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This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

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Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

You cannot shame the shameless.

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

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Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

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Monday Evening Open Sportsball Thread

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FIFA Club World Cup ticket sales tank dramatically after the Dept. of Homeland Security bragged that agents would be “suited and booted" at the stadium in a now-deleted social media post

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— Phil Lewis (@phillewis.bsky.social) June 16, 2025 at 6:31 PM

As ever, I know very little about the soccer world. But I have heard enough about FIFA’s general corruption to suspect that the Trump admistration’s ‘suited and booted’ proclamations may be something of a figleaf for the global org’s marketing failures. Still… per HuffPost:

… Sales for the FIFA Club World Cup, a series of precursor games ahead of next year’s North American World Cup, were already lackluster when, last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection bragged online about how its agents would be “suited and booted and ready to provide security for the first round of games.”

At about the same time, Immigration and Customs Enforcement told NBC Miami they’d also be at the games providing security, and told the outlet that all non-American citizens should carry proof of their legal status.

CBP spokesperson Alan Regalado told the Miami New Times in a statement that “lawful travelers have nothing to fear from these measures.”…

Tickets to the first match, featuring soccer legend Lionel Messi’s Miami CF vs. Egypt’s Al Ahly FC at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami hit, well, rock bottom.

According to prices tracked by The Athletic, tickets that sold for $349 and up after the matches were announced in December dropped to $69.15 ahead of the Saturday night game, with tens of thousands of tickets still unsold.

The sports outlet also found a deal marketed to local college students where five tickets could be had for $20, dropping the cost per ticket to just $4.

Sources familiar with CBP’s “suited and booted” post told The New York Times it was deleted after senior FIFA personnel told the federal law enforcement agency they weren’t exactly thrilled about it.

The post nevertheless struck a nerve, with costly reverberations around the country…

The Associated Press reported last week that “Fans don’t appear to be snatching up tickets to the Club World Cup”:

If slashed ticket prices, closed stadium sections and moved seats are any indication, fans aren’t exactly clamoring to attend the Club World Cup.

The tournament opens Saturday with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami facing Al Ahly at Florida’s Hard Rock Stadium. Thirty-two teams are taking part in the newly expanded tournament that will be played across 11 U.S. cities. The final is set for July 13 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

On Ticketmaster, FIFA’s official ticketing partner for the Club World Cup, the least expensive tickets to the opener were $349 in December. As of Thursday, there were tickets available for just under $80.

Upper deck seats for certain games at Seattle’s Lumen Field and Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field were no longer available. Links to a smattering of resale tickets in those sections did not work.

A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Associated Press that some sections of Lumen Field in Seattle had been closed, but did not offer details. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak on the record.

In Philadelphia, some ticketholders received messages that said they were moved…

Ticketmaster used dynamic pricing for ticket sales, which is based on demand and other factors. They referred all questions about sales to FIFA.

FIFA did not respond to questions about whether sections were closed due to slow ticket sales, or whether fans who originally bought tickets in those sections were moved or offered refunds…

NYTimes‘ The Athletic, “FIFA spent more than $50million on Club World Cup marketing to boost ticket sales”:

FIFA has spent over $50 million on marketing to promote this summer’s Club World Cup tournament in the United States, including increasing their original budget by millions in the past month as they sought to drive attendances for the tournament, according to multiple people briefed on their budget.

The Club World Cup, a project driven by the organisation’s president Gianni Infantino, had been beset by organisational challenges as FIFA sought to make a splash for the first edition of the revamped 32-team tournament…

FIFA’s marketing spend appears to have focused heavily on social media, ploughing money into promoting posts with a significant number of influencers on Instagram. This has included engaging a baseball reporter to explain soccer to Americans and asking an invention influencer to talk about the competition, as well as cooking influencers to connect with the casual sports fan. FIFA has also spent significantly on highway advertising boards in several cities.

