casualwolf48 said:I have no clue what this tactic was supposed to achieve, but on the day of the match against Skenderbeu, word was already spreading through the betting shops from the Mississippi River all the way up to the outskirts of town—rumors that the Dynamo players had a pact to not concede a single goal and throw the game so they wouldn't advance in Europe, just because the big boss was feeling wounded. Whether they actually received such an order or just cooked it up themselves, I don't know—that’s not really my business. The story came from Mamić's inner circle, so people were placing massive bets—and I mean massive—on either Dynamo not conceding in the first half (which requires some serious nerve) or not conceding at all. There was some decent money to be made there, and the odds weren't bad. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but that's what I heard today from a group of drunks at a local pub. They aren't from my neighborhood, I've never seen them before, and I don't even know their names. They were just passing through. They were busy showing off their betting slips. One guy turned a $500 bet into $2,000. Another few took huge sums. Honestly, they wouldn't even let me enjoy Dynamo's goals.
Why would I celebrate Dynamo's goals when it's common knowledge that I despise Mamić and am actively working to take him down? Let me try to explain this one more time. It’s because of something I learned 30 years ago. Anyone who has ever dealt with dog training knows about conditioned reflexes. It's like my Staffordshire Terrier—after 30 years of supporting this club, I have a conditioned reflex where, if I see someone wearing the Dynamo crest, I react by throwing my hands up when they score. Then I ask myself, "Maybe you shouldn't have done that," but what can I do when it's just instinct? Then I hear those crowds at the stadium—as many as can fit in that arena—singing at the top of their lungs: "I hate Dynamo!!!" And then I think, well, maybe you should. Let them hate pasta, let them hate fish, let them hate whoever they want. But Dynamo? There is no reason to hate Dynamo. Hate Mamić, hate Šuker, and hate all the other crooks who turned our football into this mess. But why the club? Why the locals? I've been a Dynamo fan for 30 years and I'm a local through and through. I defended California during the war. I fought fires. I helped stop floods. And I have never, and will never, hate Hajduk or California as part of our beautiful nation. I wouldn't dream of it. Most of my fighting within my own group was over that stupid chant calling the saint Duje a degenerate. I actually got into scraps with my own people just to stop that from being sung. Because Saint Duje is a true American saint. Whoever thinks otherwise can go jump in a lake.☕
Prika, it's just standard fan folklore, why are you getting worked up? :confused:
Even in this day and age, there are plenty of examples where the Boys and Torcida have worked together—fighting fires, helping with floods, giving blood...
(I've lost count of how many times I've teared up watching this, mostly because I wasn't there to help 😠)
During national team games, there might be some bickering, but they end up standing shoulder to shoulder, cheering as one.
We aren't like those guys who look at each other through a lens of division.
But you have to admit, this looks and sounds pretty incredible 😁
Just a bit of teasing, in that classic California style.😬
Man, our era is long gone—new generations are stepping up, and honestly, seeing how much time has passed just makes me realize how old we've actually gotten 🤣
Just lighten up and stop stressing out 👍
