Offside Chat Archives (2014-2021)

Matthew Young35 said:You have to take several unknowns as a given. Honestly, that’s why this virus is such a nightmare; nobody actually knows anything reliable about it yet.

First off, how much will it mutate? It hasn't even been six months since it first appeared.

Second, is it seasonal? That matters immensely because, unlike the flu, we might not have enough time to prepare for a seasonal wave or get a vaccine ready.

Third, there are reports of people getting reinfected. While these accounts might be unreliable, considering how little we know about this virus, it would be foolish to assume that catching it once grants permanent immunity.

Fourth, the time and resources required for testing are finite, even if the tests themselves are free.

Fifth, how do you actually force everyone to get tested? How do you reach the people showing absolutely no symptoms?

There is more to consider, but that should be enough to start with.

And what happens when it mutates? Back to quarantine again?

Matthew Young35 said:You have to take several unknowns as a given. Honestly, that’s why this virus is such a nightmare; nobody actually knows anything reliable about it yet.

First off, how much will it mutate? It hasn't even been six months since it first appeared.

Second, is it seasonal? That matters immensely because, unlike the flu, we might not have enough time to prepare for a seasonal wave or get a vaccine ready.

Third, there are reports of people getting reinfected. While these accounts might be unreliable, considering how little we know about this virus, it would be foolish to assume that catching it once grants permanent immunity.

Fourth, the time and resources required for testing are finite, even if the tests themselves are free.

Fifth, how do you actually force everyone to get tested? How do you reach the people showing absolutely no symptoms?

There is more to consider, but that should be enough to start with.

There really isn't a beginning or an end to this stuff.

Just tell me this: if you were stuck with two choices, one being that we don't test anyone at all, and the other being that we (theoretically) manage to test all 7.8 billion people on Earth within 48 hours...

Which way are you leaning?

By the way, I'm only counting your answer if you actually believe this virus is a serious threat. Of course, we could always argue for doing zero testing, which means we won't even know the virus exists and we'll just end up with a higher mortality rate than a typical flu season, but that's a whole different conversation.

Regarding every single point you raised, the truth is we'll have more answers if we test more, not less. I honestly don't get how that isn't obvious. There isn't some magic option that solves everything perfectly; there are just better options and worse ones.
Don't tell me you actually think minimal testing is somehow a better move than mass testing?

Look, a century ago, the Spanish Flu infected 500 million people—that was about a quarter of the entire world population back then. It killed 50 million, but hey, the world is still spinning and we’re all still here. Nature can be a real bitch, but humans are the one thing nature didn't account for. We're this adaptable bunch of survivors that Mother Nature just can't seem to keep in check anymore. The human race has pushed through way worse crap than this. Who knows what the future holds? Honestly, we'll adapt to whatever comes our way.

We are basically a virus to nature, an anomaly it never saw coming.

That Spanish Flu virus actually ended up weakening itself; I've read quite a bit about how it eventually just fizzled out. The virus was too aggressive, killing off its hosts before it could spread effectively. So, it had to mutate, weaken down, and eventually just vanish into thin air.

restlesssurfer97 said:There really isn't a beginning or an end to this stuff.

Just tell me this: if you were stuck with two choices, one being that we don't test anyone at all, and the other being that we (theoretically) manage to test all 7.8 billion people on Earth within 48 hours...

Which way are you leaning?

By the way, I'm only counting your answer if you actually believe this virus is a serious threat. Of course, we could always argue for doing zero testing, which means we won't even know the virus exists and we'll just end up with a higher mortality rate than a typical flu season, but that's a whole different conversation.

Regarding every single point you raised, the truth is we'll have more answers if we test more, not less. I honestly don't get how that isn't obvious. There isn't some magic option that solves everything perfectly; there are just better options and worse ones.
Don't tell me you actually think minimal testing is somehow a better move than mass testing?

Well, I am absolutely in favor of testing all 7 billion people in 48 hours.
But let’s be realistic: that is physically impossible.

