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[hjellacott]

My FIFA World Cup 2023 Predictions

[coochiequeens]

A lot of lefties blasting RayGun for taking a spot at the Olympics instead of someone who could actually breakdance didn't say shit when this guy took the spot instead of a WOC and then made cutesy hand signals after bombing out.

Laurel Hubbard has made history by becoming the first openly transgender athlete to compete in an individual event at the Summer Olympics. The New Zealand weightlifter did not make the podium, after failing to advance to the final.

Competing in the 87+kg class on Monday, Hubbard struggled to lift 125 kg (275 pounds), putting her out of the running. Her official result is "did not finish," as she bowed out after failing to record a clean lift in the snatch section of the two-part competition.

Hubbard had seemed to successfully lift the weight in her second of three attempts, but in a split decision, the judges ruled she had not held the bar steady above her head.

Despite not reaching the final round, Hubbard smiled and cupped her hands together in a heart gesture before walking off the stage at the Tokyo International Forum.

"My performance wasn't what I had hoped, but I'm humbled by the support I've received from so many people around New Zealand," she said, adding, "I am aware that my participation has been controversial."

"Thank you to the IOC for living up to the Olympic values and showing that sport is for all and that weightlifting can be done by all types of people," Hubbard said.

In her emotional farewell, Hubbard also thanked Japan for hosting the Games, according to her country's Olympic committee.

Trans athletes have reached new heights in Tokyo

Hubbard joins Canada's Quinn, a midfielder on the country's national soccer team who is transgender and nonbinary, in reaching new heights for trans athletes at the Tokyo Games. Quinn, a veteran of the women's team who came out last year and uses one name, recently became the first openly trans person to compete in an Olympics.

Hubbard made headlines when the International Olympic Committee cleared her to compete — a decision that has sparked both support and criticism. For her part, Hubbard has welcomed the chance to compete on the world stage while also showing her true self.

"I commend the IOC for its commitment to making sport inclusive and accessible," she said on Friday. After Monday's loss, Hubbard also thanked the International Weightlifting Federation.

"They have been extraordinarily supportive," she said. "I think that they, too, have shown that weightlifting is an activity that's open to all the people of the world."

She took 15 years off from lifting

When she was in her 20s, Hubbard was a rising star in men's weightlifting, but she quit the sport, she recently said, after struggling with "the pressure of trying to fit into a world that perhaps wasn't really set up for people like myself."

She began transitioning in 2012 — and after a hiatus of more than 15 years, she started working toward a return to competitive weightlifting.

Hubbard, 43, is 10 years older than any other athlete who was in her Group A heat at Monday's competition.

The gold was won by China's Li Wenwen, the world-record holder in the event. Team USA's Sarah Robles won bronze. It's the second bronze for Robles, who in 2016 broke a long Olympic drought for U.S. weightlifting.

"Samoa Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele's anger was palpable after Hubbard claimed gold at the Pacific Games over Samoa's Feagaiga Stowers, who took home silver.

"This fa'afafine [a Samoan third gender] or man should have never been allowed by the Pacific Games Council president to lift with the women," Mr Tuilaepa told the Samoa Observer."

In case anyone whinesxabout TIMs bring oppressed this Hubbards father, a successful businessman and politian

[averagewriter-inthedark]

For The Gold 🥇 | Top Gun Maverick Imagine

Takes place after the events of TGM

Link to my TGM Masterlist

Characters & Pairings: Pilot/Olympian!reader x Dagger squad (platonic), slight Lt. Jake “Hangman” Seresin

Content warnings: fluff, mentions of injuries, slight profanity. Might be emotional for you so be warned| Gn!reader (They/them) | wc: 12k+

Premise: In which the 2019 TopGun Uranium detachment return to Fightertown to watch and cheer on their colleague & friend as they compete on the greatest sporting stage the world has ever seen for their last chance at Olympic glory.

Note: so I was an athlete growing up (I did gymnastics, soccer, and figure skating) and although I no longer pursue my dream of going to the Olympics (my biggest regret in life) I still get super excited when it comes around. It’s currently World Cup season & I’m hyperfixating to say the least on sports and now have these ideas of a professional athlete!reader works for the dagger squad. Let me know if you want more because I totally have ideas for other sports— especially the ones I played because I have more personal knowledge of them, but I LOVE watching the track and field and nearly went that path when I was a kid because I loved to run and was really fast (I played wing for soccer in high school and I always had people tell me I should’ve been on the track team instead). For this imagine, imagine you were born in 1990 so it would put you at age 30-31 in 2021 and just to be clear this is following the idea that the events of TGM took place in 2019 since the movie was supposed to come out around that time or 2020.

“Let’s freaking go!!!” Javy practically shouts as he claps his hands when entering The Hard Deck to a crowd of people and his friends. Eyes were already glued to the multiple TV screens Penny had set up with the help of regular patrons. There was a table filled with food set out, coolers of ice and beers donated by customers. The bar was buzzing with excitement with many sporting team USA gear and waving American flags. It was the early hours of the morning—literally 5 am and everyone in the building had slept the duration of the previous day in order to pull an all-nighter or had just woken up. They wanted to watch the event live and not the replay later that day due to the 17 hour time difference. News crews were there as well, hoping to catch everyone’s reaction.

The squad rolled their eyes at their colleague, but smiled nonetheless. They too were filled with anticipation. “How much time until their up?�� Coyote asked, taking a beer before finding a place beside Hangman. The Dagger squad had arrived early to get good spots with Coyote being the last to arrive. Now there was hardly any space in some areas with the turn out. Civilians and servicemen swarmed every corner.

“About thirty or so minutes. They should be coming into the arena soon.”

Everyone from TopGun was there, including Cyclone, Warlock, Hondo, Maverick and the current aviators going through the TopGun program. Many of the former 2019 detachment had gone off to their old or new assignments, but as soon as the announcement of the team hit the news they were popping off in the group chat and booking flights to Fightertown.

So here they all were. All 12 of the special detachment that trained together for a high-risk uranium enrichment plant mission back again in the Hard Deck like the first night three ago. Rooster, Hangman, Coyote, Phoenix, Bob, Fanboy, Payback, Fritz, Halo, Omaha, Harvard, and Yale. They were only missing one person.

The person across the Pacific Ocean who was the reason they were together to cheer on from home, and would be going for the gold in one final run.

It was the first week of August, 2021. The Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo, Japan.

What should have been held the year prior, was postponed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Now after years of hard work & dedications, nearly 12 thousand athletes from 206 nations around the world were gathered for the greatest sports event in history.

17 days, 339 events in 33 sports. The gold medal on the line.

For Y/n L/n, this was the moment they’d been waiting for. At 31 years old, Y/n spent their entire childhood and adolescence dreaming of the day they would walk through the tunnel of an Olympic arena to represent the USA. From the moment they could walk the track became their life. Their parents were coaches at Vanderbilt University and were the contributing factor to them pursuing the sport. And at age six, Y/n sat in the stands of the Centennial Olympic Stadium in the summer of 1996 where they witnessed with awe as Micheal Johnson won the gold for the USA in the Men’s 200m & 400m sprint and Carl Lewis defended his title of the long jump champion for four consecutive Olympics. Just days prior Y/n witnessed history for USA Gymnastics when the Magnificent 7 defeated Russia for the US’s first women’s All-Around team gold medal.

It was a memorable Games, held on home soil in the city of Atlanta and with many firsts and defenders.

It was the spark of a lifelong goal for the six year old in the stands.

Blood, sweat, and tears were put into training. From an early age Y/n loved to run. But sprinting was their passion. The 100m, 200m, & 400m became their sole focus.

Everyday, sometimes twice or three times Y/n was running drills and sprints. Their day would start with an early morning jog with their dad before the sun was even out, followed by breakfast before heading to the track. From there they would stretch, run drills, and conditioning. Then they would have an hour break for lunch before doing it all over again until dinner. The day would end with another cycle of drills and conditioning. Y/n would be out of breath, sweating, and sometimes in pain.

But they were determined. Like most athletes who dedicate their lives to the international level they became homeschooled and missed out on many things a typical child or teen would experience. Though Y/n had friends it was only a select few. There was hardly time for a social life and therefore it was hard for them to form connections. It wasn’t until they got into competitions did they begin making friends with fellow competitors.

At age 10 Y/n participated in their first meet. It was a let down, but not a total loss. Sure they didn’t win a medal but they didn’t come in last and that in itself was a win in their eyes. It just made them more determined to do better and the next season they delivered by claiming a regional title. As years went by regionals became state titles and soon Y/n was a national champion at age 16. That winning season had brands reaching out to sponsor the teen, but if they were to also take a chance at an NCAA title in college then sponsorships were gonna have to wait.

2008 was the year to remember. Y/n had attended their first World Championships and although they didn’t win gold, they took the bronze and became a likely contender to make the Olympic team in the upcoming trials. They had just graduated with their diploma and had accepted a full ride to Vanderbilt University as part of their track team. What came as a big surprise to their parents was Y/n would not just be getting their degree and competing for the college team, they would also be doing the Naval ROTC program.

Unbeknownst to their family, Y/n was drawn to the world of aviation. Their grandfather was a fighter pilot for the Navy and would tell them stories of what it was like in the air. He even had a cool callsign, ‘Viper,’ and taught at the Navy’s prestigious school for pilots. When Y/n was a child, he would take them to the air shows and teach them all about the maneuvers they were doing and even brought them to TopGun. They were in awe as he would explain all the gadgets and weapons of the F-14.

