Thirty or so months seems like a long time when you consider the progress that’s been made with gay rights, so watching how FIFA handles the fallout from their 2010 decision will be interesting:
Russia was awarded World Cup hosting rights in December 2010, when FIFA’s board chose it ahead of England and joint bids from Spain-Portugal and the Netherlands-Belgium. That same day in Zurich, FIFA awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, where homosexual acts are illegal.
[FIFA President] Blatter drew criticism soon after the World Cup votes when he suggested that gay soccer fans could “refrain from any sexual activities” while attending the World Cup in the Gulf nation.In May, after FIFA member countries approved tougher sanctions for discrimination, Blatter was asked what gay fans and players could expect in Qatar, and said that he could not offer “a definite answer” at this stage.
I have a feeling that “don’t fuck and you’ll be fine” isn’t going to cut it, especially since FIFA enacted a new anti-discrimination rule in May. Maybe some of you who follow soccer know more about this.
Yatsuno
Technically even that won’t be good enough. Qatar may not be quite as draconian as Russia, but there are several anti-gay ordinances there. I’m just curious how in the hell Qatar proved they have the infrastructure to host the World Cup, they’re tiny and there ain’t much there. I’m smelling some nice greased palms here.
Breezeblock
@Yatsuno: No doubt. With gameday temps predicted in the 100s, easily, I’m glad I’m not a player.
sparrow
On the one hand I would love to see these regressive countries and their laws were shamed by organizations such as FIFA. But I’m not sure that would work. I’m becoming more on the side of “liberalization has to happen on it’s own timescale, and more particularly, from within”. I’m not sure that seeing “western” groups try to force change will change minds in Qatar. And then, why stop at gay rights? What about women’s rights? Why not boycott South American countries that force their women into dangerous back-alley abortions? Does it make sense to mix politics into hosting decisions? (I am mostly thinking out loud here, not advancing any hard-held positions).
The Red Pen
Freepers love to blather about how anti-gay fundamentalist Muslims are. They gleefully describe how liberal gays will be beheaded when they “get the Sharia law they want.” (Note to non-crazy people: anyone who thinks that Muslims should be allowed to roam freely within our borders is basically asking for Sharia law.)
Then they pat themselves on the back for their stance of “teh gays can exist, as long as they’re invisible, otherwise we’ll throw them in prison otherwise drive them back into the closet.”
drkrick
FIFA won’t care as long as the graft checks clear, but the corporate sponsors aren’t going to want to be associated with this stuff. That’s where pressure might yield results.
Figs
@sparrow:
I don’t disagree with you necessarily, but I think the difference is that in these places, with these particular laws, there is a threat that players and spectators could be subject to jail time. Going somewhere that the culture is troubling is one thing. Going somewhere that has laws against you being who you are (and is willing to enforce them against any and all who come) is another.
Belafon
@The Red Pen: Not sure why they think we’ll tolerate Sharia. We don’t want any religion being used to make secular decisions.
Hawes
This is easy. FIFA is so corrupt it makes New Jersey politics look like a Quaker prayer meeting. Russia is a criminal organization disguised as a state and Qatar has so much money they build indoor ski slopes.
Since there isn’t enough money among the racist skinheads shouting monkey chants at Mario Balotelli, FIFA is suitably outraged. But when oligarchs and sheikhs start writing big checks….
Violet
I was actually in England when this happened. A massive snowstorm had shut down airports and roads in half the country so weather coverage and the World Cup announcement were the only things they covered on the news all day. I had the TV on all day as a distraction to the boring job I was doing and seriously, these were the only two things on the BBC all day.
Once the announcement was made, the commentators, and especially the sports commentators were angry and dejected. They didn’t actually come out and say “Russian bribed FIFA” but they came pretty close. There was some discussion of Putin flying in at the last minute to lobby for it.
And the Qatar thing was baffling to them. They talked about the poor weather and how the players would suffer. Again, the word “bribe” wasn’t used, but they came pretty close.
The Red Pen
@Belafon:
They know we’d hate a Sharia regime, but they fantasize that a future of Muslim hegemony is our penalty for not sharing their genocidal hatred of Muslims.