In my view, targeted testing is far more practical than testing just for the sake of testing—you know, when there's no real purpose other than padding the statistics to make the numbers look better.

The whole idea is targeted testing, at least that's how I see it, because if you actually have 150,000 tests available every single day, why on earth would you waste a mere 23,000 just on contact tracing? I'm convinced they're operating on a specific model here, and honestly, doing random testing is such a brilliant move, provided it follows a structured model of course. That way, you can actually make real projections about how much the infection is spreading through the general population. It’s pretty simple—the larger the sample size, the better the data.

Elizabeth Mendoza said:Look, a century ago, the Spanish Flu infected 500 million people—that was about a quarter of the entire world population back then. It killed 50 million, but hey, the world is still spinning and we’re all still here. Nature can be a real bitch, but humans are the one thing nature didn't account for. We're this adaptable bunch of survivors that Mother Nature just can't seem to keep in check anymore. The human race has pushed through way worse crap than this. Who knows what the future holds? Honestly, we'll adapt to whatever comes our way.

We are basically a virus to nature, an anomaly it never saw coming.

That Spanish Flu virus actually ended up weakening itself; I've read quite a bit about how it eventually just fizzled out. The virus was too aggressive, killing off its hosts before it could spread effectively. So, it had to mutate, weaken down, and eventually just vanish into thin air.

I have to admit, I’m completely missing the point of what you just wrote.

Why don't you hop in a time machine (if you don't have one, I'll lend you mine) and head back to those days? Go ahead and tell someone on their deathbed not to worry because, hey, the world isn't going to end.

We lived through World War II, where tens or even hundreds of millions of people perished, and yet, the world didn't collapse.
Maybe you should travel back to Auschwitz and try explaining to them that it wasn't really such a big deal, that the world will keep spinning regardless.

Matthew Young35 said:Well, I am absolutely in favor of testing all 7 billion people in 48 hours.
But let’s be realistic: that is physically impossible.

In my view, targeted testing is far more practical than testing just for the sake of testing—you know, when there's no real purpose other than padding the statistics to make the numbers look better.

The biggest headache is that the virus spreads through people who don't even show symptoms. If we could isolate those people, they wouldn't be able to infect everyone else.

So, testing just to hit numbers doesn't make sense, because if we actually tested effectively, we'd find more infected people who could then be isolated.

If this were a virus spread only by symptomatic people, maybe we could talk about unnecessary testing, though I suspect the virus would have already burned itself out if it only moved through people showing symptoms.

urbanhawk17 said:The biggest headache is that the virus spreads through people who don't even show symptoms. If we could isolate those people, they wouldn't be able to infect everyone else.

So, testing just to hit numbers doesn't make sense, because if we actually tested effectively, we'd find more infected people who could then be isolated.

If this were a virus spread only by symptomatic people, maybe we could talk about unnecessary testing, though I suspect the virus would have already burned itself out if it only moved through people showing symptoms.

Look, I’m not suggesting that testing is unnecessary. Not at all.
I’m just saying, the sheer volume of testing doesn't actually mean anything.

Look at it this way: if you take a place like Istria, where there are virtually no active cases, versus a place like Washington, D.C., where you’re looking at 40 infections, the choice becomes obvious. It’s only logical to concentrate testing efforts where you actually expect to find people who are sick, rather than wasting resources in areas where you already know nothing is happening. Why hunt for shadows in the desert when you can go straight to the source?
I know I’m being a bit hyperbolic here, but surely you have enough imagination to fill in the blanks and grasp exactly what I meant.

Conducting a total, exhaustive testing phase is simply impossible. It’s an unrealistic goal. Instead, we need to implement targeted, strategic testing. Why aim for everything when you can focus on what actually matters?
First off, you have to look at those in the best position to spread the virus—people like retail workers, doctors, and frontline staff.

The big question remains: will we ever actually see games with a crowd again? And don't even get me started on MLS—that's a lost cause for this year. Maybe next year, if we're lucky.