Yes, track and the Olympics was their life, but something was calling them to the skies.

“Honey, where did this come from? You never talked about joining the Navy before,” their mother said with confusion at the dinner table when Y/n explained their upcoming schedule. “If you make the team this summer I hope you’re not planning for this to be your only games. You’re so young and could easily go again for London and the 2016 games.”

“That’s still the plan, mom,” Y/n sighed, “But you remember all those stories grandpa would tell me about his pilot days? I want to do something more in case this doesn’t work out—have a backup plan per say. What if I tear my hamstring or something happens that I have to retire?” It wasn’t something they liked to think about, but with being an athlete the next meet is never guaranteed. Injuries are common—especially torn ACLs and hamstrings. Y/n had other passions besides track and wanted something there for if the worst happened.

“Y/n, if you do two years of their program you have to decide whether to commit or not and you’ll likely be commissioned when you graduate,” their father pointed out, “That means you’ll have new priorities and if you're serious about flight school that is going to cut time off the track. London is possible given it will be your last year in college—maybe we can pull some strings and have your commission pushed back if you make the team—-but I don’t think 2016 would be. You’re talking balancing a career as a Naval officer and professional athlete. That’s a lot to take on—physically and mentally.”

He had a point and Y/n knew it. London was in four years and definitely possible even if they fail to make the Beijing team. The location of 2016 had yet to be decided, but with the timing it would put Y/n four years into a possible Navy career.

Still they were wanted to make both work.

An Olympic champion and a fighter pilot.

First they had to get through 2008 and boy was it a year to remember. It fulfilled one half of the Olympic dream for Y/n: making the team and competing on the world’s greatest sporting stage. Tears streamed down their face as they embraced their parents following the end of the trials. It was a hell of a trials with Y/n competing against some of the best track stars in the country. They were completely starstruck when Allison Felix congratulated them following the announcement, Y/n remembered watching her four years prior in Athens for her Olympic debut and thought, ‘I really hope we’re teammates in Beijing.’

Unfortunately, a gold medal was not in store for the athlete. Of the three events; 100m, 200m, & 400m, Y/n only qualified for the 200m & 400m after finishing in the top two of their heat. The night of the 200m finals was a saddening with Y/n finishing fourth, just shy of a medal, but the Games were not a total loss when days later an Olympic bronze medal was placed around their neck and the American Flag rose alongside Great Britain and Jamaica’s.

And so the next four years of training for London—with Rio De Janeiro in 2016 looming around the corner—began the second they touched back on U.S soil. On top it was the pressure of securing NCAA titles not to mention A’s & B’s in their classes, while also getting through one of the top collegiate ranked NROTC programs.

It was a lot. And Y/n became burnt out at times. They had already set their name in record books at the national level, now it was time to amp up the game on the international and college level. A bronze medal would not satisfy Y/n, gold was the goal.

It all paid off by the time 2012 arrived. With a few more national titles under their belt and a World Championship in the 400m, Y/n was the talk for a gold among commentators. At the end of their collegiate career they secured several titles in their three events and managed to come out with a 3.8 cumulative GPA. In regards to the NROTC Y/n committed to the program after their second year and was set to commission that summer. The trials were around the same time as what would have been the ceremony, but after several meetings they allowed it to be postponed until after the trials. It would be some time before Y/n would be assigned an OTS due to the path they were taking with flight school and therefore it would likely not interfere with the upcoming Olympics. “Bring home the gold for us,” the officer shook their hand at the end. It filled them with nerves, but mostly perseverance, “I plan to.”

The trials were a success once again with Y/n having the honor to call themselves a two-time Olympian. The five colored rings were tattooed on their bicep, something they did immediately after Beijing that often resulted in being recognized in public, and gold was in their mind. After qualifying for all three events and earning a place on the 4x100 relay, Y/n had four chances at the gold: 3 individual and 1 team.

It was a silver lining moment in all three individual events. After failing to qualify for the 100m finals in Beijing, Y/n pulled a show stopping finish in the last heat earning them a place in the final. It was the most heat pumping 10 seconds of their life that happened in the blink of an eye. Before they knew it they were on the podium with a silver medal and the same would follow in the 200m and 400m. At the end of the 400m ceremony they were bombarded by reporters with the same question, “Y/n, what a run tonight, congratulations again this is your third medal in these games and it seems to be a silver lining moment for you. What are your thoughts?”

Still coming off the emotion from winning their fourth Olympic medal, a privilege not many could say, Y/n smiled wide, “It’s amazing really, you know I took the bronze four years ago in this event and I’m so grateful to come out with another medal—this time being silver. I couldn’t believe Monday night when I took the silver in the 100m—just making it to the finals after not qualifying in Beijing was an accomplishment and same goes for taking second in the 200m. I want to thank my parents, who are also my coaches and have been with me on this journey since the beginning. I’m just so blessed and filled with happiness tonight—I could not have done this without them.”

“You still have a chance at the gold in Wednesday’s relay. How are you feeling about that? What can we expect by the team?”

“We have such an amazing group for the relay, I’m so honored I get to represent the United States alongside them. Every one of us have worked so hard to be here and have really put our blood, sweat, and tears. Hopefully bring home the gold—I know each of us are going to give it our best.”

Y/n’s publicist from the side was signaling for them to hurry up, “One last question before you go,” the reporter quickly said. “For the people at home who have been cheering you on these past four years, can we expect you to return for Rio? I know you could very well take the gold in the relay, but are you hoping to try for an individual in the future?” This was the question Y/n had been preparing for the entire games. Having managed to keep their NROTC program hidden from the media, it troubled Y/n to reveal they would be a Navy officer by the end of the summer. It wasn’t odd for active duty members to be athletes, there were plenty who participated in the games every four years. It would just be difficult given the career path they chose and having to get all the paperwork filed for time off around meets and international competitions.

After a moment of thinking, they finally answered, “I’m very lucky I get to say I competed in these games twice now. I’m twenty-two now and will be twenty-six by the time Rio comes around—not to mention I start flight school pretty soon,” there was immediate surprise by the reporter, but Y/n continued and was quick to finish with. “I’m gonna work hard as I always do and hopefully Rio is in the cards for me. But to give a yes or no imma just say yes, that is the plan.”

Before the reporter could question the topic of flight school, Y/n was already saying goodbye and letting their publicist pull them away. The relay was in two days and was their last chance at winning a gold for the London games. Of course, Y/n was hopeful they would make the Rio team for the sake of winning an individual gold medal. There would no doubt be glory and honor if they were to win the relay, but it had been their dream since childhood to stand on the podium with a gold around their neck for one of their events.

The relay was all they ever dreamed of. A strong group with Y/n leading the first leg before handing it off, giving their teammate a great start to pull a lead against the other nations. As they were walking back to the start, their heart was racing and not just from the adrenaline…but by their teammate being the first to cross the finish line. Then there was the sound of the announcer amongst the roaring crowd, “WORLD RECORD!!!” with the USA appearing beside the #1 spot.

Y/n was screaming before they could stop themselves, “Oh my god!!” knees hit the track as they sank to the ground. They couldn’t even hear themselves by the cheers. It was a spectacular moment with Y/n pulling themselves up to run and embrace their teammates and share the glory they just made. Not only were they Olympic champions but also World Record holders of the 4x100m relay.

“The United States has taken the gold here today in the 4x100m relay and a new world record has been set thanks to the extraordinary start by Y/n L/n.” “This relay group gave it their all today, John. It was such a close call coming around on the third leg, but the Americans pulled through for a stunning finish for Olympic gold.”

With an American flag in their hand, Y/n joined their teammates beside the record projection. They were teary eyed, but held off from crying because they knew the emotion would come full heartedly on the podium. And boy did it come. The second the national anthem was playing, the first tear fell from Y/n’s eyes. The medal was heavy around their neck, but it was a reminder that they achieved the goal they set out when they were six years old.

Olympic champion.

And they got to share it with their teammates—an immense honor they would cherish till the end of time.

Y/n could barely remember all that happened following the podium ceremony. After a celebration with their parents and best friend, who flew all the way out to London to support them, they had no more events and got to rest for the remainder of the games. Closing ceremonies were spectacular. One of Y/n’s favorite moments from the Beijing games was getting to mingle with athletes from the other nations during the closing ceremonies. This time around Y/n was speechless as they got to see a Spice Girls reunion and One Direction perform.

Life became chaotic to say the least following the return from London. After winning four medals including a gold, Y/n was asked by several talk show hosts to appear for an interview. They accepted a few and were immediately bombarded with questions about the little detail they slipped after winning the silver in the 400m. “You made it known to the world that you’ll be going to flight school, was it? What can you tell us about that?”

“Well during my time at Vanderbilt, where I competed for them in the NCAA—which can I say, It’s a completely different ball field when your parents are not only your coaches for international competitions but also college meets. The energy is different, especially because they’ve been there for almost two decades now and are the definition of school spirit. Anyways, while I was there I also took the route of doing their Navy ROTC program. My grandfather was a fighter pilot for the Navy and pretty much became my inspiration for wanting to fly—on top of being an athlete. It was something I thought long and hard about. I wasn’t sure if I would even make the London team and of course anything can happen, but I knew I wanted to go to fight school back when I competed in 2008. I actually will be commissioning once I’m done with all this post-Olympic press.”