“Islamofascism” is the Red Scare of our time. Remember how after we passed Medicare, our medical system devolved into a socialist nightmare where the dispensing of even a Band-Aid was subject to the whim of a central planning committee? Well, we didn’t listen, so the same people are here to warn us that if we allow a mosque to be built anywhere on the surface of planet Earth (and possibly other planets, including any moons with sufficient gravitation fields), then we will end up enslaved under Sharia law. Have we learned our lesson? Obviously not, because Hitler.
They’ve even made a clever pun out of the word “dhimmi.” A “dhimmi” is a non-Muslim citizen of a Muslim country, and the Freeper brain trust has coined the epithet “Dhimmicrat” to highlight the Muslim-enabling tendencies of the Democratic party.
Yatsuno
@Violet: I wonder how many venues in Qatar are outdoors. I would have to think that would be a factor in hosting selection, since if all the pitches are outside that could make play very very dangerous.
FIFA should dump Russia now. If it doesn’t their policies are all paper tigers and should be treated as such. And the sponsors should be made to know it.
pat
Well, if Qatar can build indoor ski slopes, maybe they can build an air-conditioned soccer arena, huh?
Gex
That is straight out of the homophobe philosophy, so gays should not expect much of anything. We are gay through and through, not just when we are fucking. But haters cannot get past the fucking. They just can’t. When the head of the organization talks just like Tony Perkins, write them off.
Violet
@Yatsuno: What I remember hearing about the Qatar bid is that the stadiums could be dismantled and shipped to developing nations and reassembled so they could have nice stadiums. Here’s an article on it.
From the same article about air conditioning:
The article is from 2010.
pat
Seriously, maybe it’s time for FIFA and the Olympic organizing committee to start some boycotting of countries with terrible human rights records. But maybe then all events would have to be held in Norway.
Can’t wait to see what the commenters have to say about the human rights abuses in Norway. Heh.
smintheus
There are several hundred reasons why putting the World Cup in Qatar is crazy, bigotry against gays being just one of them. Putting it in Russia is slightly less daffy, but given Putin’s stranglehold on the country, only slightly less.
Roger Moore
@Yatsuno:
I am shocked, shocked that somebody would suggest there’s corruption in international sports. How can you say such a cruel thing?
Villago Delenda Est
@Gex:
Hell, they can’t get past heterosexual fucking. They’re obsessed with fucking, as in, “ICK!”
Villago Delenda Est
@Roger Moore:
Your bid for the 2020 Summer games has been approved, sir!
Alexandra
@The Red Pen:
It joins a pantheon of increasingly obsure code-words that mean little or nothing to anyone else. Moochelle, Benghazi, argle-bargle.
Gex
@sparrow: Isn’t there a difference between not-shaming them and not rewarding them? It is very, very common for us to demand countries meet certain standards if they want to join in trade agreements and many other international arrangements that commerce depends upon. In fact, one of the big selling points of globalization is that puts pressure on countries to cooperate and do things such as improve on human rights.
I am not a fan of using hard power to force these changes, but to disparage even the use of soft power to make things better?
Roger Moore
@Belafon:
Because they assume that liberals’ policy desires are the exact opposite of theirs, and imposing Sharia law is the closest they are capable of imagining of the exact opposite of Christian theocracy. Also, too, Sharia is a really good boogeyman to scare the rubes.
Violet
OT–Has anyone heard from John Cole? I don’t think he posted at all yesterday. Given the goal he’s set himself, I hope he’s doing okay. That can be overwhelming.
Gex
@Villago Delenda Est: True, but they do acknowledge that straight people can go out in public, be in a relationship with someone, VISIBLY be in a relationship with someone, and not consider every single thing they do to be sexual. That is not the case for us. Everything we do is shoving something down their throats. (Which I assume is wishful thinking on their part.)
Mnemosyne
@sparrow:
I see what you mean and think that boycotts by individual nations would probably be more immediately effective given the long timescale on which the venues are selected.
On the other hand, the committees usually take the safety of the athletes and fans into account when they are selecting a venue, which is why we don’t have World Cup Mogadishu or World Cup Kabul, so I don’t have a problem pressuring them to take the safety of all of the athletes and fans into account, not just the hetero ones.
