Offside Chat Archives (2014-2021)

Michael Flores8 said:Matthew Young35, do you happen to remember the name of that jumper who first introduced the V-style? He used to jump several meters further than everyone else, but he always seemed to receive poor style scores and never finished at the top. Once people realized that the V-shape allowed for much more flight time, everyone started doing it. It seems like Frank Petek was perhaps the only one who stayed loyal to the old method 😁. Later on, the Japanese appeared with their much wider ski positioning, allowing them to stay airborne even longer
.

As far as I can recall, Kasai was the first real success story with that approach.
I mean, the first one to truly make it work.

I don't know, ski jumping just doesn't hit the same anymore. I can't quite put my finger on why. I still have memories of watching guys like Janne Ahonen, but I honestly can't name any of the current jumpers.

I used to be glued to the screen during the Four Hills Tournament, but these days, I find myself switching over to 🤷

Maybe I'm just getting old, or maybe there’s just too much junk on TV. I guess it's hard to tell.

urbanhawk17 said:The coronavirus actually showed up in the States as early as December 27th.

http://hr.n1info.com/Svijet/a506089/...g-otkrica.html

It probably surfaced even earlier, too. I guess I read some accounts online—though you have to take the internet with a grain of salt—suggesting people in places like Colorado or Utah might have noticed unusual pneumonia cases late last year, but maybe they didn't want to make a big deal out of it during peak ski season. Either way, I suppose official dates for when a virus first hits a country can often be pushed back by several weeks.

urbanhawk17 said:I don't know, ski jumping just doesn't hit the same anymore. I can't quite put my finger on why. I still have memories of watching guys like Janne Ahonen, but I honestly can't name any of the current jumpers.

I used to be glued to the screen during the Four Hills Tournament, but these days, I find myself switching over to 🤷

Maybe I'm just getting old, or maybe there’s just too much junk on TV. I guess it's hard to tell.

The injury rate is pretty much non-existent, and honestly, as you get older, you start to realize that things just stay the same and never really change...

Look, there’s a massive difference between just making wild guesses and actually looking at hard data. Everyone’s out here shouting from the rooftops about how this little piece of crap has been lurking around and spreading way more than we thought, but honestly, none of that carries any weight until someone actually puts the receipts on the table.
That’s why this news coming out of France is something we really need to amplify, rather than just mashing it together with all our own local theories right away.

So, get this: they took a sample from a patient suffering from pneumonia back on December 27th, and they found the coronavirus in it.
Around that same time, the case count over in China was sitting somewhere under a hundred, give or take.

But what’s even more wild is that this guy in France hadn't had any contact with anyone from overseas, so he isn't actually "Patient Zero" like the headlines are trying to claim.

🤣

Matthew Young35 said:As far as I can recall, Kasai was the first real success story with that approach.
I mean, the first one to truly make it work.

The V-style or the Boklev style actually surfaced before that specific generation of Japanese jumpers led by Kasai arrived. If I recall correctly, those earlier Japanese athletes didn't really use the V-style; they tended to jump with their skis spread quite wide.
@urbanhawk17, I feel similarly about this. The last time I really followed the sport closely was during the era when guys like Adam Malysz and Janne Ahonen were competing, though I was already getting a bit older even back then. I did try to get back into following it a couple of years ago, but I think I gave up pretty quickly. It just doesn't seem to have that same tension for me anymore. I guess the only one truly worth mentioning is Kasai, considering he was still jumping at 40.🙏

It’s honestly wild how they’ve managed to drag Gates into all these conspiracy theories lately, like once they set their sights on him, there's no turning back and they're just going to keep suffocating him with it for the rest of his life.

Jessica Gonzalez said:It probably surfaced even earlier, too. I guess I read some accounts online—though you have to take the internet with a grain of salt—suggesting people in places like Colorado or Utah might have noticed unusual pneumonia cases late last year, but maybe they didn't want to make a big deal out of it during peak ski season. Either way, I suppose official dates for when a virus first hits a country can often be pushed back by several weeks.

And then there's this guy who supposedly hasn't traveled at all and had zero chance of catching it, claiming his only contact was his wife who works at a local grocery store.

So, I guess we could go back even further.

Kyle Campbell4 said:It appears I am certainly not alone in my lifelong admiration for the Japanese in ski jumping. As a young boy, I would religiously tune in to the New Year's 4 Trampoline, the Olympics, and absolutely any broadcast that featured jumping events. My allegiance was always firmly with the Japanese team. I fell in love with their technique; their school of jumping is unparalleled. The wide stance of the skis combined with a body lean so extreme it almost aligns perfectly with the equipment creates a breathtaking sight. Watching them glide through the air is mesmerizing. In those few seconds of flight, you truly feel immortal, soaring through the sky like a bird.