The ceremony was a bittersweet moment. With their friends and family around them, Y/n was pinned on with the ranks of Ensign and named an officer of the United States Navy. From there were the challenges of balancing a career as both a professional athlete and naval aviator. Often were days of bad mental health and aches after overexertion. OTS & Flight school was intense but shaped Y/n in many ways. The first day they were recognized by a classmate resulting in the callsign, “Olympian,” after everyone would say, “Hey, Olympian!” when calling out to them after two straight days.

“Could’ve been worse,” Y/n chuckled after their parents were like, ‘really?’ when they told them. “I mean it could have been something like ‘Short-track,’ or ‘Goldilocks,’ if they thought about it. If I fucked up doing something then they would’ve named me something related to it. I’ll take Olympian cause that’s what I am.”

After completing flight school and receiving their first duty station, Y/n made the decision to hire a new coach. The World Championships were coming up and they did not want to uproot their parents while they were still the head coaches at Vanderbilt. At first they protested, but eventually relented on the condition that Y/n’s coach would be their former colleague. He was the former head coach of Vanderbilt when their parents were athletes themselves before becoming assistant coaches. “He is everything you need to bring your A-game these next seasons and Rio. I’ll make the call first thing in the morning and see what he says.”

The four years between London and Rio were brutal. The training with their new coach and balancing an aviation career showed more hardships than ever. Y/n proved themselves to be a talented pilot despite the struggles and eventually was invited in 2015 to attend the Navy’s prestigious Fighter Weapons School more commonly known as Top Gun. The same place their grandfather attended and taught at.

A hard decision had to be made when the invite came. The time period interfered with the track season and Y/n would not be able to defend their two-consecutive world titles in the 400m sprint. In the end, Y/n announced they would be pulling out from the 2015 season to attend Top Gun. They weighed out the pros and cons and felt it was the best route given the Olympics were a year away. If an injury were to occur then it could result in Y/n not even having the chance to do the trials. Their coach was frustrated in the beginning, as one would be after dominating the national and international meets for two years straight. He eventually put his differences aside to put focus on what Y/n needed to improve if they were to take the gold in Rio.

It was at Top Gun that Y/n met fellow naval aviator Natasha “Phoenix” Trace. They were seated next to each other in one of the many lecture rooms at Fightertown where Nat had to do a double take after recognition sparked in her. Nat was an athlete in high school and college who, like many, would sit with her family to watch the Olympics every four years. Though she didn’t run track, a sibling of hers did so they would always tune into the events when they came on. After seeing the patch reading ‘Olympian,’ Nat had to hold back her fangirling as the memory of her cheering when the US took gold in the 4x100m relay. ‘It has to be them.’ At the end of the lecture she approached Y/n with a shy smile, “I’m so sorry if this is weird for you, but are you Y/n L/n? I’m Natasha—Phoenix.”

They struck up a friendship during their time at Top Gun. The two bonded over their NCAA careers and sports in general. Nat admired Y/n for being able to balance being an athlete and aviator, for she made the difficult decision to not pursue her sport after college. What was ironic was they didn’t feel threatened by the other when going after the top spot in their class, considering they were both obviously competitive. Both had immense respect for the other, and didn’t care at the end of the day who came out on top. They both had similar hobbies outside of flying and would spend nights watching movies, going to the bars, or playing volleyball with their fellow pilots. It was a genuine friendship with Nat supporting Y/n even after they graduated from Top Gun both ranked #1 in their class.

Nat even took time off to attend the 2016 U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials. There she witnessed Y/n, who she now called a best friend, qualify for their third consecutive Olympics. Nat never screamed louder in her life than when Y/n took the top spot on the team for their events. “Oh my God, you did it!” She hugged the athlete when it was all done. “Holy shit congratulations, Oly! This is it—this is gonna be your year!” Nat wouldn’t be in Rio, but promised to cheer Y/n from home.

Unfortunately the journey for the individual gold medal ended before it could even start. After qualifying for the 100m and 200m finals with the expectation of being part of the relay team once again, Y/n’s dream of gold crashed during the semifinals of the 400m.

Literally crashed.

Their signature event which had an Olympic bronze and silver to their name as well as several World titles, ended in catastrophe. As Y/n came up on the last leg with the final turn, Y/n had a tight lead against their main opponent. But before they could blink the athlete to their left tripped and fell to the side directly in front of them. Moving so fast and unable to stop to avoid the person, Y/n topped over and felt a searing pain in their side as they landed awkwardly.

Gasps rang out before the stadium fell silent with just the faint sound of cheers from the winners of the race. Y/n was panting, clutching onto their side as fire filled the entire right side of their body. The athlete who tripped was in tears and apologizing profusely. There was still adrenaline from the sprint as the arena stopped spinning around Y/n. Determined to cross the finish line, Y/n pulled themself up and helped their fellow athlete up, “It’s okay, c’mon. Let’s finish this.” They were crying and Y/n had their own tears from the pain in their side and leg, but they only had a few yards to go. Cradling their right arm, Y/n was practically limping alongside their opponent while struggling to breath. Each time they took a breath they were met with pain, not to mention each step had them wince.

They didn’t want to think of the extent of the injuries. The pain alone indicated it was bad. Y/n knew right there their Rio run was done for. Their lips trembled as the reality set in.

The athlete saw Y/n’s condition and immediately brought them to their side as they approached the finish line. Cheers and claps ignited the stadium. There was no doubt they were moved by the display of sportsmanship between two athletes from differing nations. Both with the same goal of Olympic glory that would not be delivered.

Y/n was swarmed by the medical staff. The athlete who tripped them kept apologizing, filled with guilt, embarrassment and shame causing injuries to the Olympian. They felt a little pain from falling but nothing to the extent Y/n had. They had practically gone flying forward and crash landed to avoid hitting their head hard on the track. Now that the adrenaline had finally worn off, Y/n was having to do everything to hold back from collapsing. Y/n embraced the athlete with a hug despite the multiple medics yelling at them, “Don’t blame yourself, it could have happened to anyone. Okay? I’m not angry with you at all.” It was true, Y/n wasn’t angry. Were they sad? Of course, their Olympics were totally over after being diagnosed with a fractured right arm, a bruised rib, mild concussion from hitting their head on the track, and a torn ACL in their right knee.

Commentators were speechless when the incident occurred, “Coming around the corner on the final stretch it’s a tight race between USA, Jamaica, and France—Oh! Oh no! Oh my goodness, there’s been a crash here ladies and gentleman and it doesn’t look good for the American Y/n L/n. Not at all, they are not moving—oh wait no they are getting up right now and helping the athlete from Poland. But L/n looks to be in pain they’re holding onto their arm and I can see they are having trouble jogging—a slight limp to their step. Now the Polish athlete has taken L/n under their arm and they are crossing the finish line to the cheers of the arena in a display that could only be described as what the Olympics is truly about. Great sportsmanship here folks. It’s unsure what L/n is feeling right now but one thing is certain, we will not get to see Y/n go for the gold in the 400m final.”

After the race when the NBC announcers live from Rio were in the studio recapping, they gave an update to Y/n’s situation.

“Breaking news we’ve just received on American Y/n L/n. After the unfortunate incident in tonight’s 400m semifinal, the 26-year-old from Nashville, Tennessee was rushed to the hospital after it was realized the injuries they sustained were more severe than what they thought. It’s being reported Y/n is in surgery for a fracture to their right arm and torn ligament in their right knee. It’s also been noted the athlete suffered a mild concussion as well as a bruised rib. Their coach has come out with a statement on behalf of L/n letting it be known they’ll not be competing in the 100 and 200m finals nor the 4x100 and 4x400m relays they were scheduled to compete in. L/n also has said they will remain in Rio to recover until after the conclusion of these Olympic Games before returning with their teammates to the States.

“The gold medalist in the team relay from four years ago has not said if they will be aiming for a shot at the 2020 games in Tokyo, Japan. L/n was the 2008 bronze medalist in the 400m dash before claiming silver medals in the 100, 200, and 400m in London as well as sharing the gold for the 4x100m relay. They were the leading contender for an individual gold in one of the events after dominating the 2013 and 2014 World Championships. The three-time Olympian pulled out from the 2015 season due to conflicting commitments after revealing in 2012 they were commissioned into the United States Navy following their time at Vanderbilt University. These games in Rio were their first international competition since the one year hiatus. We can only hope Y/n will continue their journey to an individual gold medal in Tokyo, but from those of us in the studio and on behalf of everyone watching at home, we wish Y/n L/n a speedy recovery and safe trip back to the States.”

It was a solemn week in Rio with Y/n sitting in a hospital bed and the games playing on the tv screen. Their coach was with them, as was their dad and together they cheered the US when they took the gold in several events including defending the 4x100m relay. The doctors in Rio gave Y/n a recovery period of nearly one year—the longest healing process being the torn knee. It would be nine months until Y/n could even jog on it, but the doctors recommended waiting a full year before testing it. PT was going to be a pain in the ass, but as long as they didn’t run or do sprints then Y/n would be able to do all else after everything else healed.

Their concussion lasted a couple weeks and the bruised rib took over a month to heal, as did the fractured arm. The 2017 worlds and nationals were out of the question. Thankfully Y/n was still able to fly once the concussion was gone and their arm was fully functional.

The entire year the athlete was unsure of what to do about Tokyo. All their focus was put into flying. Running missions instead of the track and being promoted to Lieutenant in 2018. That same year they decided to try for one more shot at Olympic gold by training for Tokyo. Their coach and parents were all too pleased—even Nat after Y/n called her up to ask for advice. They had a lot to work on since Y/n waited an extra six months after fully recovering. The 2018 season was unattainable so the goal was a comeback in the 2019 season gearing up for the 2020 Olympics.

