Offside Chat Archives (2014-2021)

Amanda Evans2, just hang in there 🙂

Listen, bluebison47, the years are really starting to catch up with us. We aren't those young kids anymore who can just go out and indulge in something heavy whenever we feel like it without paying the price the next morning 🐔
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The water in Los Angeles is totally shot because of this heatwave.

Man, we seriously need to just shut the whole thing down and fix it with some old-school Russian efficiency.

Fine by me. It’ll just end up obsolete anyway... ☕

Paul Sanders5 said:The water in Los Angeles is totally shot because of this heatwave.

Man, we seriously need to just shut the whole thing down and fix it with some old-school Russian efficiency.

Since when did you become so sensitive to the temperature?

Does anyone have a solid recommendation for a cafe in downtown Chicago where I can actually catch a game? Somewhere in the Loop or maybe near the West Loop. I'm looking for a laid-back vibe—nothing too fancy or pretentious, just a place where you don't feel out of place if you aren't dressed up for a gala.
I wouldn't mind somewhere near United Center, either.

Sam Brown20 said:Does anyone have a solid recommendation for a cafe in downtown Chicago where I can actually catch a game? Somewhere in the Loop or maybe near the West Loop. I'm looking for a laid-back vibe—nothing too fancy or pretentious, just a place where you don't feel out of place if you aren't dressed up for a gala.
I wouldn't mind somewhere near United Center, either.

Dribbling Sports Bar, right across from the United Center 🙂

(though I suppose I don't really know which specific game you're looking for, but they have about 6 or 7 TVs, so I guess it'll definitely be 🙂)

The British will probably have their own take on this. I actually did a quick Google search on him right before you posted, and honestly? I'm a fan. It’s a relief to see my gut feeling backed up by some actual data 👍

I saw this story about some club over in Spain where a group of Russians just beat an Italian guy to death, and the worst part? A bunch of people just stood there filming the whole thing on their phones. Absolute savages.

Sam Brown20 said:Does anyone have a solid recommendation for a cafe in downtown Chicago where I can actually catch a game? Somewhere in the Loop or maybe near the West Loop. I'm looking for a laid-back vibe—nothing too fancy or pretentious, just a place where you don't feel out of place if you aren't dressed up for a gala.
I wouldn't mind somewhere near United Center, either.

There's Brewbites over in the suburbs if you're planning on catching a bunch of games in a row.🤷

Peter Thompson4 said:There's Brewbites over in the suburbs if you're planning on catching a bunch of games in a row.🤷

It gets pretty crowded there during the big matchups, I guess. Plus, they really tempt you with food, which isn't exactly cheap. Maybe it would be better to just grab a seat somewhere in downtown Chicago.

Jessica Gonzalez said:It gets pretty crowded there during the big matchups, I guess. Plus, they really tempt you with food, which isn't exactly cheap. Maybe it would be better to just grab a seat somewhere in downtown Chicago.

Yeah, it’s definitely not cheap, but I actually dig this American concept, even if it's probably the cheapest thing on their menu while being way above average price for us here, and it's such a shame because the place looks really nice.

Judging by all the ups and downs in these threads and the constant back-and-forth references, there are a ton of ASOIAF fans hanging out here. It makes me wonder if anyone actually sat through those last few episodes of Game of Thrones? I've heard they're absolute fire, like... legendary level...

Personally, I checked out after season four. The way they were butchering the source material felt like a straight punch to the gut. So now I'm curious—is what we've seen lately actually that mind-blowing and unexpected that it could satisfy even the hardcore readers who can't stand the show? Is it worth spoiling the books if anyone even bothers reading them, or is it still just that same overhyped, boring train wreck that HBO’s flagship always seemed to be...

Robert Torres said:Judging by all the ups and downs in these threads and the constant back-and-forth references, there are a ton of ASOIAF fans hanging out here. It makes me wonder if anyone actually sat through those last few episodes of Game of Thrones? I've heard they're absolute fire, like... legendary level...

Personally, I checked out after season four. The way they were butchering the source material felt like a straight punch to the gut. So now I'm curious—is what we've seen lately actually that mind-blowing and unexpected that it could satisfy even the hardcore readers who can't stand the show? Is it worth spoiling the books if anyone even bothers reading them, or is it still just that same overhyped, boring train wreck that HBO’s flagship always seemed to be...

That's a tough one.

Robert Torres said:Judging by all the ups and downs in these threads and the constant back-and-forth references, there are a ton of ASOIAF fans hanging out here. It makes me wonder if anyone actually sat through those last few episodes of Game of Thrones? I've heard they're absolute fire, like... legendary level...

Personally, I checked out after season four. The way they were butchering the source material felt like a straight punch to the gut. So now I'm curious—is what we've seen lately actually that mind-blowing and unexpected that it could satisfy even the hardcore readers who can't stand the show? Is it worth spoiling the books if anyone even bothers reading them, or is it still just that same overhyped, boring train wreck that HBO’s flagship always seemed to be...

The images in your head are almost always better than what ends up on screen. That's true 99% of the time...

But within reason, they did a solid job. I do wonder if Martin will ever actually finish the series after this, especially since he took forever to get through each book before...

Also, most people probably don't know this, but long before the books blew up and way before the show started, Martin was a guest speaker at a convention in New York. I actually went and saw him speak live. He was a really cool guy. Back then, I was ordering his books from Amazon and was totally hooked... I think it was around the time the third one was being written...

Robert Torres said:Judging by all the ups and downs in these threads and the constant back-and-forth references, there are a ton of ASOIAF fans hanging out here. It makes me wonder if anyone actually sat through those last few episodes of Game of Thrones? I've heard they're absolute fire, like... legendary level...

Personally, I checked out after season four. The way they were butchering the source material felt like a straight punch to the gut. So now I'm curious—is what we've seen lately actually that mind-blowing and unexpected that it could satisfy even the hardcore readers who can't stand the show? Is it worth spoiling the books if anyone even bothers reading them, or is it still just that same overhyped, boring train wreck that HBO’s flagship always seemed to be...

I don't know, personally? Not really.

To answer your question: no. But you should still watch it just because it's a massive hit. For me, the show is overrated; it's fine, but it's definitely not the life-changing masterpiece everyone claims it is.

I know it's a totally different vibe, but shows like Homeland and Billions are fantastic. Then again, Taboo and Narcos are on a whole other level. I'm taking a break from everything right now, but I just wanted to mention it so nobody misses out if they love great TV.

Homeland is complete garbage in season two. I stopped watching. What a waste. Yeah, she fell in love 🤣

urbanhawk17 said:Homeland is complete garbage in season two. I stopped watching. What a waste. Yeah, she fell in love 🤣

I managed to push through until season four, but once she starts falling in love again, I'm out 🤣
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Why’s that? Honestly, maybe I just think it’s great because I haven’t seen many other shows with this vibe—the closest thing I've found would be a well-developed HBO drama, which is actually next on my watchlist. But why do people say Homeland is trash?

Oh, wait, I see you guys have only watched two seasons. The show really hits its stride later on. ☕

I wouldn't call it bottom-of-the-barrel; I’m still watching it even after four seasons.

To play back my old *House of Cards* argument, in my opinion, it’s incomparably better than *Homeland*.