If Club World Cup attendances are an issue, FIFA will bear much of the responsibility
There are going to be lots of emptry seats when the tournament begins but that is not the fault of U.S. soccer fans

As previously reported by The Athletic, FIFA has been taking unusual steps in their bid to sell out stadiums for the tournament this summer. This worked for the opening fixture, featuring Lionel Messi and Inter Miami, after tickets went tumbling down in price with tens of thousands of seats unsold a fortnight before the tournament launched…

The Athletic reported on Saturday how there had been disagreement within FIFA over the balance of MLS-dedicated and NFL venues that should be used during the competition. While members of FIFA’s U.S. offices favoured a broader use of smaller venues which could be sold out, FIFA’s European office, encouraged by Infantino, were eager to bring the tournament to as many large venues as possible for a competition FIFA has billed as “the best against the best”…

The challenge for FIFA increased in local markets amid confirmation that U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) officials may be present at Club World Cup games, while U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted on Facebook saying they would be “suited and booted” to provide security for the first round of games — only to then delete the post after senior personnel at FIFA contacted the organization to express concerns about the reaction it had provoked.

FIFA had struggled before the tournament to drive positive authentic publicity for the tournament in European and U.S. markets, with their own promotion sometimes leaning heavily on an Instagram roadshow by the organisation’s president Gianni Infantino. There has been little conventional mainstream media access to the FIFA president — whose most extensive engagement appears to have been with the influencer iShowSpeed — while clubs and players competing in the tournament have mostly engaged digitally with the promotion for the competition with in-house quotes distributed as press releases. Speed was not paid for his time with Infantino, according to the influencer’s spokesperson at Creative Artists Agency…

Reader Interactions

63Comments

  2. 2.

    Sister Inspired Revolver of Freedom

    @Parfigliano: Totes! Plus FIFA is about as corrupt as the Russian government. TBH if the women were playing, I might actually be interested.

  3. 3.

    Captain C

    Apparently, the game in Atlanta between Chelsea (one of the biggest teams in the world and a recent Champions League winner) and LAFC had 22,000 in attendance, said to be the smallest ever for a soccer game at Megatron’s Butthole Mercedes-Benz Stadium.  A recent game featuring local team Atlanta United, who is playing like butt this year, drew 44,000.

    I’m not sure where I read it but some commentator said that 150 LAFC fans were controlling the atmosphere with their chanting and singing.

    I’m not sure what this bodes for the World Cup next year, but I suspect that the reputation that CBP and ICE seem determined to grow won’t help things.

  4. 4.

    BellyCat

    Let them eat (very heavily discounted) cake (with only moderate fear of jail and deportation).

  6. 6.

    RaflW

    Sherrilyn Ifill a couple hours ago:

    I’m watching the Panama v Guadeloupe Gold Cup game on TV as we speak. It is being played in Los Angeles. And the stadium is almost completely empty.

    A sport that in the U.S. is highly dependent on Latino audiences is no longer viable. The World Cup cannot come here.

    (Sherrilyn is the sister of the late, great Gwen, and former NAACP LDF director. Two amazing siblings.)

  7. 7.

    piratedan

    I only feel sorry for those players representing their countries that will not be able to enjoy playing before happy fans.  Those fans that appreciate the beauty of the sport, I feel for them too….

     

    everyone else that siphons money and barnacles off of the spectacle, fuck’em.

  8. 8.

    Sister Inspired Revolver of Freedom

    If you think this is bad, wait until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. It’s going to be a next level shite show. Especially with the recent travel bans impacting heavily on Africa. Where, ya know, some of the best runners in the world come from. It’s going to be worse than the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

  12. 12.

    moonbat

    I figured as much as the FIFA folks are known to love their money that they’d start moving matches to Canadian and Mexican venues, But maybe it’s too late for that given the time window required for sportsball events of this magnitude(?).

  14. 14.

    Leto

    @RaflW: I was reading an article about this a few days ago as Philly is hosting a few games. There was a guy who had bought tickets for him and his wife for one of the big South American teams playing. He’s a green card holder from Mexico, she’s a citizen, but after the ICE/CBP announcements they decided to sell their tickets. They’d save for a while and were soooo excited to go, but they didn’t feel it was worth the risk now. This is the new reality for many and it’s just going to get uglier. Sherrylin is correct, but they’ll hold the games here regardless. Also don’t forget this is a three host nation tournament. Canada and Mexico are the co-hosts. I have a feeling it’s just going to be ugly.

  15. 15.

    YY_Sima Qian

    Not sports, but it’s happening:

    Many Exporters No Longer Want Dollars, US Bank Executive Says
    By Carter Johnson
    June 16, 2025 at 11:02 PM GMT+8
    Takeaways NEW

    • US importers are increasingly being asked by their foreign counterparties to settle transactions in currencies other than the US dollar, such as euros, Chinese renminbi, Mexican pesos, and Canadian dollars.