Just like when Y/n was a child, blood, sweat, and tears were put into training. More times could they remember wanting to quit when their knee started to act up after a bad start off the blocks. They had more arguments with their coach which only fueled the fire. Lastly they were on intense missions that took a toll on their mental health. Nat would check in on them every once in a while, but Y/n brushed it off. This is what they signed up for. They made their bed, now they were to lay in it.

2019 nearly brought deja vu. The World Championships were held in Qatar at the end of September leading into October when Y/n got the call from Vice Admiral Beau ‘Cyclone’ Simpson.

“The Pentagon has tasked me with assembling a strike team for a special detachment. I’ve seen your record and I feel you have what it takes to be a possible member of this mission. Now I know your situation and it is my understanding you’re currently in Qatar, what time are you expected to be stateside?”

Y/n’s hands were shaking, dread filling them at the thought they would likely have to decline an assignment. But these championships were more imported. “The last day is the sixth, but if I qualify for the finals of all my events then I should be done by the fifth, sir.”

“That’s perfect,” his words had them sigh in relief. “The tentative date to report to North Island is the 24th. I’ll be emailing you the information at another time.”

“Yes, sir. I will be there. Thank you for informing me, sir.”

“Oh and Lieutenant?” Cyclone stopped them before they could end the call.

“Yes, sir?”

There’s a slight pause, “Good luck out there. Bring home the gold for us.”

And bring it home they did. In an amazing comeback after what could have been a career ending injury, Y/n L/n reclaimed their title as the world champion in the 400m dash. They fell short in the 200m, but left with the silver and even secured the gold for the team 4x100m & 4x400m relays. People called it the ‘comeback of the decade,’ and Y/n fell subject to a lot of media attention in the world of sports. Their publicist did their best to handle the press once they found out about Y/n’s upcoming commitment. “I won’t let a single soul find out about this, Y/n, I promise you. The devil works hard, but I work harder.”

Once stateside track was put on hold to prepare and partake for the special Top Gun detachment. Dressed in their service khaki’s, Y/n entered The Hard Deck for the first time in three years and was immediately tackled by Phoenix. “You’re here! Holy shit when did you get back?”

“Like two weeks ago, I’ve been chilling since Qatar since there were no assignments until this.”

“Wait, you’re here for the Top Gun detachment too?” Phoenix raised a brow before frowning, “Why didn’t you tell me the other day on the phone?”

Y/n gave the woman a look, “I wasn’t sure we could even mention it to people. Plus you didn’t say anything either, Phee.” They got her there, the pilot raising a hand as if to say, “touché”. By now they have drawn the attention of several other aviators, who all appeared amused by the display of affection by Natasha and were curious to know who it was that received it. One person, Bob, had their jaw dropped when it clicked who they were. Payback appeared to be deep in thought, like they recognized Y/n but couldn’t put a name to their face.

“Trace, you gonna introduce us to your friend?” the blonde aviator, Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin said with a pool cue in hand. He was totally checking Y/n out with a settle drift of the eyes up and down. They didn’t look impressed but smiled to the others nonetheless.

Natasha brought the pilot over and proudly introduced them, “Fellas, this is Y/n L/n. Better known as ‘Olympian.’ One of the best damn pilots you’ll ever see. We both shared the honor of first in the class at Top Gun in 2015.” Nat then introduced all the guys and their callsigns, Y/n shaking each of their hands—Bob still appeared starstruck when they let go of his hand.

“Olympian, huh?” Hangman chuckled at the name, “That’s quite the callsign. What are you Greek? Or obsessed with mythology?” Rooster glared at the man, but also looked curious for the reason behind the Y/n’s callsign. Even their name sounded familiar. They had yet to see the tattoo on Y/n’s bicep, which now had the names Beijing XXIX, London XXX and Rio XXXI in tiny cursive below the rings.

Before Nat or Y/n could fire back at Jake, Bob dropped his cup of peanut shells. Everyone looked at him like, ‘what the hell, man?’ But Y/n started to smile, recognizing the shock in his face as though he had been right about something.

“S-sorry. Oh my God,” he stuttered with red cheeks, “You’re Y/n L/n. L-like THE Olympic gold medalist Y/n L/n. Oh my God I’ve watched you since 2008–since Beijing!” The revelation had shocked looks from everyone now besides Nat of course.

Payback suddenly jumped from his seat, “holy shit! I knew I recognized you from somewhere but couldn’t exactly figure it out for the life of me.” The man was stationed in London at the time of the Olympic Games and attended the night the US won gold in the relays. Now here is a member that he cheered on from the stands in front of him. “Wow, I was in London seven years ago—I-I saw you compete. This is fucking unreal.” Y/n laughed, shaking Payback’s hand. He was still coming down from the shock, having just crossed his mind that all over ESPN and Sportscenter the past month sportscasters were talking about Y/n’s comeback.

“Wait a minute,” Rooster pitched in, the memory of being in a bar the summer of 2016 played in his mind. In the same memory he remembered watching the 400m semifinals on the tv scream and gasping with everyone else when the American contender for the gold had tripped over their competitor and was out the remainder of the games. Coming closer to the scene in front of him, Rooster’s eyes caught the black ink on Y/n’s bicep. “Well I’ll be damned. You’re a pilot, a naval pilot like us? And you’re a fucking olympian?”

“Three-time to be exact, but who’s counting?” Y/n teased, causing Phoenix to chuckle and hand them a beer. All the men minus Payback and Bob, who had slight knowledge of Y/n’s career, practically had their eyes bulging. Rooster honestly thought they had just been in London and Rio. “It’s nice to meet you all. And to answer your question…Bradley, right?”

“Yeah, but please call me Rooster.” Y/n tried not to giggle at the callsign.

“Rooster, but yes I am a pilot, as our lovely Phoenix has pointed out I graduated Top Gun with her three years ago.”

“Weren’t you just in Qatar two weeks ago?” Payback asked when he remembered the World Championships in Athletics had just taken place. All over sportscenter they were talking about the comeback of the decade. “I swear I just watched you on my tv the other day during replays of the world championships.”

Y/n sipped their beer before replying with a nod, “Yeah I was. I probably wouldn’t be here if the timing wasn’t perfect.”

“That’s crazy,” Fanboy commented, still in disbelief he was speaking to an actual Olympic athlete. After hearing the stories from his fellow athletes— and doing a quick google search when no one was looking—Mickey was internally fanboying like his callsign namesake. “How have you managed to do both?”

“Lot’s of sleepless nights, determination, desire to win, and tequila on the weekends.” There were laughs at that. For the rest of the night Y/n fell into conversation with everyone. A few asked for a picture, which they were happy to do, and even signed some autographs for Bob and Fanboy. They caught up with Nat, relieved London memories with Payback and went into detail about their injuries when Rooster brought it up.

“I was at the bar with some buddies and saw that happen live. Everyone couldn’t believe it and I remember seeing you limp across the finish line with the, I think it was the Polish athlete? That’s amazing you even managed to get up after a crash like that.” Y/n was on their second beer, sitting between Bob and Coyote and across from Rooster while the others listened from the sides as they continued the game of pool.

“What were you thinking at that moment?” Javy asked with curiosity. “Did you like automatically know it was over for you?”

Y/n thought for a bit before replying, “the second I hit the track I knew my chances for the 400m were done—it was the semifinals after all. When I first felt the pain I thought it was the typical instant pain that would go away after a bit. Then when I started to move it got worse and as soon as I got up I thought, ‘yeah there’s no way I’m gonna be able to do the finals or relays.’ My chest was on fire from the bruised rib and then I could barely feel my knee once the adrenaline wore off. I probably would’ve collapsed after the finish line if they weren’t holding me up.”

‘Damns’ and ‘wows,’ rang out before Bob politely asked, “Are you going to try for the Tokyo team?”

“Yup,” they exhaled with a nervous chuckle at the end. “It’s gonna be tough I feel with how these past couple seasons have been, but I’m hoping for one final Olympics. It will be my last chance at gold—Individual gold,” they corrected before anyone could comment.

“You’re gonna retire?” Fanboy tilted his head, a little saddened at the thought. Throughout the night he had been on his phone watching replays of Y/n’s meets including their Olympic and World Championship runs. He tried not to react when he watched the 2016 400m semifinals. Now the thought of them retiring felt like a loss to the sport. It was like how he felt when Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt retired.

“Maybe not fully,” Y/n gave a small smile. “I might do one last season and a Worlds, but I don’t think I’m gonna go for the Paris Games.”

Payback came over and clapped them on the back, “Well I don’t know about these clowns but you can count on me to cheer you on next year. Hell I might even come to the trials.”

“That’s what I did in ‘16,” Phoenix cut in with a smile. “It was amazing and I’ll be in the stands again. Already planning to take time off to be there.” Y/n felt the warmth and gratitude swarm in them, “Thanks, Phee.”

What should have been three weeks of special combat training turned out to be two. The pressure was on with Y/n pushing their limit harder than ever—even exceeded that of their comeback. Never had the F-18 they’d become accustomed to flying feel like a stranger. Maverick was like their coach and Y/n made it their own personal goal to prove to him they had what it took to fly the mission.

At one point Y/n nearly pulled out as a candidate. When the details of the assignment were brought into light Y/n had to think hard about what they were doing. It was not going to be an easy mission. Not by a long shot. Ending badly was a great possibility compared to actually pulling it off. Their life was on the line.

