Offside Chat Archives (2014-2021)

Look, I’m not here to play armchair expert or debate who called what correctly, because frankly, I don't care about being right. But the reality on the ground is that since Monday, my neck of the woods here in Germany has basically been under some kind of strict police curfew...

Things are looking pretty grim..

Man, this corona swept through just like a layer of dust 🥳

bluebison47 said:Did you actually sit through the whole thing, or did you just watch the trailer like I did?

Judging by what I’m seeing on American Twitter, people are mostly just making fun of it, though apparently, fans of English football are actually quite thrilled.🤷

I’m just... I don't know, I'm just hoping the match scenes won't look like some cheesy soap opera. Word is they hired some soccer choreographer who usually does commercials for Nike or Adidas, so, yeah. Who knows.

I checked out the first episode. Honestly, it's decent enough. As for how the soccer scenes looked, it's hard to say since I have no clue what it actually looked like back in the 19th century :P

A police curfew just makes zero sense to me—I mean, what the hell is the point of locking down a city at night? If you’re actually serious about restricting movement, just close everything down during the day instead.

Paul Sanders5 said:Man, this corona swept through just like a layer of dust 🥳

And then the pension system laughs in the face of retirees.

Alright, I’ll bite. Can one of you "it’s just a mild flu" experts explain the logic here? So, let me get this straight: all the virologists, scientists, world leaders, and globally renowned doctors are somehow wrong? The entire global scientific community is hallucinating, but a handful of random people on a message board have it all figured out? Where exactly are you guys pulling these claims from...

Is it actually possible for the entire scientific establishment to be wrong?
Obviously, once a vaccine is fully developed, you can start making comparisons to the flu or whatever, but right now? Comparing this to the flu is just laughable. And that whole argument—that if there were no vaccine for the flu, mortality would be even higher—is even more nonsensical. You're basically saying this virus is such a joke that when it hits, it's just a coin toss whether you live or die, or someone close to you, whereas you just catch the flu by accident.

And please, spare me the "my buddy is a doctor at University Hospital" anecdotes as your primary source of truth.

Honestly, if you look at the global numbers—especially over in China where the epidemic is pretty much winding down—they speak for themselves.
Italy is really the outlier here, mostly because they managed to make some incredibly boneheaded mistakes along the way.

Here’s another piece that really says a lot if you actually look at it:

In Italy, the average age of death is hovering near 80, and almost everyone—nearly everyone—was dealing with at least one other underlying health issue.

By the way, I’m wondering why nobody is stepping up with the actual data to show how many people died from the flu this season in places like Italy, the USA, or even here, and then actually comparing those numbers to Covid.

I have a feeling we’d stumble upon some pretty interesting figures 🕺

Honestly, these Italians are just a total accident of history. If the Romans could see them now, they’d be spinning in their graves.

It’s always easy to talk big when you aren't the one in the line of fire, isn't it? It's not like I'm shaking in my boots or anything—actually, I just got back from a pickup basketball game where there were maybe 15 people hanging out.

But hey, it’s all well and good while everything is playing out over in Italy. Would any of us be obsessing over whether it’s a 1% or 3% fatality rate if it were happening right here in the States? Would GQ be making those wild analogies if it were hitting our own backyard? If those percentages were your actual reality instead of just numbers on a spreadsheet, would you feel differently? Imagine hearing the stories firsthand, or heaven forbid, watching your own neighbors become nothing more than a statistic in a crowd, wondering which side of that percentage you’re going to land on. You'd be huddled in a room, praying that you—and that one or three percent—just bypass you entirely. Honestly, I find it hard to believe anyone could comfort themselves with statistics in that moment, let alone try to convince others on a forum that these are just harmless little figures.

Besides, even though I get the impression the virus itself might not be more dangerous than the flu, it is definitely much easier to spread on a massive scale. And then there are the complications—they might not always be fatal, but they certainly require a serious response, the right equipment, and total readiness. I mean, what is the actual mortality rate of a virus if you have 500 ventilators available for 10,000 critical patients?
The real question is how prepared we actually are—especially in terms of physical capacity—to suppress this thing. Because if you aren't ready, that vacuum-sealed fact about a "1% mortality rate" doesn't mean a single thing.

