Velimir Stupar

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

@darnartan solčence zahaja irvas tiho spi

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

@kkczforum Mrzim Dubai

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

@darnartan Jesi sredio i kablove?

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

Glupa kurčino

[Ellen Carmichael @ellencarmichael]

The most interesting part of the red card saga isn't the ruling. It's how differently Americans and Europeans process the idea that they might have been wronged.

Europeans are fundamentally different from Americans in one particular way: they expect life to be aggravating and at times unfair. It's just a fact of moving through the world. I joke that in Europe, the customer is always wrong. You didn't read the fine print. The only pharmacy in town is closed every other Tuesday for three hours, and even if the times weren't posted, that's still your problem. Too bad if you want the bill, because the waiter's on his union-mandated half-hour smoke break, and you're just going to have to wait.

To quote the great Mark Knopfler: sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug. There's something freeing in that. Things are less in your control, so there's less angst in managing your expectations.

In America, things couldn't be more different. We simply can't accept a wrong left unrighted.

The flight attendant sneezed handing you a drink on your one-hour flight? 15,000 frequent flyer miles. Didn't like your appetizer? A replacement is on the way, and the whole course comes off the bill. There's a reason our interstates are lined with trial lawyer billboards.

Europeans have turned complaining into a continental pastime with no expectation that the universe owes them a remedy for their grief. You gripe about the train being late, your friends nod solemnly and everyone goes back to their apéro. In America, we launch a full-blown investigation of the train system, sue the government (and its contractors) that allowed for the tardiness and hold a Congressional hearing on the state of national infrastructure.

So to an objective observer, the red card shouldn't have happened, and VAR was a travesty. To Americans, our star player shouldn't be unfairly banned from a match we couldn't afford to lose for a card he so obviously didn't deserve.

Who cares that FIFA used a little-used reversal to fix it. Who cares that other people are mad about it. We. Were. Wronged. It was unjust. It must be corrected. We would accept nothing less.

Europeans waxing poetic about the sanctity of the game are, of course, talking about a governing body whose last tournament host was decided via confirmed cash bribes — one that imposed dress codes on women, shrugged off widespread allegations of modern slavery and reconfigured the entire tournament calendar to suit the host country. Which is exactly the point. If you've made peace with all of that, at least enough to watch the tournament four years later, a probationary suspension isn't actually a scandal.

Maybe that's the real divide. Over millennia, Europeans have made peace with being the bug. Americans have never once considered it, and apparently, we're not about to start now.

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

@Prepar_ Ima

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

@mariohezonja @CROATIABasket Pušikurko

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

@prosecanNavijac Može jović

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

@Prepar_ Jump around

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

Pušikurko, serem ti se na leđa

[JuanSanchez @JuanSanchez0x0]

Serbia first impressions: won't be going back

I spent last week in Serbia following my "Egypt rule": short stays in new countries in case they totally suck. And, it sucked. Oh well.

The good: the women are beautiful. When was the last time you saw an attractive woman in the US work behind a counter? 2003? Beautiful women in the US might as well be wearing hijabs, because you never see them in public. In Serbia, 8/10's are everywhere. We need to bring back cigarettes & fat shaming.

The bad: everything else.

The food: they love cevapi (minced meat rolled into sausage shapes). It's flavorless beef with a few onions on pita. Smoking countries often have trash food because they can't taste anything, so this was expected.

The history: shockingly nonexistent, but how? 2 world wars started here. Communism's rise & fall. Dictator to democracy. Yugoslavia's break-up. And... nothing. There's no evidence any of this happened, no one recorded anything. Many countries, you don't even have to try to find history. In Tirana (Albania), military bunkers from the dictator are scattered throughout the city. They've been converted into museums, art galleries, and bars. You'll find them just by walking. We took a few tours in Serbia. Nothing.

Belgrade: absolute shithole. Everything smells like pee (because they pee in the streets). Bad internet. Loud. Dirty. Hot, AC didn't work well at either of our stays. Last night was the first good night's sleep I had in a week. I was like a zombie.

The people: these are the nicest retards you'll ever meet.

Our first AirBnb smelled like pee (a problem with all Belgrade garden apartments since they pee in the street). I don't know how the host didn't recognize this, but she refunded us 100%. We checked into a hotel.

I went to get a pizza to-go since the food sucks. It took forever, and then the owner discovered he didn't have any more pizza boxes. So, I went home with the wooden board from the restaurant. That I then had to return with a 20 minute walk later.

A tour guide took us to a restaurant that only took cash (which our guide knew we didn't have!). So, our guide had to pay for our meal, we said we'd pay him back. Problem: that cash was our gas money. Our guide didn't tell us until we ran out of gas. 🤡

Serbians are some of the warmest, most welcoming people you'll ever meet. Also some of the dumbest.

The culture lives to drink & smoke. I drink occasionally, and never smoke. Thus, the country doesn't have much to offer me.

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

@Prepar_ Vuk Kostić, bravo

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

@EUPerspectives Šupičku materinu

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

@KevinOConnor @YahooSports Kakav majmun

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

@SalleTokyo Kad porastem hoću ovako da sričem uvrede. Bravo!

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

@goldelcorazon @Alberrt_m_ Realno

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

@darnartan pičkica. otkad sam ti pričao.

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

@LjubomirovicM Može

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

@LjubomirovicM lepa priča

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

@kkcrvenazvezda @ljubicathecat Obožavao sam je 💔

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

@groningenovac Baš zbog tog faula. Taman tih 8 sekundi za prelazak preko pola i odmah faul. U suštini isto.

[Velimir Stupar @VelimirStupar]

@Lively_Death Ne