What if they died? What if they got injured to the point they would have to medically retire? Decades of training for the Olympics would end if something horrible happened. Y/n had three to their name, an honor not everyone gets to have, but there was their chance at redemption after 2016 was now on the line.

In the end 6 of the 13 candidates were chosen and although Y/n felt a little saddened they were not chosen, there was a sense of relief. They were put on reserves and boarded the carrier for a long week ahead of them. When it was time to send off their teammates, Y/n pulled them each into a hug, letting it linger on Nat and making her promise to come back. “If worse comes to worse, L/n,” Payback said, “You better win the gold in our honor.” There were mutters of agreement from the others.

“How about you focus on coming back so you can watch me win it in your honor.”

They fulfilled the promise, because now here they were in The Hard Deck about to watch Y/n attempt to keep their side of the bargain. It was 5:15 am on Friday August 6th, 2021. The second to last day of the Games of the XXXII Olympiad held in Tokyo, Japan. And it was the finals of the 400m sprint.

Just a couple months ago in June several members of the squad including Phoenix, Payback, Rooster, Hangman, & Bob met up in Eugene, Oregon to attend the trials for the U.S Olympic Track & Field Team. Following covid precautions they wore their masks and stayed together in their own little group literally competing themselves on who could cheer the loudest. It was a bittersweet moment watching their friend and former teammate secure their place in their fourth and final Olympics. Hangman and Phoenix nearly shed a tear, the former consumed with emotion as they looked on proud at their partner waving to the crowd. Their romance was a surprise, but after the two met to catch up in March of 2020, they ended up having to go thorough lockdown together.

And well…..forced proximity can do wonders when you’re attracted to someone.

Jake wished he could be in Tokyo with Y/n, but even though it had been over a year since the virus broke out and sanctions were being uplifted there were still regulations set in stone for the Olympics. The entire event was postponed a whole year, but was still referred to as the 2020 Olympics despite being 2021. Only the athletes and coaches, which were limited to only one, were allowed to travel. Leading up to the Games, Penny had issued a vaccination verification and made the mask policy optional for those who had been fully vaccinated. She even went as far as making a limit for attendees during the week of the track and field events and had people reserve a spot in advance. She even set up screens outside for people to keep space in the building.

It was still a pretty full house and it was buzzing with excitement as it had been the whole week. Many were regulars who came every night to watch the heats, semifinals, and finals of many events but mostly people were there to watch their very own Top Gun alumni Y/n L/n. Even their parents were there—flying to San Diego to be a part of the watch party. They were already filled with nerves, Y/n’s mother was very upset she couldn’t be there in Tokyo with her child. If they won the gold it would be a bittersweet moment since her parents wouldn’t be there to celebrate in person until they returned home.

It was already a successful Games for the Olympian. The week before Y/n won the bronze in the 100m dash and 4x400 mixed relay and reclaimed the silver in the 200m. The place erupted in cheers each time with the dagger squad being the loudest. It would increase whenever the camera panned to Y/n, who was in obvious joy at racking more medals to their Olympic collection.

But now the pressure was on with one final individual event.

The 400m sprint.

Their signature event with two medals and several titles to their name.

One final shot at gold.

There would still be the relays, in which the final for the 4x100m would take place an hour after the 400m final and then the 4x400m the following night, but Y/n becoming an Olympic champion for an individual event would happen in less than fifteen minutes. The program flipped between other events while in prep for the race, often showing Y/n in the tunnel as they awaited the announcement of the finalists.

At around 5:20 all eyes were glued to the screen with someone yelling, “Turn it up!’ when the sportscasters appeared to be talking about Y/n. The pilots all had the same expression, wincing when they replayed the footage of the 2016 semifinals.

“I think we can all agree we are looking forward to this race, right Steph?”

“That’s right, John. You know, all eyes have been on Y/n L/n these Games. They have already had a great run with three medals, two bronze and a silver with three more events to go. They have quite the Olympic career since their debut in 2008 at the age of eighteen. They came up forth in the 200m in Beijing and walked away with the bronze medal in the 400m,” below the commentator was Y/n’s Olympic statistics. “Then they had a spectacular run in London where we saw them on the podium in each of their events. Silver medals in the sprints and It was their start off the blocks in the 4x100m relay that I believe is what secured the Americans the gold.”

“I agree, Steph. I can still recall that race and the emotions I felt. L/n had an amazing post-Olympic run after London—totally dominating the 2013 & 2014 seasons. Let’s not forget they were one of the top athletes in the NCAA’s during their time at Vanderbilt. I definitely believe it would have continued into 2015 if they hadn’t pulled out, but they still were the leading contender for the Rio Games. It was the height of the career I feel.” The screen was now split to showcase footage of Y/n’s 2013 & 2014 Worlds. Then it showed the heats and semifinals of Rio.

“Totally, John, they dominated the trials that year. They very well could have left Rio with more medals—quite possibly a gold in 400m which is their signature event. Everytime I rewatch the semifinals I almost have to look away at the final turn.”

“I know, it was an unfortunate incident that ended Y/n’s Olympics before they could really start. We almost didn’t know if we would even see them here in Tokyo, but after a spectacular comeback at the 2019 World Championships in Qatar, I had very high hopes we would get to this moment.”

“Me too, John, the pressure is on for the 31-year-old, let’s see if they can deliver,” the commentator turns to look at the camera with Y/n’s picture beside her, “Well it’s almost time for the 400m and it looks they are about to announce the finalists so we are going to have our crew in the stadium takeover our coverage. We will see you back here in the studio after the race and be sure to stick around because the night won’t be over for the four-time Olympian. Y/n is set to be one the four of today’s 4x100m relay final and tomorrow’s 4x400m relay.”

The screen switched to reveal the stadium, specifically the entrance tunnel where a projection would show the name and nation of the finalists. Y/n had taken the top spot in their heat and the semifinal so they would get the fourth lane on the track.

“Here we go!” Someone in the Hard Deck clapped, causing a few more people to follow. The cheers heightened when the American flag appeared above the name Y/n L/n.

First the announcement was in Japanese, then the English translator spoke through the stadium “In Lane Four, representing the United States of America, Y/n L/n!” With a shy smile, Y/n appeared from the side and walked until they were directly beneath their name. Then they turned to the camera and gave a wave followed by blowing a kiss to the screen and lastly throwing a peace sign. It must have been a little awkward without a packed stadium like the previous Games. Only a small section was filled with locals and the coaches of the athletes.

“That’s my best friend!” Nat yelled over the cheers. Several others followed the pilot, “Let’s go, Y/n!” “Bring it home!” “One last time, baby, let’s go!”

The remaining finalists were announced and took their place behind the starting blocks. When the camera panned to Y/n, their eyes were closed in a silent prayer.

“Take your mark.”

Their eyes snapped open with a shaky breath, feet carrying them to the starting blocks. Y/n did a ritual stretch down, tapping the tops of their toes with their hands before bending down to place their feet in the right position. Glancing up to the sky, Y/n said in their head, “please, give me this one moment.” Tucking their chin into their chest, Y/n waiting with anticipation like everyone else in the world watching.

It was like time slowed. “Set.” Their knees lifted off the track.

*Pop* the sound of the gun and Y/n catapulted off the blocks. Their eyes never faltered as they ahead at the track and let their legs do the work. In their peripheral they saw their opponents, the space between them slowly decreasing by the second as they pulled into the final stretch. Coming around the corner there was no one in Y/n’s sight. The finish line drew closer. Y/n didn’t know if they were in the lead by a long shot or if it was only a nanosecond.

Their heart pounded in their chest, sweat dripping from their forehead. Heaved breaths left their mouth and Y/n could feel her bad knee start to burn. But they pushed and they pushed.

All Y/n knew as they crossed the finish line was the world record flashed and their eyes snapped to the board which resulted in them screaming. As the announcer yelled through the coms, “WORLD RECORD!!” Y/n fell to their knees in tears.

#1 Y/N L/N—USA 47.50 (WR, OR)

Below their name were spots 2-8. And not only did Y/n just take the gold in their last individual event, but they also broke the World and Olympic records. Records that had been set for decades.

When Y/n finally lifted their head they were met with beaming faces of their competitors. They all congratulated the athlete, some hugging and patting their back. The world record sign was still flashing and Y/n felt another wave of emotion. This time they ran to their coach, aware the cameraman was keeping up with them to get a close look for the viewers at home.

Y/n could only imagine what it was like in Fightertown.

The second the athletes were lining up, Coyote yelled, “Everybody shut up!!” Silence filled the building, everyone’s focus on their respected screen. “Set.” *Pop* The racers were off and the commentators were already speaking frantically. “Great start off the blocks for L/n, coming around on the first turn neck and neck with the athlete from the Bahamas. Jamaica and Great Britain are not too far as they take on the long stretch of the track.”

“Go! Go!” People started to scream. Bob was biting his nails, Rooster was gripping his beer bottle. Hangman and Coyote were already off of their seats, “C’mon, Y/n! You got this!” It got louder as they approached the final turn.

“L/n is starting to pull a lead as they come up the turn, but the Bahamas are right there—this was the moment L/n’s Olympic dreams were shattered in Rio—O-oh! L/n has overtaken the Bahamas—they’ve got a huge gap as they pull into the final stretch! Oh my God we could be witnessing history—L/n is .10ths of a second ahead of the World Record and increasing their lead ahead of the others by an outstanding margin!”

