And my point is that this enthusiasm wouldn't exist to go to Guatemala, so it can't be "misplaced". Enthusiasm for the Cuba match is only a net gain to the US soccer community. Ultimately, don't think I'm not with you in wanting more US fans to travel. I just don't see any harm in wanting to travel to this match. Some people may, indeed, want to go because it's forbidden, or to make their own political points. Some on these boards are undoubtedly annoyed that people would choose to travel for what are, probably, childish reasons. But (a) I guess I don't really care why they'd choose to travel and (b) why would anyone think that those are the only reasons one could have for travelling? The Cuban team's obviously been hit by defections over the years, but has sometimes played the US tough. I'd expect a decent match in Havana. What's more, Havana sounds like a beautiful and fascinating city, with a lot more to see than Port of Spain or Guatemala City-- on purely tourist reasons, I'd choose Havana. If I could go legally, I'd certainly go to this match without a thought about the political history.
IMHO ... IMHO .... IMHO ... I think that's right. Although I would expand the window to about 1994. The Soviet "Union" fell apart when all the republics - Latvia, Lithuania, Uzbekistan, etc. - became independent. The communist government in those nations and satellites (Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, etc.) took a few years longer, though. But yeah, it's a shame Castro didn't see the writing on the walls and eventually throw in the towel like Gorbachev did in 1992. But Castro didn't change his ways of governing ... Poland, Czechozlovakia, and Yugoslavia did. Hence, those nations (and their successors) are allies, while Cuba is not. It's not that simple, of course, but it's along that line of thinking. Would lifting the embargo at this time have sped up democratization? Maybe, I can see that way of thinking, and we are trying something like that in China. How is it working there, do you think? As far as free inflow of American goods, tourists, etc. That's what was happening before Castro took over in the late 1950s. Didn't keep communism from taking over there; Castro used, in part, that very thing in rallying the proletariat. American prosperity could, in this way, be blamed for leading to the communist takeover. That's ludicrous, of course, it was all Castro, his charisma, and Soviet support that led to the communist takeover. But it does call the premise of re-introducing American prosperity as a way of defeating communism there, into question, especially since American prosperity was the ostensible "evil" that Castro used to rise to power. Add to that a couple of generations of preaching against it, and there you can see the slowness to just infuse a bunch of prosperity there. I hope it changes ... how that will come about is probably outside the control of USMNT fans. But that's just my opinion, nothing more.
Re: Broadcast for USMNT @ Cuba Except that the University of South Florida is actually in Tampa, not Miami or anywhere near Dade County. The University of Central Florida is in Orlando, which actually is central Florida. So, no, even for purposes of the joke, it's not USA vs. Cuba. Ask JFK. And every administration since, I believe. That's a lot. That's, like....534+ people. More if you round up.
How To Get Into Cuba Without Being Caught First, when you travel to Cuba as an American citizen, immigration in Cuba will not stamp your passport, so no proof. Second, it is not illegal to go to Cuba, it is illegal to spend money there. Finally, the easiest way to get there is the Border crossing along border states with Mexico where you can walk or drive across the border. Fly from Tijuana to Havana. Cross at the San Diego port of Entry. Also, drive from Texas to Monterry Mexico to the Airport there. Tijuana/San Diego crossing is the best way. If you go to Cuba through a Carribean country, the entry and exit stamps will be opposite of what they should be and is total red flag for US Govt. You can still cross from Mexico with just a photo ID and birth certificate. So need to show passport when you cross. The people in Cuba are fantastic and if you wanted to go to the game, you would have no problem buying a ticket off of someone there. Everything is for sale in Cuba. Any questions, just ask. Anyone want to go, I am down for that!
Re: How To Get Into Cuba Without Being Caught That's like Rodney Dangerfield's travel agent who set him up with a trip. "Six nights in Puerto Rico....no days, just six nights in Puerto Rico. I said to her, 'What will I do with myself days?' She said 'Do whatever you want, just keep out of Puerto Rico!'" You don't say.
Cuba really is not dangerous for Americans. "Cuando caiga Fidel!" I spent my entire life listening to that. My honest impression of Cuba (based solely on impression and no data)? The Revolution will continue long after Fidel. And the only way to counter that is to continue to spread capitalism, and that happens through contact btw cultures and economies. An American citizen is NOT going to get their head cut off by the govt. Oh, but he did see that coming. In fact, he began to build the tourism infrastructure in the mid to late 80's to transition to a quasi-capitalist form of communism. In fact, he had already begun to close touristy places to locals in the early '80s so that ppl would literally forget about them and they'd be used only by tourists when the time was appropriate. Gambling, drugs and prostitution run by Batista's henchmen and the mafiosos currently dying off in Miami... not exactly a good form of "tourism". A US-backed military dictator isn't a democracy.
