I think any real American soccer fan respects Bosnia and that anything can happen in a tournament knockout round. However… since you brought up the winless in 12 against European teams I’ll point out that the last Euro team we beat was… Bosnia 😂
I was much more nervous before we played the playoff semifinal against Wales in Cardiff than I am now, ahead of our game against the US.
The arrogance and constant need to belittle and mock every opponent is astonishing. They haven't won any of their last 12 matches against European teams (10 losses, 2 draws), yet they beat Paraguay and Australia at the World Cup and suddenly think they're title favorites.
We're not the favorites in this match, but we definitely have a real chance. We can win, and it wouldn't be a huge upset.
You will respect us.
@CantHitWRISP Realistically they have to stick with someone with European pedigree. I’d love if they dropped a bag to keep Poch but I can’t imagine he doesn’t get a great club opportunity in Europe after this. I really want Matarazzo. He’s the best of both worlds
USA. A Mexican restaurant. We had not yet ordered anything, and the food was already arriving.
Chips. Salsa. Unrequested. Free.
I stopped the waiter. "We have not earned these."
"They just come with the table, man."
They come with the TABLE. In my land, hospitality is a debt. Every gift creates an obligation, weighed carefully, returned in the proper season with interest of feeling. Here, the gift arrives before you have even proven you can pay for dinner.
This is not an appetizer. This is a declaration: we trust you. Eat.
I ate with the gravity the moment deserved. And then — I must report this calmly — the basket emptied, and a new one appeared.
"Did we…?"
"Refill," the waiter said. "It's bottomless."
Bottomless. They have wells of salsa. The supply lines of this nation are beyond anything my ancestors imagined.
My friend warned me. "Don't fill up on chips, dude."
Too late. I had accepted three baskets. Honor demanded each one be finished — an unfinished gift is an insult. By the time my actual food arrived, I was a ruined man.
I was not hungry. I was not comfortable. I had been defeated by a courtesy.
Generosity that arrives before the request cannot be repaid. It can only be survived.
I know the rule now. I have made my peace with the basket. One basket. Two at the most.
Who am I deceiving. There is no number of baskets I would refuse. The trust of a nation is in that salsa, and I intend to honor all of it.
@CantHitWRISP They have fantastic young pitchers on the way as well. Those lower level arms are really, really exciting. But they desperately need some quality position players to emerge or it’ll be a moot point.
Great season from the Ducks! Looking forward to the offseason moves to come for next season! Vegas now gets the privilege of getting absolutely waxed by Colorado so that’ll be fun too
The beauty of the playoffs is that you can get absolutely waxed in a game like tonight and immediately even up the series on Sunday. Should be a good test for these young Ducks