OT: General OT Thread [NO POLITICS, RACE OR RELIGION]

MikeIsGood · Post #21 » by **MikeIsGood** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 4:12 pm

ABucksFan wrote:European Super League, what a money grab FFS.

Can you ELI5 for me? I'm curious what this means but I am clueless about futbol.

ABucksFan · Post #22 » by **ABucksFan** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 4:55 pm

MikeIsGood wrote:
ABucksFan wrote:European Super League, what a money grab FFS.

Can you ELI5 for me? I'm curious what this means but I am clueless about futbol.

From what I understand it's basically the 20 biggest Soccer Clubs in Europe forming 1 Super League (i.e Real Madrid, Barcelona, Man U, Liverpool, Juventus). 15 of these Clubs are Permanent members of the league and 5 clubs will rotate based on qualifying criteria on a yearly basis.

Right now the biggest European Tournament (Champions League) brings in about 100M if you qualify. Joining the ESL is expected to be worth about 310M. There's supposedly an additional 3.5BN pool to share amongst the founders, so about 230M. This is supposed to improve infrastructure of the clubs (these are top clubs they already have the best infrastructure).

These teams will still participate in their domestic league (AKA. Prem League, La Liga etc.)

The biggest clubs basically want to have the biggest teams play each other consistently driving up viewership, sponsorship, TV money etc etc. It's exclusive to them only though...basically trying to create an NFL/NBA franchise equivalent. Obviously not exactly the same, but kind of.

UEFA, the governing body of European Soccer and host of the Champions League, are all against this as it undermines the current European Model where Champions of the domestic leagues qualify for Champs League and then a tournament is played. In a nutshell owners of the clubs who are founders of the ESL are going to make a ton of money and they want this to go through. FIFA is threatening to ban players from the clubs who participate from the World Cup.

Hypothetically, these clubs could be like well if you don't let us we will exit the league, the league though heavily depends on these clubs for revenue as well. Most of the owners and driving force are American Owners and the league is supposedly bankrolled by JP Morgan.

This what I'm seeing being said, but obviously a lot of things are still gray. If anyone else has more insight please share.

MikeIsGood · Post #23 » by **MikeIsGood** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 5:17 pm

ABucksFan wrote:
MikeIsGood wrote:
ABucksFan wrote:European Super League, what a money grab FFS.

Can you ELI5 for me? I'm curious what this means but I am clueless about futbol.

From what I understand it's basically the 20 biggest Soccer Clubs in Europe forming 1 Super League (i.e Real Madrid, Barcelona, Man U, Liverpool, Juventus). 15 of these Clubs are Permanent members of the league and 5 clubs will rotate based on qualifying criteria on a yearly basis.

Right now the biggest European Tournament (Champions League) brings in about 100M if you qualify. Joining the ESL is expected to be worth about 310M. There's supposedly an additional 3.5BN pool to share amongst the founders, so about 230M. This is supposed to improve infrastructure of the clubs (these are top clubs they already have the best infrastructure).

These teams will still participate in their domestic league (AKA. Prem League, La Liga etc.)

The biggest clubs basically want to have the biggest teams play each other consistently driving up viewership, sponsorship, TV money etc etc. It's exclusive to them only though...basically trying to create an NFL/NBA franchise equivalent. Obviously not exactly the same, but kind of.

UEFA, the governing body of European Soccer and host of the Champions League, are all against this as it undermines the current European Model where Champions of the domestic leagues qualify for Champs League and then a tournament is played. In a nutshell owners of the clubs who are founders of the ESL are going to make a ton of money and they want this to go through. FIFA is threatening to ban players from the clubs who participate from the World Cup.

Hypothetically, these clubs could be like well if you don't let us we will exit the league, the league though heavily depends on these clubs for revenue as well. Most of the owners and driving force are American Owners and the league is supposedly bankrolled by JP Morgan.

This what I'm seeing being said, but obviously a lot of things are still gray. If anyone else has more insight please share.

This was really helpful. My outsider's perspective was along the lines of 'oh cool, the best clubs will play each other more often then' without understanding the politics behind it.

emunney · Post #24 » by **emunney** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 5:21 pm

buckbeer wrote:My vaccination appointment is very soon and I'm given a choice of Pfizer or Moderna. Which one should I choose? can anyone advise, thanks.

Are you a 17th century pirate? A Chicago Bull? Richard Nixon? If no to all of these things, I suggest Pfizer. If yes, and you are physically capable of rolling out of your ditch, Moderna should be fine for you.

WeekapaugGroove · Post #25 » by **WeekapaugGroove** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 5:29 pm

Getting pfiser shot number 2 tomorrow, just a little sore arm from the first.

My wife got her second last week. She was fine that evening then woke up at 5 the next morning feeling rough. She had an interesting reaction she got like all/most the side effects but they only lasted a couple hours each and by nighttime of the day after she felt fine.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

BUCKnation · Post #26 » by **BUCKnation** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 7:19 pm

The Euro Super League is a very similar set up to the Euroleague basketball league, but ESL further separates the wealth inequality in soccer, where the pyramid of tiers in each country are much more developed and important than in basketball.

LISTEN2JAZZ · Post #27 » by **LISTEN2JAZZ** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 8:43 pm

I’m looking at houses around Madison and seeing some things that probably seem totally normal to you all, but funny/different to somebody who has been out of the state for 20 years.