“Let’s go!!!” The commentators' words were barely there as it competed with the uproar of spectators in the Hard Deck. Everyone was pretty much out of their seats and jumping as they watched Y/n’s lead increase with each step to the finish line. “You’re almost there!! Go! Go! Go!”

Then it exploded.

“THEY’VE DONE IT! Y/N L/n has won the gold for America!! They smashed the Olympic record and set the World record for the 400m dash by .10 of a second at these Olympic Games in Tokyo!”

“OH MY GOD!!!” Phoenix and several others screamed. She and Halo embraced in a hug with Nat covering her mouth to hold back her emotion when the screen showed Y/n screaming out to the sky before falling to their knees. The guys were all jumping around, Rooster and Payback embraced in a side hug, pulling Jake who was pretty much in tears as he watched the display of his partner.

“After heartbreak four years ago in Rio that put them out of a chance for the gold, Y/n L/n has come out on top in Tokyo. They can finally add Olympic Champion to their name as well as Olympic and World record holder of the 400m dash. In what could be the last time we see Y/n L/n in an Olympic Games, they have achieved what they set out to do since their debut in Beijing 13 years ago. What a stunning finish to a beautiful Olympic career in the sport of track and field.”

Y/n’s parents were clenched in each other’s arms, eyes rimmed as their own tears poured. They were filled with so much happiness for their child and wished nothing more to be in the crowd and share this moment with them. At the bar top Warlock, Hondo, and Maverick were high-fiving while Cyclone clapped along with a smile. Penny rang the bell simply to join the cheers.

It was truly spectacular to witness. The slow motion replay was on the screen followed by the Y/n’s reaction when they looked up to find their name on the board. The cheers kept going and only started to quiet down when TV showed the athlete in their post race interview. “Y/n, what a night here tonight. Congratulations are in store, you have not only taken an individual gold but also the World record—and the Olympic record! It’s your fourth medal in these Games, the first gold—how are you feeling right now after this victory?”

Everyone hushed to listen, but were grinning wide and some were wiping away tears. Y/n’s face was flushed, still coming off of the high of what had just happened. “O-oh I can’t even put it into words how I’m feeling right now,” there was a slight sniff, Y/n using their finger to wipe their face but was careful not to let the material of the American flag draped around their shoulders touch their skin.

“This is a dream come true. It has been a long journey to get here and I-I am so honored to have been a part of this team for as long as I have. You know after the 100 & 200 I didn’t want to have my hopes too high because as you can see anything can happen in these Games,” Y/n chuckled, eyes glossy, “I think I may have actually blacked out on the last stretch. I just kept my focus on the finish line and was just as amazed to see I had broken the records.”

The title card on the screen now showed: Y/n L/n, Gold Medalist, 400m (WR, OR: 47.50).

“Your friends and family have all gathered in San Diego—they’re watching right now and we actually got footage of their reaction to your win tonight. We’d love to show you if you like.”

“Oh God please,” Y/n was already giggling. The assistant brought over an ipad with a video and pressed play. On the tv screens the image split to show the video beside Y/n’s face to capture their own reaction. They saw the daggers squad in front of the bar while their superiors including Maverick were seated at the bar top. They were all surrounded by servicemen and women as well as civilians. Y/n teared up when they spotted their parents near Jake. By the end of it Y/n was basically crying while laughing. “Oh my God, that is amazing. I wish they could’ve been in the stands. I know my parents are probably thinking how the one time they can’t see me compete in person is when I win.”

The reporter laughed along with them. “I know I gotta let you go cause you’re set to race the relay in less than an hour and the podium ceremony is about to start, but before you go I just want to ask if this is the last time we’ll see you after these Games conclude Sunday night.”

Y/n softly smiled to the reporter, bottom lip slightly trembling, “uhh, you know I wasn’t completely sure. Since Rio I’ve had some troubles with my knee after the torn ACL—I almost wasn’t sure about these Games until 2018. I’ve been talking to Allison Felix these past couple days, since this is gonna be her last Games. Her and I have been part of Team USA for 13 years now and she’s become not only a mentor but a friend to me and i’m going to miss seeing her at competitions. I know I plan to do the 2022 season—especially the Worlds. Paris is only three-years away,” they shrugged, like they were considering it, “I’ll be thirty-four when it comes around so it’s really gonna come down to how I’m feeling after 2022.”

“Well I hope to see you again in Paris, but if not then it was truly a pleasure watching you these years. You’ve been an inspiration to many watching back home in the States. Congratulations again on this win and we can’t wait to see you bring it in the relays. Good luck again tonight.”

“Thank you so so much. I appreciate it and much love to everyone back home—thank you for all the support, especially my mom and dad, my coach, and my friends in Fightertown who I know are probably losing their minds. I love you all and I couldn't have got this gold without each and every one of you. Thank you,” Y/n shakes their hand and blows a kiss to the camera before following the volunteer to locker rooms to change for the podium ceremony.

Just like in London, Y/n was nearly a mess on the podium when the gold medal was presented to them. Per covid regulations, the athlete had to place it around their own neck instead of how it was at previous games with someone else doing the honor. Still, it held everything to Y/n.

They were an Olympic champion.

Tears streaked their face when the national anthem played and when it concluded Y/n kissed the medal and waved to the crowd of spectators that included the media and athletes from other countries. The rest of Team USA’s track athletes were there too, cheering the loudest as some of them have been Y/n’s teammates for over a decade. After pictures with the other medalists Y/n was rushed to get ready for the relay that was to start in 20 minutes. At the Hard Deck it was an emotional scene watching the podium ceremony. Jake and Nat were embraced, looking on with glossy eyes while everyone beamed at the screen. Y/n’s parents were with them too. It was bittersweet.

20 minutes later they were in cheers once again when Team USA took the silver in the 4x100m relay. Y/n kick started it off like they did in London, but this time fell short to second place by a smudge. It still was a celebration with Y/n adding another silver medal to their personal Tokyo medal count. It was passed one in the morning in Tokyo when Y/n FaceTimed Jake after the podium ceremony. They were met with shouts of joy from everyone in proximity that it was hard to even make out the individual voices.

“You fucking did it!!”

“Congratulations, Lightning McQueen, you were amazing!”

“Holy shit, Olympic gold!”

“I’m so fucking proud of you, Y/n. I wish I could hug you right now.”

The call was brief but wholesome with Y/n thanking the entire squad for their support and they loved watching their reaction to the race. Jake spoke on behalf of the others with the promise to celebrate the second Y/n returned to San Diego in three days. After goodbyes and a quick chat with their parents, Y/n ended the call to get much needed sleep for their final race the next day. The Hard Deck cleared out soon after with many calling it a day.

It was the same scene the next morning at 5:30 am to watch the final of the 4x400m relay. “It is the final day in these Olympic Games after a spectacular two weeks in Tokyo. Many firsts have been made. There are just a few events to get through tonight before closing ceremonies tomorrow evening. All eyes are now on the finals of the 4x400m relay. And boy is there a lineup tonight with the Americans looking to defend with a seventh-straight title.”

“It’s going to be an interesting finals tonight, Mark. Like you mentioned, the US have retained the title of Olympic champions in this event since the 1996 Games in Atlanta. They are unstoppable and this is the first time Y/n L/n is part of the group. They won the gold in London for the 4x100 and just last night took silver in the event. Four years ago in Rio they were set to be on both the 4x100 and 4x400, but after a tragic semi finals that ended with a torn ACL, L/n had to pull out of Games.”

On the screen the team was announced with all four athletes appearing from the side. Together they did a little dance for the cameras before going to the track. “I’m interested to see how L/n does tonight and if they can pull through. This event is truly a team effort and unlike last night, L/n is set to anchor the Americans in the final pass rather than starting. They just won the gold in the 400m last night in a stunning record breaking finish—I’m still in disbelief.”

The Hard Deck painted a familiar picture as the previous morning. The Daggers were on the edge of their seats when the race started and Penny stopped taking orders when the third pass began. The camera was split to show Y/n taking their spot on the track to await the baton. Then the screen went back to one when the American came up on the last turn. “Here comes the final pass of the bottom in the final leg of this 4x400 relay. Poland and Jamaica are not far behind, but the Americans have given Y/n L/n a lead—and there they go! Beautiful pass from teammate to teammate and Y/n L/n is off to hopefully bring the US their seventh consecutive gold.”

“C’mon, baby, let’s go!!” Jake yelled, the others echoing his cheers. At the bar patrons were clapping the surface.

“They’re gonna get it—look at the lead!”

“It’s not over yet.”

“Let’s go, Y/n, you’re almost there!” The athlete increased the distance between them and the polish on the stretch coming into the final turn. The cheers got louder and louder with many already celebrating when it was obvious the Polish were not gonna catch up. The announcers knew it too.

“Poland has overtaken Jamaica but it will not be enough for Olympic glory—Y/n L/n has increased the margin their teammates had given them and has no doubt secured them the gold! All there is left to do is cross the finish line and the Americans have done it again! L/n has finished the job and given Team USA their seventh straight gold medal in the 4x400m relay!!” The last line was in tune with Y/n crossing the finish line. A large smile plastered on their face as a cry of joy left them that the camera managed to capture. Their teammates met them in the middle with the four embracing in cheers.

The Hard Deck exploded again when Y/n crossed the finish line, matching their reaction as though they were the ones who just won the gold for their country. They couldn’t wait for Tuesday when Y/n came home and they could celebrate the big wins together. Jake was really excited especially after having a heart-to-heart with Y/n’s father. The ring was safely tucked away in his suitcase as a reminder of what he had planned for his Olympian.