Paul Sanders5 said:Honestly, these Italians are just a total accident of history. If the Romans could see them now, they’d be spinning in their graves.

🤣 🤣

Sam Thomas3 said:It’s always easy to talk big when you aren't the one in the line of fire, isn't it? It's not like I'm shaking in my boots or anything—actually, I just got back from a pickup basketball game where there were maybe 15 people hanging out.

But hey, it’s all well and good while everything is playing out over in Italy. Would any of us be obsessing over whether it’s a 1% or 3% fatality rate if it were happening right here in the States? Would GQ be making those wild analogies if it were hitting our own backyard? If those percentages were your actual reality instead of just numbers on a spreadsheet, would you feel differently? Imagine hearing the stories firsthand, or heaven forbid, watching your own neighbors become nothing more than a statistic in a crowd, wondering which side of that percentage you’re going to land on. You'd be huddled in a room, praying that you—and that one or three percent—just bypass you entirely. Honestly, I find it hard to believe anyone could comfort themselves with statistics in that moment, let alone try to convince others on a forum that these are just harmless little figures.

Besides, even though I get the impression the virus itself might not be more dangerous than the flu, it is definitely much easier to spread on a massive scale. And then there are the complications—they might not always be fatal, but they certainly require a serious response, the right equipment, and total readiness. I mean, what is the actual mortality rate of a virus if you have 500 ventilators available for 10,000 critical patients?
The real question is how prepared we actually are—especially in terms of physical capacity—to suppress this thing. Because if you aren't ready, that vacuum-sealed fact about a "1% mortality rate" doesn't mean a single thing.

The biggest issue is that if the count climbs past 800, we're in trouble because we won't have the space or the ventilators...

That's the current situation in Italy; they lack enough ventilators and hospital beds, so they're literally choosing the younger patients and letting the older ones pass away.

Of course, this all started because doctors brought the virus into the oncology ward... and now it's just panic and chaos. They should have the quarantine results by Monday, maybe a day earlier or later, but it's crucial to reduce the patient load so they have enough ventilators for everyone.

I think our officials mentioned today that we have 800 ventilators in the US, but right now there are only three patients on them. Once you're on a ventilator, you're in critical condition. You can't breathe on your own.

If things take a sharp turn for the worse, there will be problems, and that's why being aware of the quarantine is so important. As a virus, the mortality isn't huge, except for the elderly.

And if it reaches the point where we have to take a ventilator off someone who is 90 just to save someone who is 30, then we are truly in trouble.

urbanhawk17 said:The biggest issue is that if the count climbs past 800, we're in trouble because we won't have the space or the ventilators...

That's the current situation in Italy; they lack enough ventilators and hospital beds, so they're literally choosing the younger patients and letting the older ones pass away.

Of course, this all started because doctors brought the virus into the oncology ward... and now it's just panic and chaos. They should have the quarantine results by Monday, maybe a day earlier or later, but it's crucial to reduce the patient load so they have enough ventilators for everyone.

I think our officials mentioned today that we have 800 ventilators in the US, but right now there are only three patients on them. Once you're on a ventilator, you're in critical condition. You can't breathe on your own.

If things take a sharp turn for the worse, there will be problems, and that's why being aware of the quarantine is so important. As a virus, the mortality isn't huge, except for the elderly.

And if it reaches the point where we have to take a ventilator off someone who is 90 just to save someone who is 30, then we are truly in trouble.

And that’s the crux of it, you know? This virus spreads uncontrollably. With the flu, if it catches you, it catches you, but it's different. Here, you're dealing with a virus that attacks your respiratory system, forcing doctors to hook people up to machines that simply aren't available in enough quantity to cover every critical case.
You saw the interview on the news with the President, where he explained that even if nobody new gets infected, the numbers will still skyrocket exponentially. He said if you have 2,000 people sick with this virus and don't implement quarantines for two weeks, you'll end up with 250,000 cases.