    • The dollar’s volatility, including an 8% decline this year against a basket of other currencies, is driving this trend, as foreign vendors seek to limit their exposure to further swings in the greenback.

    • The shift away from the dollar could be seen in trade invoicing, particularly in regions like Latin America and Asia, where exporters may opt to denominate contracts in local currencies or other alternatives like the euro or yuan.

    …

    Diversify your currency holdings.

  16. 16.

    Jay

    There are so few fans in the stands that you can hear the squeak of the ball when they kick it.

    I think it will replace the TACO parade sound of Sherman tanks squeaking and bird song as my ringtone.

  17. 17.

    Leto

    @moonbat: they kept the games in Middle East after the horrific working conditions were exposed, as well as having to move the entire fucking tournament to the winter season because OFC the Qatari’s couldn’t fucking develop the tech they promised to keep the players and fans cool in 120F heat during the dead of summer.

    FIFA and the IOC love money more than anything in this world, or the next, and outside of an active war zone they won’t move venues. They’ll happily work with dictators and not bat an eye, same as F1.

  18. 18.

    Chetan Murthy

    @YY_Sima Qian: I sold up in my 401k back on April 1; kept it in Treasuries.  This week, I’m moving those savings into Euro stocks.

    ETA: just as my only regret about selling up in April, was that I didn’t do it much earlier, my only regret about moving into Euro stocks, is that I didn’t do it earlier.

  21. 21.

    West of the Rockies

    As ever (as noted in the first comment), everything the Tangerine Turd touches dies, including the beautiful game.

  22. 22.

    Chetan Murthy

    @YY_Sima Qian: Yes, there’s an ETF that is basically “developed world minus US” and I have a small part of my 401k in that.  Should move more there.  Eventually I’ll own almost no US assets.

  34. 34.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jay: Honestly, as an American, I can fully understand why Canada will not look at us the same for many, many years.  We’ve shown our ass to the world, but -especially- to our neighbors.

    ETA: In a future timeline where Democrats recover control of our government, can you just -imagine- the kind of apology tour that our President would have to go on, to even -begin- to make amends for what we’ve subjected the world to, with two Trump terms?  The mind boggles.  And of course, there’s no way to apologize enough.  We’ve blotted our copybook.

  35. 35.

    Jay

    @prostratedragon:

    Meloni is walking a “thin edge”.

    When southern Italy was liberated in WWII, the first thing that sprang up was communists, not Communist’s, but “communes”.

    They revolted. The land owners, including the church, had let vast agricultural areas fallow, for years and decades, and people were starving.

    So, they seized the “land back”.

    The US Army was deployed to stop this, and employed Mussolini’s Black Shirts to make this happen.

    Until the 70’s, Italy was ruled by an ever changing mix of “Reich Wing Nationalists”, backed by “Operation Gladio” and some NATO Countries.

    Then fed up, the Italian’s voted in a moderate party. Then came the black terror, the red terror.

    It’s a fine balancing act in Italy, to avoid an Esso gas station.

    She is so far, is doing it well.

    Italy under her, was the first EU country that stopped announcing aid packages to Ukraine. She said it was up to Ukraine to announce what was sent, and when.

  37. 37.

    Jay

    @Chetan Murthy:

    Sadly, many Canadians know how “your system” is supposed to work. Often better than our own.

    And since Reagan, we know how it crosses the border, eg anti-Trans, etc.

    Now, it’s no longer cousins, but “enemy”, until you fix “your system”, which it is why it will take at least two generations to fix the “rift”.

    We are pissed off, and for Canadian’s, that takes a lot.

  38. 38.

    Sister Inspired Revolver of Freedom

    @Archon: Then the Olympics may be doomed. Because almost no one wants to host them any more. Too big, too expensive, little return on the investment. Too many white elephant venues.

  40. 40.

    Jay

    @Sister Inspired Revolver of Freedom:

    Other than the IOC corruption and brain dead to politics, they work well well where there are existing venues. Eg. Vancouver. 2010, we had to build a village for the athletes, now mixed income housing, and a cycling track.

    Some official accounts say we broke even, but that was just “official costs”, a $188 billion “churn” where money changed hands, nobody asked 7/11 how much they made or any of the sex workers.

  43. 43.

    Jay

    @Archon:

    To make my answer short, my Militia Regiment, went from 1 company to a full 8, not seen since WWII.

    And we  (my company) got 16 boxes of drones, including Fiber Optic.

