andrew 〽️

cool, calm, informative | 🇧🇷🇺🇸

[andrew 〽️ @__masterdrew]

Everything is perspective.

[Daron Acemoglu @DAcemogluMIT]

The World Cup was shaping up to be a spectacular success for the United States. The hospitality the country provided to the teams and fans was exemplary. The interest from American fans dwarfed the interest seen when the USA last hosted the World Cup in 1994. The matches throughout the US, Canada and Mexico were energizing, showing why this is the beautiful game. And the US team played exciting, dynamic soccer (football), demonstrating that they are up to the task of taking on even the best in the game.

Then, it all got ruined.

Not by the fact that the USA lost Belgium 4-1. That can happen to the best teams in the world. No, it was ruined, perhaps predictably, by President Trump, interfering and trying to reverse the one-match automatic suspension for the American player Folarin Balogun after he received a red card in the round of 32 game against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We will never know for sure whether it was pressure from Trump that reversed the decision, but this is what Trump has claimed. In any case, the decision to postpone Balogun’s one-match automatic ban by one year is completely unprecedented. Something looks fishy. The track record of FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino does not give anybody much confidence that this was a decision made on objective grounds, without interference.

What is sad and dangerous is that President Trump’s repeated disregard for rules and institutions is having an effect in every domain. It has further polarized US politics, damaged US democratic institutions, significantly hampered global cooperation, and made security and peace more tenuous around the world.

Now, it is poisoning the beautiful game.

As in democracy, once you damage the institutions of world soccer (football), and the trust that people have in the effectiveness and impartiality of these institutions, the consequences will be long-lasting.

Say what you will about Trump. He is consistent – consistently corrosive to the institutions our future depends on.

[andrew 〽️ @__masterdrew]

Tem muita coisa errada com esse país, vou tentar mudar pouco à pouco. Espero q essa copa mostra tudo, o bom e o ruim

[andrew 〽️ @__masterdrew]

The transition into 2000s-2010s nostalgia will be our greatest time

[Josh Hart @joshhart]

What happened to my club…?

[andrew 〽️ @__masterdrew]

whoever’s writing the book on luigi, that man is the 🐐

[Brian Winter @BrazilBrian]

Donald Trump’s capture of Nicolás Maduro is one of the most momentous decisions in the history of US-Latin America relations. Still so many unanswered questions, but the operation confirms return of Washington as policeman in its “sphere of influence,” an idea that defined much of 19th and 20th centuries but had faded since end of Cold War. In some ways, it recalls not just Panama in 1989 but also Nicaragua or DR in 1910s – invasions to topple leaders Washington saw as threat to national security. But in other ways, this is totally new: Venezuela is a large, complex South American country and next steps are hard to predict. The big questions now: How will Venezuelan people react? Will Trump commit more troops to ensure a transition to democracy, if that proves necessary? It may not: Maduro was both illegitimate and incredibly unpopular, and Venezuelan military may be in utter panic after US just decapitated the regime with extraordinary efficiency (Recall it took 9 months after Iraq invasion to capture Saddam Hussein). What are consequences for Cuba, Mexico, Colombia? For now, let’s await more details. A truly historic day.

[herculez gomez @herculezg]

“Hydration Breaks will be imposed in all matches, regardless of weather conditions.” ..

AKA Commercial Breaks. FIFA is using “safety” measures to surely get away with airing advertisements in the middle of every game.

The Game Is Gone.

[andrew 〽️ @__masterdrew]

wyk about clara la san

[andrew 〽️ @__masterdrew]

@czgalgon I was talking about you, of course kkkk

[andrew 〽️ @__masterdrew]

Tanto saudade dela

[emi @girlcelona]

so fucking weird that israel gets to participate in the world cup while palestine can’t even if they had qualified because half if not all their squad has been decimated including coaches and referees. all martyred. shame on fifa

[LindyMan @PaulSkallas]

Baseball is not selling you a sport it is selling you a warm summer night outside. A ballpark is supposed to be a setting for summer

You don't even have to pay attention. You can just take in the atmosphere or walk around. eat. whatever.

if a team has low attendance, it means the stadium is wrong, the neighborhood it sits in is wrong

It's a referendum on placemaking

[mattparlmer 🪐 🌷 @mattparlmer]

I don’t think the average American realizes how much we’ve been mogged by China over the last decade in the global eye, our inability to keep up with basic civil infrastructure is visible all over the internet

[andrew 〽️ @__masterdrew]

não me deixas cair em tentação, but it’s calling me

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

We can't allow ourselves to become numb to mass shootings. What happened today in Minneapolis is heartbreaking, and Michelle and I are praying for the parents who have lost a child or will be sitting at their hospital bedside after yet another act of unspeakable, unnecessary violence.

[andrew 〽️ @__masterdrew]

Brazilian Americans, this is our time! 🇧🇷🇺🇸

[mon @monlalli]

Football has taught me more about world flags and geography than school ever did

[andrew 〽️ @__masterdrew]

Time we rediscover the art of nonchalance