Comparing this to the flu is just plain stupid. There’s a vaccine for the flu and actual medications that work, whereas for this, we know basically nothing, which is why everyone is so hyper-focused. If you're vaccinated against the flu, you might feel like crap, but if you do happen to catch it, you'll probably just stay home with some pills and recover. You likely won't even end up in the ER, and you won't pass it to your family because they're vaccinated too, so life carries on normally. You aren't going to infect ten people around you with the flu.

When I had the flu, my grandma would bring me soup and she never caught a thing; she's fine to this day. But if I catch this thing now, I doubt my grandma would be bringing me soup... wouldn't you?

But you aren't saying the same thing I am, or maybe I just didn't catch your drift, but it doesn't really matter.

It hits the lungs, sure, but it isn't any more lethal than the flu.

Take the US, for example—we have about 130 cases right now, with 3 people on ventilators. We’re kind of lucky in this mess because the average age of those infected is 46, if I'm remembering correctly. If that average jumps to 65, we’re going to be in serious trouble.

In Italy, they just reported 5,500 new infections today. If 500 of those people need a ventilator today or tomorrow, well, there go your next 500 deaths...

And regarding the flu, like I said, you can get vaccinated, but the shot might not even work if the doctors guessed the wrong strain. It's not like you just get jabbed when the flu shows up; you have to do it 2 or 3 weeks beforehand.

And honestly, how many of us actually head down to the local clinic to get vaccinated before flu season even hits?

urbanhawk17 said:The biggest issue is that if the count climbs past 800, we're in trouble because we won't have the space or the ventilators...

That's the current situation in Italy; they lack enough ventilators and hospital beds, so they're literally choosing the younger patients and letting the older ones pass away.

Of course, this all started because doctors brought the virus into the oncology ward... and now it's just panic and chaos. They should have the quarantine results by Monday, maybe a day earlier or later, but it's crucial to reduce the patient load so they have enough ventilators for everyone.

I think our officials mentioned today that we have 800 ventilators in the US, but right now there are only three patients on them. Once you're on a ventilator, you're in critical condition. You can't breathe on your own.

If things take a sharp turn for the worse, there will be problems, and that's why being aware of the quarantine is so important. As a virus, the mortality isn't huge, except for the elderly.

And if it reaches the point where we have to take a ventilator off someone who is 90 just to save someone who is 30, then we are truly in trouble.

Well, there you have it. There's only so much room to maneuver, and it's totally unrealistic to expect us to handle this the way Italians or Spaniards (generally speaking) are. Some people are just throwing numbers around that are completely out of context, seemingly ignoring every other factor! It’s as if they think the virus acts on robots—where one breaks and 99 stay fine—while completely ignoring the need for hospital resources and the shortage thereof.
To be honest, 800 ventilators sounds like a surprisingly decent number to me, but the real question is how many of them are actually being used right now.

But what really gets me is when people claim Italy is just a freak case (which, let's be real, it is). But then they try to use China as a counterargument. 🤣 For crying out loud, those guys basically built a mega-hospital with an insane amount of equipment and beds in ten days, and had it cleared in twenty! Is that just "business as usual" over there?
Meanwhile, we’ve got tents and an arena set up. So, looking at the two, who do you think we actually resemble? 😁
Let's hope for the best, and while it's likely we won't see an "Italy scenario" play out here or anywhere else, it would be naive to think this situation is simple or easy to fix. Even if we were as efficient as the Chinese, it wouldn't be a walk in the park.

Sam Thomas3 said:Well, there you have it. There's only so much room to maneuver, and it's totally unrealistic to expect us to handle this the way Italians or Spaniards (generally speaking) are. Some people are just throwing numbers around that are completely out of context, seemingly ignoring every other factor! It’s as if they think the virus acts on robots—where one breaks and 99 stay fine—while completely ignoring the need for hospital resources and the shortage thereof.
To be honest, 800 ventilators sounds like a surprisingly decent number to me, but the real question is how many of them are actually being used right now.