    I guess that all that support for Ukraine is paying off.

  44. 44.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jay: He’s right.  He’s right.  I go farther.  I wrote the following in emails to a friend a couple of days ago:

    [preface: I used to be -proud- of paying my taxes.  -proud-.]

    First email:

    I have come to -loathe- my country.  -Loathe- it.  I pay my taxes,
    so I can subsidize my (our) oppressors, pay for this kind of moral
    abomination.  It’s infuriating.

    There are people commenting (in good faith, decent people) about
    the fact that American soldiers are in danger and all.  And all I can
    think is: “good, let them all fucking die”.  Because not a one of them
    is honoring their oath to the Constitution, Not. A. One.

    I feel such hatred.  Such.  Hatred.

    Second email:

    (3) The military has abrogated their oaths and duty.

    Now I don’t expect soldiers to be  barracks lawyers, and I understand that it’s a big deal to disobey orders, even if you -think- they’re unlawful.
    But I’m not expecting them to do that.  14A makes it plain that Trump is an insurrectionist.  The oath of enlistment signs up soldiers to support
    and defend the Constitution.

    AT A MINIMUM, that means they cannot obey the orders of an insurrectionist who is per se ineligible to be President.  But hey, I’m not asking
    them to -do- anything about it, other than to -resign-.

    In the Old Testament, God said he’d spare Gomorrah if Abraham could find FIFTY righteous men.  Then only TEN righteous men.  Clearly
    there are not TEN righteous men in the US Army.

    (a) 14A:

    Section 3.
    No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

    (b) the oath of Enlistment

    I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God. (Title 10, US Code; Act of 5 May 1960 replacing the wording first adopted in 1789, with amendment effective 5 October 1962).

  45. 45.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jay: We are pissed off, and for Canadian’s, that takes a lot.

    You are not alone.  The trust is gone between me and the USA.  I look at my government and I see an enemy.  We know now that when we enter the US, we need to treat it like entering China.  Or Russia.  Entering an adversary state.  I know now, that if and when I fly next, my first stop will be in a foreign land — that I will not be on a flight making a stop in a US city.  In ways large and small, I’m acting on these assumptions.

    Even if the Dems retake the trifecta, that won’t change.  B/c Duverger’s Law teaches us that it can change back.  How am I supposed to trust a government, trust a state, that can decide to become a predator upon me and my family?  That’s folly.

  46. 46.

    Jay

    @Archon:

    Another way of putting it.

    We did a live fire, exercise with the US Marines 2 weeks ago, in Squamish bush.

    Offence vs defense,

    So, you get issued squibs, (blanks) and the rifle has a plastic FRP block, (bright orange at the end), so that even the blanks at close range can’t hurt anyone,

    No suppressors.

    Ref’s call if you are dead or not or just wounded, based on, I don’t l don’t know, math tables?

    We were issued “live ammunition”, 8 mags of 5.56mm AP, “just in case”.

    That’s how far the trust has fallen.

  47. 47.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jay:

    We were issued “live ammunition”, 8 mags of 5.56mm AP, “just in case”.

    That’s how far the trust has fallen.

    And rightly so.  Rightly so.

  53. 53.

    gene108

    @Captain C:

    I’m not sure what this bodes for the World Cup next year, but I suspect that the reputation that CBP and ICE seem determined to grow won’t help things.

    The men’s World Cup and 2028 Olympics are going to be shit shows regarding attendance thanks to Trump’s immigration policies. Most Americans know nothing of the one Canadian and one British tourist detained by ice for a couple of weeks, early in this administration’s tenure, but Canada and Europe are aware of how they were treated like shit.

    I feel like it’ll be something Republicans will brag about. The un-American “boring” European game of soccer, which liberals try to promote, will be a failure in terms of attendance.

    They’ll get to dump on Los Angeles even more, because a woke Democrat (sic) city couldn’t handle the Olympics because it’s a crime infested shithole with tons of immigrant gangs raping, murdering, selling drugs, etc. with impunity.

  54. 54.

    MrPug

    FIFA really needs to consider moving most if not all of the games scheduled for the U.S. of fucking A. to Mexico and Canada.  It could really be a disaster for the World Cup if the Trump regime is still on the rampage.  FIFA is likely the most corrupt sports organization in the world, so I don’t think it would do so for any sort of noble reasons, but empty stadiums at World Cup events would be a bad look.  There may not be enough venues between Mexico and Canada and it may just be too hard otherwise logistically.

