Problems with the joint presentation of the WC

It’s the world’s most important sporting event, one that captures attention like nothing else can. It’s made for Trump and Trump is made for it.

I’ve never really understood the “sportwashing” argument. By hosting the World Cup, Qatar took a huge reputational hit in the West. Its labor practices and laws/customs regarding homosexuality (among other things) were put on full display for years leading up to the World Cup. The brightest spotlight imaginable. And by some indications, things did change a bit in some of those areas, due in no small part to outside pressure. If they had never bothered with hosting the World Cup, no one ever would’ve heard of Doha or Qatar or cared about anything going on there.

 

Eh, it seems as though the IC is will have different priorities in the current administration.

 

Europeans can be quite obviously jealous of Americans and as the US is charting an independent path in increasing congruence with the interests of its own citizenry at the expense of the EU, EU leaders are propagandizing their own citizens with cartoonishly hilarious fear-mongering as well as a highly-coordinated effort to criminalize and censor any speech that runs counter to far-left EU policy goals.

What someone sees/reads/hears in England or Germany is now laughable. Their governments’ efforts to criminalize speech are contemptible, and in a more perfect world, would put them before human rights abuse courts before the US kicks off the first game of the 2026 World Cup..

 

No, I think Europe would just like to be able to work with a more stable, professional US administration than what we’re currently seeing.

I don’t quite follow your free speech point, but Europe has never had free speech in the same degree and flavor as the US.

 

People are being arrested for things that they say online about anti-EU policies like Brexit or immigration. If you keep up with news outlets out of England and Germany, they are really trying to promote fear of the US.

So what we see when these folks come in here and post wild exaggerations about what is happening in the US are the results of anti-US propaganda.

The World Cup will be fantastic for visitors other than that it will be ridiculously expensive. Anyone visiting LA where I live will have an amazing (and safe) time, even though certain areas of LA are among the most dangerous places in the US. Trump and the California democrats have reasons to act in concert to make the event a success, and they are both pragmatic enough in this regard to make the event exceptional.

 

We agree. The World Cup will be a wild success for everyone. There will be hysterical hit pieces and fear-mongering leading up to it (same as always), but in the end everyone will enjoy a month of the world’s best sporting event.

 

I can see it now. Trump before kickoff in Los Angeles says he hopes the USA wins the World Cup and destroys the competition.


Fake News Headlines:

"Trump Threatens Globe with World destruction if USA does not win World Cup."

 

This thread got interesting.

I generally take the stance that this World Cup will largely be a success. It will have it's draw backs like cost and lack of public transportation, but this current administration will probably not have a material impact on anyone coming to spend a week here. I just think that's a statistical reality.

Beyond that some takes from people who might agree with my above statement are making my eyes roll, and I'm not sure I want to form an alliance with them in this thread

 

Thanks for proving my point. Americans have become aware of the NGO swindle.

Who funds the NGO that you posted screenshots from?

 

We’re getting off on a tangent now, but WPFI measures the independence of journalists and their publications from government influence. The US is perhaps lower than expected mainly due to political influence in the media, mainly through its funding sources.

But the WPFI is not necessarily an indicator of the level of toleration for personal speech either against the government or anything that would be classified as “hate speech”.

 

What's wrong with Mexico? It sounds like you have a pretty similar opinion of Mexico to an average MAGA person yourself...

 

You got to admit, the joke was right there though.

 

Wait…you think the press is against Trump?

 

Oh yes. Especially Global media that has written about the World Cup the last few months or so.
Blatant bias and partisan journalism.

 

You’re probably right about global media.

You are definitely wrong about American media. I mean, there’s a reason that Carol Hui’s neighbors don’t understand why she’s being deported. There’s a reason I saw an article I think Monday about PA voters whose business is way down due to cuts in the Parks Service saying the same “why is he doing this? I didn’t know” lame ass bullshit. It’s because the media didn’t inform voters of Trump’s agenda. I could go on.

Hell, many, many of his supporters think he’s pro choice, even as he bragged about ending Roe v Wade.

 

Unfortunately, the US is the only place in the world with even a smidgeon of freedom of speech, free press, and freedom of association.

As we have seen of late, it’s very difficult to get rid of those things here…even for our government.

 

Let's focus on the issue at hand.

Look up any story about the World Cup in the USA and it is all pretty much the same garbage about how it is going to be horrible for traveling fans and how stadiums are going to be empty and how the world is going to end. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda.
The noise is coming from without abroad and from within our borders. It is asinine.

 

That happens to every World Cup outside of the EU, and it’s especially nasty toward the US because they view recent political movements that have popped up in the US and the UK as a threat to their power.

 

I can understand outsiders being idiots.
But the rhetoric is coming from American media too.
Which I guess I can understand their idiocy too but still.

 

It’s the same people. These are multinational media corporations. We think of them as American, but they absolutely are not American. They are multinational. Look at the creeps who own Fox, Disney, the NYT, etc. They exist to influence, not to inform. They view the US differently now that it is less top-down controlled.

 

Meanwhile fans travelled to Russia and Qatar for the last two World Cups................................
Bastions of freedom and Western values.

Prediction: This will be the most attended World Cup in history.

The current most attended World Cup in history by both total attendance and average attendance per game................is still WC94.

It'll be wildly successful. Why? Because political leaders want these types of events to be wildly successful.

 

Well interesting test case right now is Trump just banned people from Haiti entering the country. Haiti is set to come here for a Gold Cup in about 2 weeks