Soccer, Sports and Politics - Part Deux

It would be interesting though to see how attendance to the games in Canada and Mexico compare to the games in the USA. Would have to be normalized to percentage of asses in seats to account for the different stadium sizes.

Of course if every game everywhere is full to 100% capacity then the comparison is moot.

 

It would be disappointing and a bit surprising if any match in Canada is not a sellout. They only host like 11-12 games and their stadiums are on the smaller side. At least half of those games involve Canada or are knockout stage games that logically should have very high demand.

 

The ticket prices are certainly a factor. I personally know a whole bunch of people who are less-than-enthused about this WC when it's literally in our backyard. One friend who has been to all but 2 of the WCs since 2002 can't afford to go. He "won" a lottery giving him the privilege of paying over $1,100 per ticket to one of the USA games in LA.

The other elephant in the room is ICE. Suppose you are a non-citizen, but 100% legal US resident, originally from, say, Haiti. It's a dream come true to see your native country play in a world cup, and despite the ridiculous pricing, it's one-in-a-lifetime experience.

You can see where I'm going with this. Black people with an accent? Not like ICE cares about distinctions like legal status, and being bastards for the sake of cruelty, they'll abduct people before the game, just so they can't have the experience they've been waiting a lifetime for.

 

Kelly Chase (one-time hockey tough guy) tells story about a golf tournament where guys from different sports say that their sport's guys are tougher. So Broncos coach Sean Peyton, who had some liquid courage, started pestering him & jabbing him. Chaser finally got fed up:

Oh my effin God. This is hilarious 🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/MXRWjiwCgY

— Bob ' The Bear' Murphy (@murphfrommidway) February 26, 2026

 

I would say that's already a non-issue. Schools, transit, government...everything's open and back to normal in Jalisco. It was basically one day of violence (and a lot of the violence was AI-generated anyway). Here in CDMX, it wasn't even a blip.

 

UNC is playing Clemson. Clemson has a player named Butta, one named Ace, one named Chase, and one named Dallas.

 

Finalissima in Doha in doubt, London in pictures as an alternative

It remains to be seen whether the Finalissima (European champion vs South American champoin)can be completed later this month in Doha, the capital of Qatar. Due to the developments in the Middle East, there are great doubts about the location of the match between Spain and Argentina. European champion Spain will take on Copa America winner Argentina on Friday, March 27. The match was supposed to be played at the Lusail Stadium in Doha, but it seems more and more that Qatar will have to give up the organization. Following US and Israeli attacks on Iran and subsequent missile attacks on the Arabian Peninsula, the Qatari Football Association has suspended all competitions indefinitely.
Just over three weeks before the meeting with Argentina, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) is trying to get clarity about the Finalissima, which is seen as an important preparation for the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States. 'The most important thing is that the conflict stops. As long as that doesn't happen and we can't play there, we have to find another location,' said national coach Luis de la Fuente at radio station RNE.

London
Should Qatar not be able to organize the duel, London will come into the picture as an alternative playing location. This is reported by Reuters. In any case, that will not be at Wembley, where England will play Uruguay that day. A change of location also requires complex agreements between the Spanish federation, the Argentinian federation (AFA), UEFA, CONMEBOL and FIFA. Spain will also play a friendly game against Egypt three days later.
The RFEF supposedly proposed Madrid as a playing location, but the AFA prefers neutral ground. Morocco offered itself as the host country, but that proposal was rejected due to tensions surrounding the joint organization of the 2030 World Cup. The Spanish federation does not want to lose the last international period before the World Cup and would even think about another opponent, should the Finalissima ultimately not take place. A final decision will reportedly be made on Thursday.

 

The Mexican dude from Ted Lasso has signed a real-life contract with El Paso Locomotive.

I think that's great for him. And it's just about the best publicity stunt since Andrew Shue led the Galaxy to MLS Cup heartbreak in 1996.

 

Breaking news.......

Bernardo Silva has suggested refereeing decisions going against Manchester City is costing Pep Guardiola's side in the title race.

 

So, good news?

 

Hell...even I would watch the the cars go round and round if they held the race in Tehran!

 

This guy too...

 

Golfer Jon Rahm hat a jet for some trended LIV golfers. Which may seem a bit odd since it's the Saudis tour.

Seven LIV golfers and a caddie who were stranded in the war-torn Middle East earlier this week made their way safely to Hong Kong Wednesday morning local time on a private jet paid for by their LIV stablemate Jon Rahm, a source close to the situation told GOLF.com.

The players — Caleb Surratt and Tom McKibbin, who play on Rahm’s Legion XIII team, along with Thomas Detry, Sam Horsfield, Anirban Lahiri, Adrian Meronk, Lee Westwood and caddie Terry Mundy — were stuck in Dubai, where airports were closed and flights have been canceled in the wake of retaliatory attacks by Iran on Israel and several of its Persian Gulf neighbors, including the United Arab Emirates.

https://golf.com/news/liv-golfers-stranded-got-out-jon-rahm/?amp=1

 

Bit of a leopards eating faces situation for LIV golfers.

 

I get my kicks on ROUTE 66 I-5!

 

Just make sure it isn't during rush hour.

 

Root or rowt? I use root.

 

♫
If you see me coming
Better step aside!