Another Holocene Human
Never mind that the myth that football fans turn their trip into fuck-holidays is a myth–the prostitutes complained during the German World Cup that they were making less money than usual. On the other hand,the biggest hazard for fans has always been other fans, which is precisely why a place like Qatar is not a very good choice, unless you are a privileged white male who will have special seats anyway far from the hooligans and your own car to take you to and from.
Chris
@The Red Pen:
No, they don’t even “know” that. They’re convinced that because of Political Correctness and Cultural Relativism we’re totally okay with Sharia Law because we think “that’s just their culture.”
Basically, it goes 1) liberals don’t agree that we’re at war with Islam, liberals defend the rights of Muslims to… build mosques in Manhattan, not be profiled in airports, etc, and liberals think some of our actions in Muslim majority countries were a bad idea, 2) therefore, liberals love Muslims (because of their Political Correctness which makes them love all things that aren’t white or Christian), 3) and since all Muslims are the same this means liberals love homophobic sexists like the Taliban or al-Qaeda or the Saudi royal family.
This is what the inside of your brain looks like when you’ve got a 100% tribal, binary and narcissistic mindset in which all people can be easily classified and identified based on their group identities, anyone who’s not with you is with your enemies, and everything that’s ever happened is all about you. (Because you know the reason we liberals are like that is just because we hate white Christian men).
Another Holocene Human
@Mnemosyne: Athletes and fans, lol, the reason Somalia and Afghanistan don’t get these events is because they have no money to bribe the committees with.
aretino
I expect nothing good from the swindling bigots in charge of FIFA. Sepp “women should play football in tighter shorts” Blatter has lowered an already benighted and corrupt organization to new depths of know-nothingism and graft. They will pay exactly as much attention to their window-dressing tolerance and anti-corruption initiatives as teabaggers pay to what’s actually in the Constitution.
Remember, the main concern Blatter expressed about Brazil is that they weren’t eager enough to repress protestors.
Another Holocene Human
@Breezeblock: But think about the upsets!
? Martin
Playing outside isn’t going to be a problem. It’s not that much hotter in Qatar than it is in elsewhere. Anyone who has played in Brazil, the US, China, Australia, Italy, Spain, Mexico has played in 100 degree temps. They’ll train for it and be fine.
The infrastructure is a real problem though. Qatar has almost none. There’s the appearance of infrastructure, but it’s terribly inadequate, and they have a broad attitude of build first and design later – they move too fast. 80% of the country are people there on work permits. The nation works so long as the money flows fast enough. Slow that down and it’ll collapse on itself – and can the keep the money flowing long enough to get to the world cup? I’m skeptical. 2022 is a long way away.
The Red Pen
@Chris:
Actually, yeah — that’s a better summary of what they think.
What they “know” is that once we have foolishly allowed ourselves to be taken over by Muslim, we’ll be really sorry and they will be telling us “we told you so!”
Mnemosyne
@Gex:
Depends on which group of Christianists you’re talking about — remember, there are now groups who encourage engaged couples to not even hold hands (much less kiss) before their wedding, because ANY physical demonstration of any kind is the same as fucking.
The good news is, LGBT people seem to be getting more comfortable with PDAs (and probably getting less negative feedback in public), at least in urban areas in blue states. I’ve started seeing gay couples (mostly lesbian) casually walking hand-in-hand down the street in LA and Chicago just like everyone else. It’s not a big thing, but it’s a start.
Another Holocene Human
@The Red Pen: A dhimmi during the Medieval period was in better shape than a Muslim or Jew in Europe, or a Christian of the wrong flavor.
I think that’s what really offends those freeper assholes.
Another Holocene Human
@Mnemosyne: So those horrid photographs with mater et pater and all the children lined up in matching home-made togs (women with silly head-coverings, or in some cults, ugly short hair cuts), is NOT a giant poster saying WE’RE FUCKINGGGGGGGG WE’RE FUCKINGGGGGG FOR JESUS AND PATRIARCHY LOOOOOOOK AT THE EVIDENCE?