  55. 55.

    Parfigliano

    If Trump killed the US ever hosting another Olympics he will have done his first/only good deed in his entire life.

  56. 56.

    Ruckus

    @Parfigliano:

    Everything shitforbrains touches dies.

    Hell, he doesn’t even have to actually touch it, just be somewhere within the entire country breathing and he can screw it up beyond recognition.

  60. 60.

    Queen of Lurkers

    @gene108: Dallas has 9 games for the ’26 FIFA World Cup. The games will be held in AT & T Stadium (the Cowboys’ home field) in Arlington, which FIFA is now calling “Dallas Stadium.”  Arlington is 20 miles from Dallas and has no mass transit that goes to the stadium. I periodically see local news covering the issue of how out-of-towners (domestic or foreign) will get to the venue. It’s usually a discussion about how clogged all roads are going to be with thousands of people trying to Uber it to the stadium.

    The traffic snarls will be epic. That’s if people show up. Maybe ICE/Border Patrol will do everyone a favor and just keep people away.

  61. 61.

    YY_Sima Qian

    WTF?

    Germany’s Merz says Israel is doing the ‘dirty work for all of us’ by countering Iran
    By AGENCIES Today, 6:07 pm

    I guess Europeans are really pissed at Iran for selling Russia drones to hit Ukraine. OTOH, backing Bibi’s reckless escalation & attempt at regime change in Tehran (w/ no plans for the days after if the attempt succeeds or fails) is just braindead. Are we going to see the Germany & France backing Trump’s possible intervention to “finish the job”, in an ironic reversal from the run up to the Iraq War of 2003?

    If the theocratic regime survives, it will finally follow the Kim Dynasty’s example of acquiring nukes to achieve regime security. If the regime falls, there is the strong possibility possibility of Iran becoming a failed state for quite a while (because there is no organized opposition to take over, & because there is the centrifugal force from the numerous ethnic minorities who seeking & receiving support from their brethrens in neighboring countries, & because a failed Iranian state is Bibi’s & the US Iran Hawk’s wet dream). While the regime’s fate is being decided, especially if the US gets directly involved, Iran will strike US bases in the ME, the oil infrastructure in the Gulf States, & close the Persian Gulf. The resulting spike in the price of oil & gas will do no good for the EU’s economy, & thus its ability to support Ukraine, rearm against Russia, or hold off the domestic reactionaries. A global energy shock will also strongly benefit Russia.,

    Can’t anybody here play this game?!!

  62. 62.

    YY_Sima Qian

    Gaza is no longer in the news, that does not mean the IDF is not making news in Gaza:

    Younis Tirawi | يونس @ytirawi
    Rafah | It’s aid—only, an aid to death. Israeli troops execute at least 20 Palestinians including children and injure more than 200 this morning in Rafah, Eyewitness: “They ordered us to gather at 9 AM. We stood crowded behind a fence—right at 9, they opened fire.”

    Gaza | You open Facebook – post after post, raw agony. Families in Gaza scream through the screen, mourning loved ones slaughtered in cold blood by Israeli soldiers as they waited for aid in the past days. It’s not a social feed anymore. it’s a digital graveyard

    Aid Massacre Hat Trick in Gaza | Israeli forces have killed four more Palestinians in the Twam area, north of Gaza City—marking the third deadly aid killings today. Earlier this morning, dozens were killed in two separate attacks in Rafah this morning.

    Rafah | Israeli forces shelled a massive crowd of starving civilians awaiting humanitarian aid. Health officials report at least 50 Palestinians killed and over 200 wounded in the deadly attack.

    Alex Crawford @AlexCrawfordSky
    Doctors at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital say the situation is ‘catastrophic’ and they’re unable to cope with the high number of mass casualties. Survivors and injured say Israeli forces opened fire on people trying to get food aid in two locations

    Described by several witnesses and medics as the ‘deadliest day yet’ since the creation of the new Israeli-US aid ‘distribution system which has seen near daily shootings and deaths as Gazans scramble to get food to eat

    The IDF opened fire w/ tanks. Toying w/ the starving occupied population at their mercy, which they do not view as human beings. You can draw the parallels in history.

    The UK/France/Germany sure has not had much to say about Israeli conduct in Gaza (or the WB). They seemed have been building toward some efforts at censure a couple of weeks ago all of which went quiet once the IDF started to drop bombs in Iran.

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