The rest of the daggers, including Mav and Hondo ended up staying an extra hour after the podium ceremony to celebrate their friend. Many were still in disbelief, but filled with absolute joy. Who wouldn’t really? They had just witnessed their friend win their sixth medal in a single Olympics. Something uncommon for even athletes who qualify for multiple events.

But Y/n did it.

They left Tokyo with two bronze, two silver, and two gold. In four Olympics Y/n started from a single bronze in their debut to their first team gold in London, leaving with nothing in Rio to finally medaling in every event they raced in Tokyo. Their first individual gold after thirteen years of hard work and dedication to rise to the top since they sat in the stands of the Centennial Olympic Stadium.

It was a golden end to an Olympic dream 25 years in the making.

Or so they thought…..

When the stars painted Paris on the night of August 11th, 2024, the final night of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, Y/n L/n waved to the crowd in a bittersweet goodbye as they wore the Stars and Stripes one final time. It was hard to hear over the roar of spectators from all over the world. Not a single seat had been empty for the final race of Y/n L/n’s career. Athletes from other disciplines attended, some in tears by the overwhelming emotion of the moment.

“It is an emotional scene here tonight in the Stade de France as we say goodbye to Y/n L/n of the United States. There isn’t a dry eye in sight as spectators and athletes from around the globe watch the five-time Olympian take their final bow after winning the gold with the Americans in the 4x400m relay in their eighth consecutive title. In what could be described as the greatest Olympic run a track athlete has ever done, Y/n L/n has achieved the impossible in Paris with six gold medals in six events. Never has an Olympian taken the gold in the 100, 200, 400m, and all three team relays in a single Olympics, but Y/n L/n has made history. They are also the second Olympian and only American to win gold in the 100, 200, and 400m in a single Olympic Games.”

Y/n walked the track with a cameraman following them, hand that was not waving patting their chest where their heart laid. The hand now had a gold wedding band and Tokyo XXXII and Paris XXXIII added to the bicep tattoo. Y/n’s teammates that they just won the gold with had stood to the side, clapping with the crowd with American flags draped around their shoulder and tears cascading their cheeks.

Y/n finally made it to the section where the majority of Americans who had traveled from the States were seated in a sea of red, white, and blue. Y/e/c went straight to the front few rows and were immediately met with the sight of not only their parents beaming faces, but the ones of their closest friends. None of them were hiding their emotion. Phoenix was embraced by Rooster, the two wiping away at their faces as was Bob. Fanboy and Coyote were teary eyed while Payback just nodded with a bright grin, bringing his fingers up to whistle. Even Maverick, who was now retired from the Navy, was in attendance looking like a proud father.

And Jake? Jake was a mess.

His green eyes were pretty much bloodshot but there was love and admiration in his gaze. His own wedding band reflected under the stadium lights and he made the motion of catching the kiss Y/n blew to him before placing it on his heart. All he wanted to do was jump over the railing and hug his spouse, but unfortunately that would have to wait until after the podium ceremony.

The extinguishing of the Olympic torch at the closing ceremonies would signal the start of Y/n’s retirement from the world of athletics. It would close one chapter, but the other was still in progress. There was still time for them to be the best of the best in terms of naval aviators. They were not even halfway into their Naval career.

And they were totally up for the challenge, because nothing is impossible when going for the gold.

[skijumpingf1]

Welcome to my ski jumping Instagram following analysis that literally nobody asked for (I am in need of new hobbies btw)

For this I analysed all male jumpers who scored world cup points this season (67 in total).

The most follower has Zyla (412.000), followed by Stoch (396.000) and Kubacki (353.000). Wellinger is fourth and the first none polish jumper with around 165.000 followers.

Bartolj (1.090), Marusiak (1.233) and Imhof (1.331) have the least followers.

The FIS Instagram has a following of around 95.700 people. Jumpers who have a higher following than this and can be considered "bigger than the sport" (you get what I mean hopefully) are Zyla, Stoch, Kubacki, Wellinger, Kot, P. Prevc, R. Kobayashi, Kraft and Geiger.

On average a male ski jumper has 45.007 followers. Jumpers who have an over average following are the above and Tande, Forfang, Hayböck, Leyhe, Granerud and D. Prevc.

A few things that surprised me are that Kos is the only jumper out of the top 10 in WC that has less than 10.000 followers. Especially since he is basically carrying team Slovenia in terms of content imo. Also, Sundal has just 3.363 followers which seems low considering he was on the podium this season. I thought that Stoch has the most followers tbh and not Zyla but apparently I was wrong.

Let´s move on the nations in general.

As you can see Poland obviously has the most followers on average (who is suprised? Not me). USA has the least.

A thing to point here is that Japan is being carried heavily by Ryoyu. Without him team Japan would be just above Switzerland. Also, the second most following in team Japan has Junshiro.

This trend can be seen in team Slovenia as well. Peter has almost triple as much followers as his brother Domen, who has the second most followers in the team. Interestingly if we would count Cene in this statistic too, he would be number 3 in terms of following (in front of Timi, Anze, etc.). So we can see that jumpers with successful siblings maybe get a boost by this.

Team Norway feels the most homogeneous. The main guys (Danny, Johann, Halvor, Robert, Marius) have pretty similarly following. It is a spread from around 30.000 between them but that is nothing compared to team Austria for example (Stefan has over 70.000 more followers than Michi in second). The reason for that is that team Norway has noone who has that really big following. All the other top teams have at least one jumper who is sticking out.

From the small teams (with just one person in the standings) Ipcioglu has the most followers with over 30.000, which is quite remarkable for a jumper who isn’t from a ski jumping nation.

[outsidereveries]

the black label's new girl group

ahahahaha... about that... the rumors seem to be true.. :))

so.

first of all, the pictures are revealed intentionally but not these ones.. tbl might've wanted to reveal another pictures, not these that were revealed. apart from that, they wanted to do BUZZ and wanted tblngg to be TALKEEED, like with MOONTHS. fortunately, the group that will be from i-land 2 in which teddy is involved will be another. this lineup that we will see is the one teddy personally wants, however we will see them there in one way or another in the show as an example for something, or guests, here i don't have much clue as it's yet to be decided (fortunately, won't participate in the show). the rumored lineup seems to be accurate (ella, erin, brittany, bailey, naomi, annie, chloe) by the way, so no, hanbyul isn't there :)

tblngg's concept will be similar yet different. for some reason i see a continuation of 2ne1's ideas and actual plans personally teddy wanted to fulfill, and even blackpink to some extent. i do sense girl crush (yes, the same old shit again) with the touch of the american vibe as most of the girls seem to be half-americans and they do have american citizenships. except from bailey (bc we saw her in some places here and there-ahem, one of tate mcrae's mv and not only there) and ella (she graduated recently didn't she?) in where we are sure they lived in the usa at some point (at least), i'm unsure how erin and chloe's lives were - did they lived in the usa and their ethnicity is only korean, or they are half-americans in which ethnicity we won't be sure (okay, half-korean and half-what exactly? we won't be certain of their ethnicity like we are with alexa, a soloist). on the other hand, i personally start to have too much questions.

how their songs will sound however ... i sense some behind the scenes conflict... look. i think teddy stopped producing songs for yge because he wanted to have some sort of .. it's not just creative freedom but he wanted to manage babymonster for some reason. he saw blackpink, he saw 2ne1 and their path. it feels like he wanted to manage baemon and when yge declined that, teddy departured and bought more shares of tbl, i think. it makes sense why there's some familiar things as with tblngg there's creative freedom. however, teddy might want certain things such as how the chorus will sound - not literally but from structure perspective. teedy seems to be very into the way how the song is structured that he's sticking for years (verse 1 - pre-chorus - chorus - rap verse - (verse 2 -) pre-chorus - chorus - (bridge - ) dance break) and would prefer to stick with it. tblngg either seem to be very naive or teddy is too stubborn but despite that teddy and tblngg will make it work as they will have creative freedom, like for real. the songs might be empowering in a way or another but i don't see they will be completely new or something like that. moreover, i don't sense recycled songs either, which is good. but they'll be just the same as 2ne1's and blackpink's.

girl 1 might be very introverted as she seems to detach from the rest of tblngg, possibly because she graduated recently. because of the 6 of cups, i am personally unsure if that's ella or it's someone else who's wanted to be an idol since forever. apart from that introverted part of her character, she's very communicative - might be good at variety shows, seems to have good dancing skills and she might be one of the girls who will bring money to the company, the group and to herself. might hold rapper position.

girl 2 seems to be naomi for some reason as the reading for the second girl is focused on her being alone, her isolating from the rest of the japanese trainees here in south korea, her trying this experience in the black label first (it feels like this journey is exclusive, only for her). i am personally unsure but she seems to have lived in france, not in japan before arriving there and possibly this could be why she is feeling in this way. as of her character, she seems very balanced person and can also bring a lot towards the group. she can also bring big amount of money (like the first girl) and her personality might be interesting towards the casual fans and even stans. might be an all-rounder, i don't feel specific positions yet.

