Will Bethel

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@jemelehill 2/ people should look at the broader context of the games. The Lakers might have lost that game were it not for his heroics. Bam's Heat conceded 129 pts to the Wiz--let that sink in for a min. And the Fever only won that game by THREE.

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@jemelehill 45-10 is pretty impressive, you have to admit. People were downplaying Kobe's 81 pt masterpiece at first because it was against the Raptors. Bam's 83 isn't any less significant because it came against the Wizards 1/

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@slimreezygoddy @Vrrsh33 4/ and then vilify AR, or A’ja for the same thing. You have to be fair across the board; and, you can’t glorify the same sort of behavior in the men’s game, and expect the women to remain ladylike while throwing elbows and running each other over.

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@slimreezygoddy @Vrrsh33 3/ you’re my sworn enemy. I’m going to do my best to physically dominate you, to impose my will upon you, to defend my sisters and THIS HOUSE. This is no different than any other sport. I’d have more of an issue if they glossed over CC’s on court behavior (which some have

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@slimreezygoddy @Vrrsh33 2/ whether it’s CC, or AR, or A’ja, they’re playing an aggressive, full contact sport. Things are going to be said in the midst of that. AR’s mindset is kind of a Mamba mentality. Off court? We can be cordial, even friendly. On the court, tho?

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@slimreezygoddy @Vrrsh33 But respect goes both ways. If you, as the opponent, are talking smack on my home floor, and I end up winning? Or as the opposing fans, same deal. Respect should be the default, but in many cases it’s not. 1/

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@yinzer_g 6/ nowadays, the rules favor the offense ( just like in soccer), but because of the size of the field, players must draw the official’s attention, so therefore flopping and exaggerating the fouls. It’s all to gain a competitive advantage.

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@yinzer_g 5/ they literally can’t see everything, and fouls occur literally all over the field simultaneously, just as they do in American football. In years past, they knew you were fouled because you were laying unconscious on the field.

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@yinzer_g 4/ in association football, its main requirements are skill based. Endurance and agility are the main physical characteristics. It’s a full contact sport, but with a lot less protection. The field is much larger than an American field, and there’s only three officials.

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@yinzer_g 3/ you either are that way or you’re not. A coach will tell you, “ I can teach you technique. I can’t teach 6’+, 2-300 lbs, 4.3 40 yd dash, or the need to physically dominate and defeat other men.”

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@yinzer_g 2/ while it DOES take skill to be good at football, its main requirements are purely physical in nature: you must be large, fast, muscular, and hyper aggressive. Most of the qualities that make a man an excellent football player can’t be taught

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@yinzer_g America is a very violent, warlike society. That’s why American football is the way it is. We lionize violence and puritanize sexuality. 300 was a huge hit in America because it’s glorification of violence, suffering, and death in the Spartan society. 1/

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@HunterBiden Well said sir. While not glossing over Sen. Graham’s actions in the recent past, you chose to remember him how he was before Trump came along. When remembering someone, it’s proper to deal with the fullness of that life. I don’t think you’re being partisan.

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@killemall2024 @carebearkieran 4/ now, futbol is skill-based. It doesn’t necessarily reward outlandish physical gifts, although it doesn’t hurt if you have them. Most of the elite players look absolutely normal. If you didn’t know what Leo Messi did for a living, you’d probably guess a regular job

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@killemall2024 @carebearkieran 3/ or fast, or give you instincts, or replace the internal motivation to be singular with something external. All those things you’re born with; coaching and training merely reveals it and focuses it towards a specific goal

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@killemall2024 @carebearkieran 2/ in most cases, you will be funneled towards certain schools that regularly produce NFL/NBA players. One thing that most American sports reward is freakish physical gifts. As most coaches will tell you—“I can teach you technique, but I can’t teach tall—

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@killemall2024 @carebearkieran Here’s something to consider: in the major American sports (football, basketball, baseball) there are well established feeder programs to the upper echelons of those sports. If you have the talent, it usually will be identified early. 1/

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@BigBlobApe @niallmattimoe @alexjmingolla We’re experiencing a kind of Golden Age of futbol, tbh, where there’s like four or five generational players operating at once—Messi, Mbappé, Haaland, and you’d have to include Ronaldo and Neymar in the woulda, coulda, shoulda group.

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@niallmattimoe @alexjmingolla 3/ to expect anything more is unrealistic, verging on delusional. We had everything fall our way, but in the end, the European clubs are just better. It’d be like Vanderbilt making the CFP. They may be good enough to deserve a spot, but no one really thinks that they could win

[Will Bethel @willinTN]

@niallmattimoe @alexjmingolla 2/ what the US soccer fan needs is to drink some realaTEA. As currently constructed—the infrastructure and the culture—getting out of the group, and maybe winning one or two games in knockout stages is really the best we can hope for.