But what really gets me is when people claim Italy is just a freak case (which, let's be real, it is). But then they try to use China as a counterargument. 🤣 For crying out loud, those guys basically built a mega-hospital with an insane amount of equipment and beds in ten days, and had it cleared in twenty! Is that just "business as usual" over there?
Meanwhile, we’ve got tents and an arena set up. So, looking at the two, who do you think we actually resemble? 😁
Let's hope for the best, and while it's likely we won't see an "Italy scenario" play out here or anywhere else, it would be naive to think this situation is simple or easy to fix. Even if we were as efficient as the Chinese, it wouldn't be a walk in the park.

🤣🤣

We aren't exactly doing any better either, considering we went running to the Chinese to build the Pelješac bridge 😬

Got some info from a solid source saying that starting next week—most likely Wednesday—we're looking at a full-on lockdown. Basically, work, essential retail, and emergency services are the only things still running.

Eric Fox7 said:Got some info from a solid source saying that starting next week—most likely Wednesday—we're looking at a full-on lockdown. Basically, work, essential retail, and emergency services are the only things still running.

At this rate, divorce lawyers are going to be the only ones making real money from all this...

Facebook is just full of melodrama lately. Of course, they're all posting pictures and videos of their beds from the arena.

Eric Fox7 said:Got some info from a solid source saying that starting next week—most likely Wednesday—we're looking at a full-on lockdown. Basically, work, essential retail, and emergency services are the only things still running.

Look, if that's actually happening, and it seems more and more certain, why wait? Why not start tomorrow? Or Sunday? It's four days until Wednesday. By then, we'll probably have another 500 or 600 infections.

Personally, I'm all for isolating the elderly and those with health issues while letting everyone else live normally. If that won't work—and it clearly won't—then we need a total lockdown, not this half-measure we're dealing with now. This current setup is nothing.

And by the way, now that people in the city are heading out to their weekend homes, there could be quite a few cases popping up in the suburbs. I hope that doesn't happen, but I wouldn't be surprised.

urbanhawk17 said:Facebook is just full of melodrama lately. Of course, they're all posting pictures and videos of their beds from the arena.

Look, if that's actually happening, and it seems more and more certain, why wait? Why not start tomorrow? Or Sunday? It's four days until Wednesday. By then, we'll probably have another 500 or 600 infections.

Personally, I'm all for isolating the elderly and those with health issues while letting everyone else live normally. If that won't work—and it clearly won't—then we need a total lockdown, not this half-measure we're dealing with now. This current setup is nothing.

And by the way, now that people in the city are heading out to their weekend homes, there could be quite a few cases popping up in the suburbs. I hope that doesn't happen, but I wouldn't be surprised.

+ footage from the hospital in Bergamo Pathetique 🙄

Pure Bergam Pathetique.

urbanhawk17 said:Facebook is just full of melodrama lately. Of course, they're all posting pictures and videos of their beds from the arena.

Look, if that's actually happening, and it seems more and more certain, why wait? Why not start tomorrow? Or Sunday? It's four days until Wednesday. By then, we'll probably have another 500 or 600 infections.

Personally, I'm all for isolating the elderly and those with health issues while letting everyone else live normally. If that won't work—and it clearly won't—then we need a total lockdown, not this half-measure we're dealing with now. This current setup is nothing.

And by the way, now that people in the city are heading out to their weekend homes, there could be quite a few cases popping up in the suburbs. I hope that doesn't happen, but I wouldn't be surprised.

It’s just like how we sat around waiting three whole days to deal with those cafe closures—honestly, they could have shut the schools down at the exact same time. 🤷

By the way—I honestly think the most vulnerable people out there are actually the ones with the least discipline. I was out riding my bike today and the city is just absolutely crawling with people. Even the news sites are reporting that a group of seventy-year-olds decided to go out for some collective sunbathing and a dip in the Mississippi River today. Just wild. 🙏🤦
Honestly, people like that don't even need COVID—a common cold would probably land them straight in the ICU.