Mike Lamb
It will be interesting to see if anything happens re: World Cup 2014. Unlike the Olympics, it’d be pretty easy to switch host countries. Any of the runners-up could easily step in, most particularly England.
Mnemosyne
@Another Holocene Human:
That doesn’t help, but the World Cup and the Olympics Committee also doesn’t want to have the bad publicity of their athletes and fans being injured or killed. As aretino said above, one of the reasons Brazil didn’t win their bid was because FIFA didn’t think they were doing a good enough job at suppressing their protestors, because economic protests at the World Cup would have been embarrassing to FIFA.
Money helps, but it’s not the only factor.
Mnemosyne
@Another Holocene Human:
They’re fucking, but they’re not enjoying it, unlike those eebil gheys. ;-)
ETA: Did you ever read or see Carrie by Stephen King. It turns out that the mother’s horrible secret, the one that led her to kill Carrie’s father and try to kill Carrie, is that (SPOILER ALERT ON A 30-YEAR-OLD BOOK) they had sex and she enjoyed it, so he had to die. That’s the Christianist mindset for you.
Ronnie Pudding
@? Martin:
In 1994, there were many complaints that it was too hot to play. Europeans in particular – and less be honest, they have the loudest voices in the sport – don’t want to go anywhere near 100F.
Violet
@Mnemosyne: In some countries, men walking down the street holding hands is fine. They’re straight men–or assumed to be. A man and a woman holding hands–not allowed.
@Mnemosyne: Brazil is hosting the 2014 World Cup and then the Olympics in 2016. They won both bids.
Another Holocene Human
@sparrow: Who gives a fuck about Qatar? Bringing World Cup there won’t change anything–it might even harden the positions of their wingnuts.
So why put fans, officials, and athletes through all of that?
Nobody said to boycott any countries from participating… they can still compete… sometimes it’s the most freedom some of these athletes ever get depending on how shitty their government is.
Why not say before you throw millions of people into harm’s way that you’re going to pick a country that’s reasonably safe, has a reasonably good human rights record, and that treats visitors okay? For example in my mind China sucks on #2 but is okay enough of #1 and #3 that the Olympics were okay. But India’s kinda shitty on #1 and #3–you’d have to think twice about that. A lot of these rich oil-dependent Arab countries are good on #1 but suck on #3, I mean, imprisoning foreign nationals for being raped? Cute. Real cute.
Another Holocene Human
@The Red Pen: psst: don’t tell Free Republic about the Beit Din.
I Heart Breitbartbees
@The Red Pen: The punchline is that one of the most liberal and accepting members of Congress is Keith Ellison. He’s far more intelligent and, dare I say, American, than the Teahadists far to his right.
shortstop
@Roger Moore: Yeah, I’m with this explanation. They are not only utterly binary thinkers, but also incapable of processing information outside of their own (warped, mildewy) box. So they come up with such gems as “Liberals hate Christians and love Muslims!” and “Secularism is the liberal religion!” and “Liberals worship science instead of God!”
Zifnab
@sparrow: On of the ways that bigots maintain the status quo is by creating the illusion that their opinion is in the majority. When that illusion breaks down – as it did in the United States through much of the 90s and 00s – bigots quickly lose their ability to treat bigotry as “normal”.
Unbigoted Qatars benefit immensely when they can point to foreign countries where homosexuality is considered acceptable and proclaim “Hey, these countries are happy and healthy, despite allowing gays to live openly. Clearly, gays aren’t abnormal or amoral.” American liberals benefited from being able to point to Israeli integrated military units during the DADT fight. They benefit from having openly gay politicians and happily married celebrity gay couples to point towards (and to rather messed up straight politicians and straight couples as counterpoints).
So I think opening up the dialogue is going to benefit the liberals in the long run, and put the bigots on the defensive as they try to explain all these exceptions to the “gays are bad” moral rule.
aretino
@Mnemosyne: As aretino said above, one of the reasons Brazil didn’t win their bid was because FIFA didn’t think they were doing a good enough job at suppressing their protestors, because economic protests at the World Cup would have been embarrassing to FIFA.