#1. People there love them some carpet! Especially grey carpet! I’m used to wood floors as the normal default - sometimes high end, sometimes cheap looking - and I didn’t realize that 100% of WI homes have grey carpet bedrooms.

2. People mount their TVs like 20 feet in the air. I’m going to need to find a couch on stilts with a ladder so I don’t strain my neck trying to watch a game 6 feet above eye level.

(but other than that they look nice)

Post #28 » by **MickeyDavis** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 8:49 pm

I HATE high mounted TV's, especially above the fireplace. Looks dumb and is not functional.

MikeIsGood · Post #29 » by **MikeIsGood** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 8:50 pm

LISTEN2JAZZ wrote:2. People mount their TVs like 20 feet in the air. I’m going to need to find a couch on stilts with a ladder so I don’t strain my neck trying to watch a game 6 feet above eye level.

(but other than that they look nice)

MickeyDavis wrote:I HATE high mounted TV's, especially above the fireplace. Looks dumb and is not functional.

I 100% agree. Unfortunately, living rooms are often configured so that it's basically the only place for the TV to go. Which is the real issue, but there's a solution!

Legitimately one of the best purchases we made for our home:

https://www.mantelmount.com/

You're welcome.

crkone · Post #30 » by **crkone** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 9:20 pm

LISTEN2JAZZ wrote:I’m looking at houses around Madison and seeing some things that probably seem totally normal to you all, but funny/different to somebody who has been out of the state for 20 years.

#1. People there love them some carpet! Especially grey carpet! I’m used to wood floors as the normal default - sometimes high end, sometimes cheap looking - and I didn’t realize that 100% of WI homes have grey carpet bedrooms.

2. People mount their TVs like 20 feet in the air. I’m going to need to find a couch on stilts with a ladder so I don’t strain my neck trying to watch a game 6 feet above eye level.

(but other than that they look nice)

https://www.reddit.com/r/TVTooHigh/

I can one up this. I have my TV mounted over my fake Bungalow fireplace.

trwi7 · Post #31 » by **trwi7** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 10:43 pm

MickeyDavis wrote:I HATE high mounted TV's, especially above the fireplace. Looks dumb and is not functional.

I hate fireplaces in general. The only acceptable place for them is tucked away in the corner of a room. Otherwise they can **** off.

StickeeFingaz · Post #32 » by **StickeeFingaz** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 11:37 pm

This was shared with me today and I couldn't stop laughing.

Read on Twitter

Post #33 » by **MickeyDavis** » Tue Apr 20, 2021 12:13 am

StickeeFingaz wrote:This was shared with me today and I couldn't stop laughing.

Read on Twitter

That's hilarious

MikeIsGood · Post #34 » by **MikeIsGood** » Tue Apr 20, 2021 1:08 am

...I hate Ikea.

stellation · Post #35 » by **stellation** » Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:19 pm

StickeeFingaz wrote:This was shared with me today and I couldn't stop laughing.

Read on Twitter

That made me laugh, thanks for sharing- it started my day off well.

emunney · Post #36 » by **emunney** » Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:41 pm

The Ikea video reminded me that there may be some people who haven't seen this. The first four are good too but this was my favorite so far.

Read on Twitter

My wife is going to divorce me because every time she says something incorrect I say, "well you sure don't know everything about a horse, honey."

truly · Post #37 » by **truly** » Tue Apr 20, 2021 10:15 pm

Well the european super league didn't last long.

trwi7 · Post #38 » by **trwi7** » Tue Apr 20, 2021 11:50 pm

Solved a Wheel of Fortune puzzle with no letters on the board. :lift:

Beorn · Post #39 » by **Beorn** » Wed Apr 21, 2021 7:46 am

truly wrote:Well the european super league didn't last long.

The second-best news from yesterday (you know which is the first)

skones · Post #40 » by **skones** » Wed Apr 21, 2021 8:39 am

MikeIsGood wrote:
This was really helpful. My outsider's perspective was along the lines of 'oh cool, the best clubs will play each other more often then' without understanding the politics behind it.

Going a little further. Take the UK for example. You've got the Premier League at the top, the next tier is the Championship, League One, and League Two for the top four tiers comprised of 72 professional clubs that each carry very passionate fanbases. Jumping up tiers brings in a ton of money for your organization, which in turn lets you overhaul your roster, improve your facilities, etc. In removing the top money generators from the EPL, you cut the head of the snake and you run the risk of crippling the entire tiered football system in the UK.

Also, consider this, the EPL teams that would have been in, but have now withdrawn from the ESL, are Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, and Tottenham. The top 4 teams in the EPL are pushed through to the Champions League. At current, Chelsea is 4th in a points tie with West Ham who sits in 5th, Liverpool ranks 6th, Tottenham 7th, and Arsenal is 9th. That means four of those teams run the risk of not being in a position to reach any type of European Championship Play but the ESL would just waive all of that and put them in anyway. Rather than earning a spot at the table, they're just straight out buying one, while the rest of Europe can only choose 5 of the rest.

A lot of the mystique around football comes from the underdog narratives, the relegation, the promotion, the bottom feeders fighting tooth and nail year after year just to stay at that level, that pepper themselves in throughout the years. Leicester City winning the Prem in 2016 one year after even entering the Prem from the Championship against all odds serves as one such example. That all just disappears with the ESL.

It'd be like Baseball just throwing out regular season play and putting the Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Red Sox, Dodgers, and Angels in the playoffs every year and telling everyone else to work things out for those last four spots, but these teams are definitely in.