@IainMacBets vanity handicaps are absolutely NOT worse than sandbaggers. the former are just donating their money to you; the latter are stealing from you.
@RichJohnzon@paulg are you out of your fucking mind? the U.S. is the most racially diverse country in the history of human civilization, and is still largely harmonious. we aren’t perfect, but NAZI GERMANY? you’re an insane person if you believe that.
@Noahpinion by this logic, “the democrats” support abolishing the police and prisons. you included. sorry.
see how stupid it sounds to apply the opinions of some to tens of millions of people in the same broad category?
jesus christ dude.
- you have no data to support this. just whatever you saw on TV. the USTA doesn't release individual match attendance figures.
- let's say that's true. you attribute that to Zverev exclusively and not an underwhelming matchup with Khachanov? what if Zverev was playing Tiafoe? or Alcaraz? would it have been half-empty then?
- most importantly, the USTA nets approximately $277.4 MILLION on the US Open. so again, what you're describing is a rounding error.
i'm sure you and Ben and others would like to think that Zverev's alleged abhorrent behavior results in significant monetary damage to the sport. but just like with the NFL and NBA, it's simply not true.
there won’t be unsold tickets. 1) the tickets were already sold. 2) the secondary market is soft, as he showed, which means people will just buy cheaper tickets and still attend. 3) even $10,000 lost to fewer beverage sales in one math is a rounding error in what the USTA makes each Open.
but that isn’t going to happen anyway.
I reread this every year.
I cry like a baby every year.
Todd Beamer died a father, husband, and hero.
Todd: Hello… Operator… listen to me. I can’t speak very loud. This is an emergency. I’m a passenger on a United flight to San Francisco. Our plane has been hijacked.
Lisa: I understand. Can they see you?
Todd: No. There are three that we know of. They have knives — razor knives, like box cutters. Someone announced from the cockpit there was a bomb. It sounded fake.
Lisa: Your name?Todd: Todd Beamer. United Flight 93.Todd: They killed one passenger in first class. They forced most of us back. Fourteen of us here. Five flight attendants. The guy with the bomb ordered us to sit on the floor.
Lisa: Are you okay?
Todd: We’re going down… wait. No. We’re leveling off. We changed directions. We’re flying east again.
Todd: A guy named Jeremy called his wife. She told him two planes hit the World Trade Center. Lisa, is that true?
Lisa: I have to tell you the truth. It’s very bad. Both towers are gone. A third plane hit the Pentagon. Our country is under attack. I’m afraid your plane may be part of their plan.
Todd: Oh God. Lisa, will you do something for me? Call my wife and my kids. Promise me you’ll call.
Lisa: I promise.
Todd: Our home number is… You have the same name as my wife. Lisa. We’ve been married ten years. She’s pregnant with our third child. Tell her I love her. I’ll always love her. We have two boys — David, he’s 3, and Andrew, he’s 1. Tell them their daddy loves them and he is so proud of them. The baby is due January 12th. I saw an ultrasound. We still don’t know if it’s a girl or a boy.
Lisa: I’ll tell them. I promise, Todd.(Lisa patches in the FBI.)
Agent: Todd, your plane is on a course for Washington. Best guess is the White House or the Capitol.
Todd: I understand. I’ll be back.
Todd: Everyone knows this isn’t a normal hijacking. We have decided we will not be pawns in their plot.
Lisa: What are you going to do?
Todd: Four of us are going to rush the one with the bomb. Then the cockpit. A stewardess is getting boiling water. We’ll take them out.
Todd: Would you pray with me?They pray the Lord’s Prayer. Then: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.
Todd: God help me. Jesus help me.Are you guys ready? Let’s Roll.
- no one’s being forced to enter their car into the fleet. you can just…not do that. you can also just not buy the car. and taxpayers aren’t funding this. whether it succeeds or fails doesn’t materially impact you personally.
so, respectfully, what the fuck are you even talking about?