Actually, Brazil already won the bid for next year’s World Cup. There’s a lot of concern about whether they will actually have the infrastructure ready. It’s a huge cost for a still-emerging economy. During this summer’s Confederations Cup (a mini-tournament that is held a year before the World Cup in the host country in part to sort out any problems), there were huge protests against the amount of money that was being spent on the World Cup. Blatter’s main focus was on how open displays of public dissent would detract from the event.
handsmile
There’s a long and sordid tale to tell about these matters, but to summarize:
FIFA is a thoroughly, mind-boggingly corrupt organization (its misdeeds are legion) and its longtime president Sepp Blatter may accurately be described as one of the most despised men on the planet. As it is the official administrative body of the world’s most popular game, however, it commands obeisance; its authority to dictate rules/regulations and its enormous financial resources (i.e., ability to bestow largesse) make it more powerful than many of the individual nations that comprise it.
To expect this organization to exercise moral leadership would lead only to bitter laughter or despair. Aside from issuing feeble statements of concern, FIFA will monitor events at the Sochi Winter Olympics. If no athletes are arrested or harassed there (and Putin will surely not allow that), FIFA will happily declare that all is well and that Russia is a noble land committed to the principles of free and fair international athletic competition.
As for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, there is actually a Wikipedia entry detailing how that corrupt enterprise was agreed to, which includes information on the trivial social and climatological issues that FIFA saw fit to overlook:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar_2022_FIFA_World_Cup_bid
The fact that summer temperatures in Qatar may exceed 50C has belatedly come to the attention of the FIFA board which is now considering holding the World Cup during the winter months. That of course will wreak havoc on the schedules of the professional football leagues of Europe (the most profitable leagues internationally).
theguardian.com/football/2013/jul/18/qatar-winter-world-cup-fifa
Aside from the issues of womens’ rights and gay rights (and the “arc of history”), the imperatives of climate change and petrochemical conflict will almost certainly determine that the 2022 World Cup will be played in some nation other than Qatar.
? Martin
@Ronnie Pudding:
Yeah, and every time they fall down it’s because they were tripped. Posturing for self-interest in soccer is second only to what you find in professional wrestling.
Chris
@The Red Pen:
The thing that really kills me is that back in the nineties, when the Taliban were born and went on a crusade, liberal/feminist women’s rights groups weren’t just the biggest but even the only political force in Washington agitating against them. They even raised enough of a stink to get an oil pipeline deal through Afghanistan shot down that the Clinton administration had its heart set on, lest it go to enriching Dark Age fanatics and terrorists.
Where was the Christian Right, so deeply concerned with the human rights of people in Muslim countries, back then? Or at any point prior to 09/11/2001?
Villago Delenda Est
@Another Holocene Human:
Oh, really. Like any of these assholes has studied any history of anywhere in any depth.
What you’re saying is true, but there’s no doubt in my mind that any of this would register on the Freeper “brain”. They’re ignorant of all this, and fucking proud of it, I might add.
Belafon
@Roger Moore: “My theocracy is better than theirs because…” Even if I wanted to entertain that, getting a bunch of virgins sounds a whole lot better than constantly bowing to God.
Another Holocene Human
@Gex: Doesn’t that just slay you? The majority of my time is spent on other things, but the way I love offends them? And these are the same people who just have tell everyone about the unChristian things that THEY do, whisper whisper about how they saw somebody nekkid like we’re still in junior high cutting class in the bathroom.
Hey, Jebus said it was a sin to go around imagining bedroom antics with someone you’re not married to, and, huh, didn’t say jackshit about marrying someone of the same sex.
Grow. Up.
Tractarian
What is this business about “thirty or so months”?
Russia’s World Cup isn’t for another 5 years, Qatar’s 9.
Another Holocene Human
@Mnemosyne: So like my nutty like an ice cream sundae inlaw S****, you think that economic protestors are a safety hazard to athletes, seriously? Did the 1960’s “race rioters” kill athletes? Did the Weather Underground target athletes? When my town marched to protest Rick Scott’s policies did we take a turn by the football stadium and toss Molotov cocktails? (btw, answer is NO)
Could I have the real Mnemosyne back?