Regarding the discussion on military commanders, my personal favorite has always been Alexander the Great. He possessed a stern countenance and the mind of a true visionary. It is a tragedy that he could not have achieved even greater feats had he not been cut down by illness.
However, if we are being strictly realistic, the greatest commander in human history was Tughril. He engineered a combat machine that was nothing short of fascinating. It took him twenty years of relentless effort to conquer and unify the various tribes, but once they began their expansion, they essentially flattened everything in their path. They operated with an unprecedented level of terror and brutality. To kill 40 million people in an era defined by swords, spears, and bows is a staggering concept. If you were to hand that Golden Horde modern firearms, there likely wouldn't be a single non-Mongol left alive, lol. There is something profoundly intense about the legend of how they terrified the Persians, utilizing psychological warfare to systematically dismantle them. They would lay siege to a city and, while doing so, construct pyramids out of human skulls. You find yourself fighting while paralyzed by sheer dread because you have never encountered such psychotic lunatics in your life.

It’s true though, you really seem to know your stuff. From what I understand about his history, Genghis Khan's life was incredibly tough; he was basically an outcast abandoned in the wilderness, barely surviving. He even ended up as a slave at one point. Even so, he rose to lead his tribe, unified the Mongols, and conquered what felt like the entire world for those clans at the time. But since they were mostly focused on conquest rather than building lasting civilizations, his successors pretty quickly squandered the reputation that he and his sons worked so hard to build.

urbanhawk17 said:I don't know, ski jumping just doesn't hit the same anymore. I can't quite put my finger on why. I still have memories of watching guys like Janne Ahonen, but I honestly can't name any of the current jumpers.

I used to be glued to the screen during the Four Hills Tournament, but these days, I find myself switching over to 🤷

Maybe I'm just getting old, or maybe there’s just too much junk on TV. I guess it's hard to tell.

They just lack that certain charisma, I suppose. ☕

It’s funny how they framed his story, almost like he was some kid from a refugee camp arriving in the States with nothing but a couple of bucks in his pocket. That commentator keeps talking about how he rose up from oppression and poverty, even though his family is probably doing better than most American players, especially in the NBA. I guess it just makes for a great narrative. 🙏

Everything seems to be moving at such a frantic pace lately that even charisma feels like it has a shorter shelf life. For instance, I can't quite wrap my head around that old gag—you know, the one where someone draws caricatures all over town? Or even that recent bit where he just popped out of a tin of Pringles. He’s definitely past his prime.

Matthew Young35 said:Everything seems to be moving at such a frantic pace lately that even charisma feels like it has a shorter shelf life. For instance, I can't quite wrap my head around that old gag—you know, the one where someone draws caricatures all over town? Or even that recent bit where he just popped out of a tin of Pringles. He’s definitely past his prime.

I suppose during his absolute peak, Zlatko Sudac was like a master at slipping through defensive walls, almost like a teleporter. You could maybe call him the Ronaldinho of modern playmakers. 🙏

🤣🤣

urbanhawk17 said:

🤣🤣

Now that... well, what a plot twist 🙏

Jessica Gonzalez said:It’s funny how they framed his story, almost like he was some kid from a refugee camp arriving in the States with nothing but a couple of bucks in his pocket. That commentator keeps talking about how he rose up from oppression and poverty, even though his family is probably doing better than most American players, especially in the NBA. I guess it just makes for a great narrative. 🙏

Actually, wasn't he pulling in several million a season at Benetton? From a pure math standpoint, moving to the NBA barely made sense...

bluebison10 said:Actually, wasn't he pulling in several million a season at Benetton? From a pure math standpoint, moving to the NBA barely made sense...

No, that’s not really what they were getting at. They were saying people underestimated him because he didn't seem like a "tough guy," totally ignoring the environment he actually came up in. I remember hearing people use terms like "poverty" and "oppression" as excuses. It feels kind of wild to say that when you compare his background to how most NBA players grew up in the States 😁

Jessica Gonzalez said:It’s funny how they framed his story, almost like he was some kid from a refugee camp arriving in the States with nothing but a couple of bucks in his pocket. That commentator keeps talking about how he rose up from oppression and poverty, even though his family is probably doing better than most American players, especially in the NBA. I guess it just makes for a great narrative. 🙏

steelharbor9 said:No, that’s not really what they were getting at. They were saying people underestimated him because he didn't seem like a "tough guy," totally ignoring the environment he actually came up in. I remember hearing people use terms like "poverty" and "oppression" as excuses. It feels kind of wild to say that when you compare his background to how most NBA players grew up in the States 😁

Typical American business.
🙄😁

bluebison10 said:Actually, wasn't he pulling in several million a season at Benetton? From a pure math standpoint, moving to the NBA barely made sense...

He actually mentioned in that documentary that for his first few seasons, he was making less in the NBA than he was back in Europe. Honestly, I doubt any of his teammates could even point to America on a map right now. 🤣

It’s that classic American mindset. To them, every country in Eastern Europe is just Russia. 🤣