Soccer, Sports and Politics - Part Deux

This UNC fan says yes please

 

https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/petiti...eer-ondertekend-en-er-is-meer-steun~a5558702/
Petition to withdraw Orange from World Cup more than 100,000 times signed, and there is more support
with video The petition to withdraw the Dutch national team from the World Cup next summer in the United States has been signed more than 100,000 times until Tuesday evening half past 12. The action is addressed to the KNVB football association, the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport and Prime Minister Schoof.
The readers' poll on our site is, quite surprisingly, also quite pro-boycott:
Boycotting the World Cup is nonsense:
Yes, I agree. Donald Trump won't lose any sleep over it and it won't change anything about his attitude and policies (18%)
No, I don't agree with that. It is good to send a signal. Staying away from such a big event shows that the world doesn't accept everything (75%)
I'm looking forward to the World Cup, I want the Dutch national team to participate anyway (6%)

31647 votes

 

I think the orange idiot would have an epic meltdown if countries said they are not coming to "his" world cup because of his shit policies.

 

Is Costa Rica boycotting the World Cup?

 

Same as Chile and Peru.






And Venezuela.

 

Indiana is the losingest program of all time?

Need big teams to opt out. The Dutch are a big team. You're too cowardly and desperate for a trophy to stay home, but the more rain checks, the better.

Really, it should be between the US, Russia, Argentina, and Israel. No group stage needed. Semis and a final.

 

No Hungary or Italy? Maybe Salvador and....




Venezuela...

Make it at least 8 team tournament.

 

No despotic regimes from the Middle East? Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE sure will comply. How is our relationship with Irak now that we're invading other countries?

 

You have to have a real team, meaning someone who could win with a standard draw. That's why I included Argentina. You also need a South American nation that sees itself as White, and Uruguay wouldn't qualify, so just one left.

 

Oh, is there still anyone here stupid enough to actually care about this Worl- uh, sorry, White guys. I know you're all looking forward to a World Cup in Trump's America.

Is anyone here prepared to suggest that sports should be free from politics?

 

If the US was to, say, reach a semi, would any of you thank Trump for making the environment so toxic that even a minnow could succeed?

 

Closer than I thought!

Tu 1/27

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Division_I_FBS_football_win–loss_records

A few FBS teams have worse winning percentages. Of them, only Wake Forest is what I would consider a major college athletic program.

Indiana has had 221 pros.

Wake Forest 155

Have fun with this site:

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/schools/

 

Yes, we planned it all along

 

Everyone’s favorite basketball analyst, Billy Packer, was playing for Wake Forest then.

For all the crap people gave Packer, before him, there was no analysis of the kind we take for granted today. Talking about zones vs man to man, which lineup a coach should go to in a given situation, etc. Yes, he eventually turned into a curmudgeon’s curmudgeon, just a cranky old bastard,but he changed how we watch basketball.

 

International soccer is as stupid as "college" football or golf.

People could choose actual professional pointyball over "college" pointyball, or watch, I dunno, chimps tossing turds at each other over golf. Or the hallmark channel over golf. Or paint dry, over golf. Or a drunken fight at the bowling alley over either "college" football or golf.

However, the problem is that there won't be any other soccer on TV this summer, so you're kinda stuck. I won't be attending any matches, and I won't make a point of watching any on TV. But, I'll be limited to the WC this summer, so inevitably, I'll watch some games.

But that doesn't mean I "care" about the organized crime cartel known as FIFA.

 

I don't see how.
I haven't watched any TV except PBS since November 5, 2024
I take that back. I saw a Fonda/Widmark western in December '24, but beyond that, there's no reason for me to seek entertainment.

 

Like you, I've largely stopped watching live TV since then apart, apart from soccer, and the occasional older shows on streaming services. Its been my choice, so as to avoid the stupidity, bigotry, and predictable self-pwning by this country since that date.

But this summer, without live soccer, it'll be lean pickings.

 

It wouldn't have worked anyways. Have you ever tried putting a pointy ball through the hoop?

 

Flip on Australian Open to see what's happening. Grunting Sabalenka's on. Time for the mute button.