Another Holocene Human
@Mnemosyne: They’re fucking, but they’re not enjoying it, unlike those eebil gheys.
That’s because mere sex can’t hold a candle to total physical and psychological domination.
That glazed look on the women’s eyes, a scared animal who has tuned out from life because the fight has gone out of her, that’s the real prize.
shortstop
@Belafon:
Well…
Thlayli
As far as it being “too hot” in 1994, we have the European TV companies to thank for that. The games were starting at 2:00 PM local time (in Dallas and Orlando, in July) because that’s prime-time in Europe.
Another Holocene Human
@Villago Delenda Est: Don’t be so sure. The wingers I know LOVE history, of course an extremely biased telling thereof. They like easy-to-read narratives which confirm their prejudices (white euro males are the best), and the pulp bins are fucking full of these.
Even lazy thinkers who only read American military histories will be familiar with the late Ottoman period thanks to the USN’s epic fuck up off the shores of Tripoli (ha ha, one of the ships involved was the USS Enterprize, and yes that is the proper spelling).
Just remember, that famous yellow star is something the Nazis excavated from medieval Muslim state history. They didn’t just come up with that shit on their own.
It’s also well-known that there are Western academics who study Ottoman history, Persian history, Islam, etc, and their writings came under scrutiny by the bigot class after 9/11. Of course the majority of the rabid posters probably have only seen little excerpts spoon fed by their ringleaders since academic writing is not accessible to their reading level. Bo-ring.
Chris
@Another Holocene Human:
The wingers I know love history, as long as history = war and Tom Clancy is narrating.
Beyond that, their eyes glaze over pretty quickly.
Roger Moore
@Mnemosyne:
I think the “mostly lesbian” is the giveaway, here. Gay men are still not as tolerated, and they’re risking their safety with public displays outside a few very gay friendly areas. Those areas may be growing beyond a few ghettos, but they’re still way too small.
Roger Moore
@Another Holocene Human:
Yes, they’re fucking, but they’re doing it within the narrowly defined confines of a procreative heterosexual marriage, so it’s something to be proud, rather than ashamed, of.
Roger Moore
@Chris:
I think they’ve always had at least some concern for their very narrow idea of human rights, i.e. the ability of Christian minorities in majority non-Christian countries to worship as they see fit. They many not have had much of a fit about Afghanistan just because its Christian population was too small to notice. But you’re certainly right that Christiansts see human rights in Muslim countries are mostly a stick to beat the Muslims with, rather than a serious concern that they’ll continue to worry about once another shiny object passes through their vision.
? Martin
@Roger Moore:
Absolutely. It’s really male gay relationships that are seen as threatening to men. Female gay relationships aren’t really seen as threatening. There’s probably some social conditioning already done there. Girl-on-girl is pretty widely accepted.
Mnemosyne
@Another Holocene Human:
I don’t, but as aretino pointed out above, some of the FIFA officials do. Maybe you could read more closely, or have another cup of coffee, before you flip the fuck out?
Mnemosyne
Duplicate — FWYP!
raven
Everybody’s Doin’ It
Sad_Dem
@Violet: “the word “bribe” wasn’t used, but they came pretty close” That’s what I’ve heard about FIFA as well, and I don’t follow soccer. I’ve heard FIFA is entirely corrupt, so if fans want things to change the wallet vote is the only one that counts.
Another Holocene Human
@Roger Moore: I’ll agree, there’s no cultural phobia of the notion. One doesn’t give it a second thought. However, I happen to find it super-gross. My feelings of ick don’t have force of law so why do theirs?
Another Holocene Human
@Mnemosyne: I did read closely, nursing the coffee all the while, and while others on this thread have talked about FIFA officials in a critical context, you repeated your sense of their remarks as if approvingly. Now you’re saying (I guess) that you were being unclear. Perhaps you are in need of coffee.
You know what you meant but that’s not what you posted.
Bruce Lawton
Who cares about soccer? Everyone but the U.S. Who cares about gay rights? No one but the U.S. and western Europe so we are a tiny player in this discussion.
Another Holocene Human
@? Martin: Love the subversion in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, when Mr Wynn and Mr Kidd hold hands in an indistinct “night” scene (daytime with filter over it… looks like shite as you can well imagine).