UEFA basically said they’ll have crowds back at every single match starting this September, and they’re giving their word on it.
The LA Galaxy are celebrating because they took that as a total guarantee from UEFA that the stands will be full.

restlesssurfer97 said:UEFA basically said they’ll have crowds back at every single match starting this September, and they’re giving their word on it.
The LA Galaxy are celebrating because they took that as a total guarantee from UEFA that the stands will be full.

Are you trolling?

Got a link?

Nah.

urbanhawk17 said:I’m trying to follow Kenekov's logic here. We've got 7.5 billion people on the planet, 2 million infected (though it's probably higher than that, let's be real), with about 500,000 recoveries and 133,000 deaths.

That works out to roughly 0.026% infection rate and a total death rate of 0.0017% relative to the global population. And yet, somehow, the whole world just stopped.

How exactly did this expert calculate everything? ☕
7.5 billion people worldwide, 133 thousand dead, a 0.026 percent infection rate.

An American would say it’s as simple as pie.

Around 68,000 people die from leukemia every year—assuming there are 7.5 billion people on the planet. If you take a tiny slice of that tiny slice, why on earth are we blowing through cash on treatments, meds, and transplants?

Next thing you know, someone will show up with "data" claiming 30 people die from cigarettes every day, or something along those lines...

People are actually dying just because everyone is too terrified of COVID to even look them in the eye, and honestly, it feels like that’s becoming the new norm, so you have to wonder if Beroš is finally going to step down and call it quits.

We’ve already got people passing away because paramedics are scared to step in, and I can't even begin to wrap my head around the absolute mess we're facing with all these canceled surgeries, missed diagnoses, and delayed treatments...
As long as the task force has the backing of 94% of these sheep who won't question a single thing, I guess everything is fine, but man, that mindless follower mentality is just exhausting to watch.🤦
I mean, when people claim Americans are wild and uncontrollable, this is exactly what they're talking about.🤦

Paul Martinez73 said:How exactly did this expert calculate everything? ☕
7.5 billion people worldwide, 133 thousand dead, a 0.026 percent infection rate.

An American would say it’s as simple as pie.

Around 68,000 people die from leukemia every year—assuming there are 7.5 billion people on the planet. If you take a tiny slice of that tiny slice, why on earth are we blowing through cash on treatments, meds, and transplants?

Next thing you know, someone will show up with "data" claiming 30 people die from cigarettes every day, or something along those lines...

So the whole world just stopped because of leukemia?

Don't twist my words.

restlesssurfer97 said:People are actually dying just because everyone is too terrified of COVID to even look them in the eye, and honestly, it feels like that’s becoming the new norm, so you have to wonder if Beroš is finally going to step down and call it quits.

We’ve already got people passing away because paramedics are scared to step in, and I can't even begin to wrap my head around the absolute mess we're facing with all these canceled surgeries, missed diagnoses, and delayed treatments...
As long as the task force has the backing of 94% of these sheep who won't question a single thing, I guess everything is fine, but man, that mindless follower mentality is just exhausting to watch.🤦
I mean, when people claim Americans are wild and uncontrollable, this is exactly what they're talking about.🤦

Besides that, they’re scared to go in for a checkup.

The Czechs are heading in 👋

Season saved 👋

Article powered by the US Government.

rapidstag2 I was just sitting here thinking about what someone said... it's funny how things come up when you least expect them, isn't it? It makes me wonder if we ever really grasp the full weight of a conversation until much later, when the silence sets in and you start connecting the dots in your head... anyway, I was just reflecting on that one thought...
...

🤣🤣

urbanhawk17 said:The Czechs are heading in 👋

Season saved 👋

Article powered by the US Government.

At this rate, every single tourist is going to end up with their own personal concierge from the local tourism board.

The FEMA employees are going to be quite busy if those Czech gentlemen actually decide to go hiking
Gavrilovic will probably end up organizing some free pâté giveaways
America is going to come out on top once again

Let the Haters suffer...