Maybe the "gambling, drugs" stuff is true and maybe it's not. It is true that a US-backed dictator is not a democracy. I would say, though, that a US-backed dictator is friendly to the US and wouldn't, oh, try to base Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. I don't agree with that policy in a perfect world, but the Cold War was a whole different ball game. There was a superpower other than, and in opposition to, the USA, making geopolitical moves in the world and trying to increase the breadth of its way of life (communism). We could either fight it or not. Personally, I'm glad we fought it ... and won. Sometimes, you have to go with imperfect ideas ... and it can blow up in your face. See also Jimmy Carter's policy of supporting Osama Bin Laden in fighting the invading Soviets in 1980 Afghanistan. You just have to make the best call you can at the time. While Bin Laden would go on to attack and kill thousands of Americans, the Soviet regime, by 1980, attacked and killed millions of people ... and could, with a touch of The Button, destroy life on this planet. 9/11 was horrible, but I can't say a nuclear war or global domination by the brutal Soviet regime would have been preferable. Imperfect. As for the rest, well, that's your opinion. I've given mine. Let the folks decide. I doubt we'll convince each other of anything on the Big Soccer forums
HOW CAN YOU SAY A PLACE IS DANGEROUS IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN THERE? Of all the place I have been in Latin American, that is the safest I ever felt. By the way, those with less always have more to give and that was the case there. You are nuts and way too political for this forum. People want to go there to see the match, so be helpful in that sense. Do you own a passport or just one of those guys that travels around the USA thinking he has seen the world. Pull your head out of Texas!
Re: How To Get Into Cuba Without Being Caught That was productive to the blog. Wow, send that to the state department???
As for helping people do something that is illegal, well, I don't think that would serve them or me. Besides, in good conscience, I can't recommend a trip to Cuba ... especially for a soccer game when several of Cuba's soccer players recently defected. It all just adds up to trouble. If you feel differently, that's fine, but there's no need for insults.
Re: How To Get Into Cuba Without Being Caught The US Government is one step ahead of you. The State Dept. hires spotters and offers cash rewards to airport/airline workers that rat out Americans traveling to Cuba from Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean. Those unlucky travelers then receive fines in the mail for several thousand dollars from the Treasury Dept. Its not as easy as you make it out to be.
I suggest you do a google search of Fulgencio Batista He was one of the worst dictators in the entire history of the Western Hemisphere, and he was the USA's puppet in Cuba. As far as Afghanistan, that was Reagan, not Carter. How old are you? Did you live through the Cold War? I did. In fact, I "fought" in it, being a member of the US Army National Guard from 1980 to 1983, and a member of the USAF from 1983 until 1990.
Really? The U.S. Soccer site says that "travel to Cuba for ... observing ... sporting events is prohibited under U.S. law." http://ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_7831554.html
Yeah... it's probably better not to quote US Soccer site for legal advice... That's not really what the law says.
Same generation Jeremy. Big peace sign to you, from the other team. Bygones? Even Gen. Giap sat down and kicked it with Robert McNamara.
It's certainly legitimate to say Batista was an ass-rag. He wouldn't have put Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, ass-rag though he be. Castro tried, and came damn close ... that whole Cuban Missile Crisis thing. Afghanistan resistance was started by Carter and (kind of) continued by Reagan. Carter and Brzezinski began supporting fascist Islamic resistance in a covert effort to overthrow the pro-Moscow government put in power in 1978. This resistance was successful, which led to the Soviet invasion in December 1979. After the invasion, in 1980, Carter and Brzezinski began a massive effort to covertly train insurgents in Pakistan and Afghanistan, some say spending as much as $40 billion. Reagan fought the Cold War more openly and aggressively than Carter, but it is true he greatly increased aid to Pakistan, who as a result of the Afghanistan invasion, became a much bigger piece in the Cold War chess game. Remember Zia declaring Carter's about half billion dollar aid proposal to be "peanuts." It is less clear how Reagan supported Afghani Islamic fascists, but it would make sense that he continued Carter's program until the Soviet Union gave up on Afghanistan. I think Afghanistan kind of "fell through the cracks" after the victory over the Soviet Union and its subsequent fall. This "forgetting", I think, led to the Islamic fascist takeover there, and all the history that followed. Again, I say, 9/11 was horrible, but I can't say that a nuclear war or oppression under a world-dominant Soviet regime would have been preferable. Imperfect. As for my age, I don't think that matters. I'll stipulate that my "credentials" are inferior to yours ... although that doesn't disqualify me from talking about these things. As discussed earlier in the thread, I can talk about Darfur being dangerous even though I haven't been there.