Another Holocene Human
@Bruce Lawton: Come again?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_by_country_or_territory
Mnemosyne
@Another Holocene Human:
Read what I wrote again. I specifically cited aretino’s comment about the opinions of the FIFA officials. Sorry you were too fucking lazy to pay attention to the difference between my opinion and referring to someone else’s opinion.
Patricia Kayden
@Bruce Lawton: Actually, gays in repressive countries like Uganda care alot about gay rights.
tybee
@Violet:
perhaps he’s stuck up on the cat tree….
Chris
@Roger Moore:
True. Although, there are limits there too. Southern Christian minorities in the Sudan (before the breakup) were a big deal for them, as I recall. Arab Christian communities in Israel, not so much.
MikeJ
@Another Holocene Human:
La nuit américaine.
burnspbesq
If Brazil, Spain, Germany, and the US say they’re not showing up in Russia in 2018 unless Russian law changes, FIFA will act. The prospect of losing billions in rights fees will be the necessary wake-up call.
Yatsuno
@Patricia Kayden: No no no. See, Bruce is just telling us fags to shut up and get to the back of the bus so we don’t interfere with his football. Fuck our lives and our right to be treated with dignity. It’s interfering with his passion dammit!
Roger Moore
@burnspbesq:
Also, too, Argentina, France, and the UK have marriage equality and might be willing to join a boycott. A World Cup without the best teams from Europe and South America would suck pretty badly.
Yatsuno
@Roger Moore: Not to mention no national team = no fans coming to support = no big economic boost. This might already be happening with Sochi.
Jose Arcadio Buendía
The next time you think that there’s no antisemitism behind a boycott of Israel, ask yourself who else is being boycotted? Apparently, Russia’s gay pogrom law isn’t enough for one. It couldn’t be that there are different standards…
sparrow
@Jose Arcadio Buendía: IS this comment in reply to something? What does this have to do with Israel?
Yatsuno
@sparrow: I felt like saying this is an apple. That is an orange. Note they differ. Oh wait, I just did.
Tripod
The US cares enough about soccer that it’s FIFA’s largest World Cup TV deal
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Another Holocene Human:
Except that in Brazil the protest is all about the money being thrown at the upcoming World Cup and Olympics.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Tripod:
Only because we don’t have a state-run broadcaster which scoops up events such as the WC and the Olympics.
Roger Moore
@Tripod:
And networks are competing vigorously for the rights to broadcast
EnglishBarclay’s Premiere League. Even MLS has a loyal and growing fan base. Soccer is increasing in popularity fast enough that it may push Hockey out of its spot as one of the big four sports in the near future.Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Roger Moore:
Yeah, uhm, while I love the game, the quality of MLS is going to have to grow leaps and bounds before it pushes hockey out of the Big 4 here. That displacement sure ain’t gonna happen while NBC airs its featured EPL match of the week at 10 AM Eastern on Saturdays.
Tripod
@Temporarily Max McGee:
What the hell are you talking about?
dollared
@Jose Arcadio Buendía: Uh, if we don’t treat Russia and Israel exactly the same, we are anti-Semites? Is that your assertion?
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Tripod:
In a lot of the nations across the world, there’s no open bidding for exclusive television rights to the WC or the Olympics:
In Europe the governments can pass laws directing that certain events can got to certain broadcast entities, so there’s really no bidding war. Let’s take the UK as an example. Sky Sports could force a bidding war over WC broadcast rights that could easily cause the rights fee paid there to be far larger than the fee paid by the US broadcast entity that wins the rights here- there’s so much more interest in the tournament there, ya know? But current law in the UK directs that all games must be broadcasted over the air, and goes even further by allowing the state-owned BBC to poach any game involving England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. And there are laws like this all across not only Europe, but the world. Take a look to the north (or, if in Detroit, the south) to Canada, where the CBC has its pick of the matches.
Were the US to pass a law granting exclusive broadcast rights of all US games in the tournament as well as the tournaments semi-final and final matches, the fee paid for WC rights here wouldn’t be half of what they are now. Hell, they might not even be 20% of what’s paid now.