage in almost everything, but it didn't save them. Plus, look at how he reorganized the state—he started with France and then that whole system just spilled over into everywhere else.

Ace was obsessed with conquering stuff. He had these massive plans for restructuring the government—kind of hazy and vague if you ask me—but he wasn't even that worried about the details. His main headspace was just conquering the known world. If he’d actually made the call, he probably would've made it all the way to China. Maybe we wouldn't be dealing with all this chaos today.

It’s all standing still, but world history is a long game. 🤷

And it isn't just those most famous leagues that actually matter. ☕

steelharbor9 said:Nader Shah. 🙏 He’s just so powerful that people call him "Napoleon Persia," even though he was actually about a hundred years older than Napoleon himself. 🤣

Managing to hold onto that kind of dominance with such a rough crew from the Afsharid era... I mean, he's a total MVP, I guess! 🙏

If we're going to highlight rulers who were masters at squeezing every bit of potential out of meager resources, then honestly, very few can be mentioned in the same breath as Michael the Brave.
☕

Generally speaking, the Wallachian princes are criminally underrated, if you'll excuse my language. 😉

Anthony Wright30 said:Saladin and the coronavirus alike

Yeah, well, holy shit... 🤣

steelharbor9 said:Just your classic case of mythomania here. 🐔

So, did he rule on Sundays too?

We don't know just yet, but those over at VRM60 sent us an official invite to visit him, specifically because we’re considered top-tier graduates of the Alliance. We'll keep you posted. ☕

In all seriousness, though, that whole business with his "letters" remains one of my favorite historical sagas, on so many different levels. He was truly the GOAT when it came to kingship. 🙏

Since charisma is absolutely essential if you want to be considered the GOAT, my pick has to be Julius Caesar.
Plus, I’m fairly certain he was the best-looking one out of the lot.
In my book, that might actually be more important than anything else.
☕

Woody, what about you, Cowboy?

Charles Roberts33 said:It’s all standing still, but world history is a long game. 🤷

And it isn't just those most famous leagues that actually matter. ☕

If we're going to highlight rulers who were masters at squeezing every bit of potential out of meager resources, then honestly, very few can be mentioned in the same breath as Michael the Brave.
☕

Generally speaking, the Wallachian princes are criminally underrated, if you'll excuse my language. 😉

Yeah, and that's actually a solid Pick! I was just reading up on him recently, and man, if we were playing ATD, he’d probably get banned in the very first round. I guess anyone who made it onto those lists of founding fathers definitely deserves a shout-out. ☕

Perhaps we could attempt an ATD policy edition. We would select a quintet—a ruler, a general, a chaplain, a philosopher, and a warrior—to form a cohesive unit, if you will. ☕

My Pick would be, as Ken says, Ace with a dual-wield 🤣

Even though Cyrus the Great is in the mix, I'd probably lean elsewhere. Still, the Mexican has the edge.

brightpilot6 said:Perhaps we could attempt an ATD policy edition. We would select a quintet—a ruler, a general, a chaplain, a philosopher, and a warrior—to form a cohesive unit, if you will. ☕

In terms of value, I guess we'd be looking at versatile picks like George Washington or Saucha.

Charles Roberts33 said:It’s all standing still, but world history is a long game. 🤷

And it isn't just those most famous leagues that actually matter. ☕

If we're going to highlight rulers who were masters at squeezing every bit of potential out of meager resources, then honestly, very few can be mentioned in the same breath as Michael the Brave.
☕

Generally speaking, the Wallachian princes are criminally underrated, if you'll excuse my language. 😉

It’s long, absolutely, but somehow Europe always manages to pop up at the top. Look, Napoleon was going up against the top 5 nations in the world back then—technologically speaking, anyway. It’s like a Golden Boot; scoring a goal in the Premier League counts for two points, while a goal in Cyprus is worth like 0.1. Why even bring up Russia's conquests in Siberia? Sure, they have the quantity, but they just don't have the quality :Stico:

I’d also mention Suleiman the Magnificent—equally massive on both fronts.

If you'll let me pivot over to the Middle East for a second, this would probably be one of the better picks, especially when looking at regional criteria. A few years back, they even released a movie about him that absolutely smashed all the box office records there 🙏

Amanda Evans2 said:Since charisma is absolutely essential if you want to be considered the GOAT, my pick has to be Julius Caesar.
Plus, I’m fairly certain he was the best-looking one out of the lot.
In my book, that might actually be more important than anything else.
☕

Woody, what about you, Cowboy?

I really think Augustus Caesar took the whole situation to a completely different level...☕

Also, I find it hard to believe that nobody has brought up Frank yet.

Nice job, guys. I might actually shed a tear.

It seems we are talking about Frank Joseph

Charles Roberts33 said:Since we’ve already started the flood of polls... which historical leader would you consider the GOAT? Who do you respect the most? 🤔

Personally, I find myself leaning toward Alexander II. 😉

Napoleon or Augustus.

The first one actually drove massive progress for society across basically every field imaginable.

Oh yeah, I was actually recommending this chess book here recently (The Immortal Game). It has this totally wild little sketch about Napoleon—apparently, while he was stuck on Saint Helena, they sent him a chess set where the escape plan was hidden right inside the design of the board itself, but he just never spotted it. 🙏

I didn't really want to go digging to see if it was actually true, though, because it honestly sounded way too cool to be real. 😁