girl 3, i swear to the vibrations and energies surrounding us, is very talented, at least in dancing. however, since pre-debut, if that happens to be bailey, having in mind that she is well-known dancer and not only from what i checked, she seems to be perfectionist, and i mean it as she might've experiences the stress, the anxiety and these similar emotions on daily basis. she seems to .. i wouldn't say that she'll bring much money like the first 2 girls but she will travel a lot bc she's choreographer, right? if that's bailey, of course. i do sense that she'll still be an one regardless of her being a member of tblngg as her middle name seems to be hard-worker for some reason. she will work so hard to be a member of the girl group that might be underappreciated overall. she might be so wanted as a choreographer that she'll select her clients. i do sense that she'll choreograph the dances and as a position, definitely main dancer. might be also one of the members who will be mentioned as "all-rounder" from the fans, stans and possibly casual listeners.

girl 4 doesn't seem to be into how good she is but the opposite. comparing her to the third girl, she isn't perfectionist at all but has a lot of potential regardless. she seem to hold a vocalist line but might be a weak one. can communicate very well, might be good at variety shows and similar things that require communication. i am unsure who appears here, but she might be a rigged member who received a special invite to debut under the black label as i felt it at first. as of her character, she might be very passive person who doesn't like conflicts, posssibly a people-pleaser. the rest of her personality might be yet to be revealed as she appears to be mysterious, possibly because of who the fuck the girl is. might appreciate her personal space a lot but i doubt it, she's just a newbie to the public life. (for some reason, i feel it's erin)

girl 5 seems to be even more "rigged" than the previous girl. the hole of the group, might be good at producing or songwriting, or another position that is about creating something but .. only that? her character is yet to be developed, might have lack of understanding what's right and what's wrong. could be very childlish, the type to say "i want it now and fast" too. despite that, will be praised for what she does, so.. a trendsetter might be the exact word i am looking for. that seems to be annie.

girl 6 is one of the two girls with the most potential. she will rely on the stage presence the most, and not only that. might be loved the most out of all, possibly like jennie of blackpink - it girl in korea, it girl outside of there too. the actual all-rounder of the group. very intuitive and her personality will be loved by many. the one who will love to do lives and communicate with her fanbase the most. possibly a vocalist and dancer? (can be chloe) her personality is unknown to me as this seems to not be her focus to show but rather that how relevant to her fanbase she will appear.

girl 7 is the second one with the most potential out of all of the group. it feels like it's destined for her to debut exactly there. might hold 2 positions, possibly a dancer and eventually lead (something)? will rely on local activities such as cf's, magazines, i do see her act too at some point in the future too. can rely on fashion activities too, i do sense the vibe "i am representing my homeland", so she seems to be korean (brittany?). same as the previous girl, her personality is yet to be shown.

based on these energies, they seem to rely a lot on dancing (basically, the perfomances) and the type of activities that will be a first to the k-pop. the rappers seem to be "weak" for some reason, the vocalists.. a bit better but also weak. teddy seems to have chosen personally the members and even rigged some ones for which isn't suprising imho. however, the most of the girls don't seem to be ethically korean, at least fully, in which the rumors seem to be true. ella for example is korean-german (and possibly other ethnicities, so she's mixed). bailey can be fully korean as her last name can be korean (it seems to be common) and except for naomi in which her father seems to be french according to what we've heard, the same applies to the rest of the rumored girls (their mothers might be non-korean), so congratulations, tblngg is similar as other groups in their generations! .. at least with their vocal abilities and perfomances.

[homebeyondstars]

♡ Hiiii!! ♡

So i'm 🍃 right now and i want to tell you a little bit about my Student DR in MHA!!!

Just to start out:

this is my first DR, but im not new to shifting. I just havent fully shifted to this DR yet

And idc how cringe it is i love mha <3

♡this is a multi-universe crossover DR

♡in my first concept for this dr i was adopted by all might but ngl i kinda hated that idea bc theres no way our relationship would be healthy since he's allergic to caring about his health

♡i scripted out Mineta

♡The power puff girls are the youngest sidekicks in the USA, being sidekicks of their science pro hero dad

♡This is similar to a crdr, except like.... canon events that pivoted my life have been heavily altered!! meaning i have a stepdad. So my cr mom(american), dr stepdad(japanese) and me all live primarily in japan!! I spend the semester months in japan and the summer in the US.

♡batman adops quirkless orphans and is quirkless — DC is basically USA's pro heroes

♡hatsune Miku is my best friend from middle school, with her quirk being "synthesizer" which allows her to apply special effects to her voice. Her and her siblings (main 6) are in a band called "Vocaloid"

♡santa is real and still gives to adults

♡the USA also has their own UA, and quirkless people are allowed to get in thanks to Batman's influence

♡i also scripted in spiderman, sharkboy and lava girl for fun

♡Aizawa is not my teacher in my DR because he's my S/O in another DR, so it would make me feel weird if i were his student - so mic is homeroom teacher

♡Aizawa is *still* a teacher, but someone i don't have to interact with because I'm scripting his class is a selection of students from 1A and 1B, half from each, and I don't get picked

For those shifting to a student DR, if you wanna copy my routine to add to your script, here's mine <3

Morning:

♡ do whatcha gotta do in the bathroom (toilet, wash face, deodorant)

♡ grab breakfast sandwich from mini fridge and eat it with rice ball and a cup of orange juice, take meds

♡ change into uniform, put on perfume, toss old clothes into hamper

♡Primer, Sunscreen, Concealer, Blush, eyeliner

♡ put on shoes and backpack

♡head down the elevator to the dorm common area and wait for everyone to gather, use that time to socialize

School routine:

♡do what you're told until lunch

♡Eat lunch

♡do what you're told until dismissal

Mid afternoon:

♡Head back to Dorm

♡Change into casual clothes

♡Hang out with friends until dinner

♡Eat dinner in common room/cook for the class if it's my turn

♡go back in time for the following:

♡Study for 1HR 20 minutes

♡work out for 40 minutes

♡change into pajamas

♡wash face, moisturize

♡set out uniform for the next day

♡fall asleep on call with friends 8 hours minimum before alarm rings

[andiessoccerblog]

Semifinals

Out of the 32 original teams, only four teams are left, split into two semifinals: Spain v. Sweden, and Australia v. England. This is the culmination of three weeks of joy, passion, and heartbreak…and some really good soccer. These teams have all found their grooves, their momentum, and there is so much on the line now that everyone will be giving it their all. At this point, I don’t know what else I can say about these teams, but I went back through each team’s journey so far to look at the results so far in the tournament. 

Spain, FIFA ranked 7

Won 3-0 over Costa Rica

Won 5-0 over Zambia

Lost 4-0 to Japan

Won 5-1 over Switzerland

Won 2-1 over Netherlands

Sweden, FIFA ranked 3

Won 2-1 over South Africa

Won 5-0 over Italy

Won 2-0 over Argentina

Won in penalties over USA

Won 2-1 over Japan

Australia, FIFA ranked 10

Won 1-0 over Republic of Ireland

Lost 3-2 to Nigeria

Won 4-0 over Australia

Won 2-0 over Denmark

Won in penalties over France

England, FIFA ranked 4

Won 1-0 over Haiti

Won 1-0 over Denmark

Won 6-1 over China

Won in penalties over Nigeria

Won 2-1 over Colombia

I think that both games could go either way, and it would be arrogant and stupid on my part to try and predict anything from here on out. It is a guarantee that we will have a brand-new champion; none of these teams have won a world cup before. England and Sweden have gotten to the semifinals and won medals before, but Spain and Australia are at this point for the first time in program history. 

One thing that most people won’t know is that the players on these teams have all played together on club teams, becoming friends, and even dating. England’s Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh play in Barcelona with nine of Spain’s players, and Sweden’s Fridolina Rolfo. Australia’s Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord play for Arsenal with England’s Lotte Wubben-Moy, while Australia’s Sam Kerr plays for Chelsea with four players from England, and three players from Sweden. No matter which teams go through, players will witness their friends and colleagues triumphs and losses–a bittersweet end to a world cup that has been full of rich, new, powerful experiences.

[billybob598]

Ok so a couple thoughts on the USA and just other big teams that got knocked out.

Definitely not what we expected from the US but why did we expect that? Think about it, this a young team where most of the starters and subs were all at there first World Cup. I think this needed to happen to the US. they needed to not be the best anymore and for the next couple years just completely start over. The old generation is starting to leave so it's time to get a clean slate with these new young players. Basically, restart the program. Morgan, Rapinoe, Ertz, and O'hara are among those who are probably done. There were some amazing younger players that shined this tournament (Naomi Girma, Emily Fox, even Sophia Smith though not as well as expected). Its good for the US to just restart with a new team and a new coach *cough cough fire Vlatko. This team needs to spend more time on the field together. Remember Japan won in 2011 and the US came back with 2 world cup wins in a row, so I'm guessing in 4 years when these players are a little more experienced and have played with each other more they will be a really good team.

Now, my point that they need a fresh start with young players and a new manager is exactly what some teams have already done or need to do as well. Take England. They brought in Sarina a new manager and she just completely did the team over. Leah williamson as the new captain, Beth Mead on the squad, younger players like Russo, Toone and LJ getting minutes and shining. And then they won the Euros. See I think the US certainly have the talent they just need to build off of it.

Ok so Canada. I think same thing. Sinclair and Schmidt and Chapman are all probably on the way out. Now we got younger players, Huitema, Olivia Smith, Riviere, Grosso. I like Bev priestmann a lot, but I think if we want to see a new Canada team that utilizes the young and up and coming players we might need a new coach. Definitely a disappointment of a world cup from canada.

Germany and Brazil are pretty much the same. Brazil is losing one of the best players of all time, someone who has been the centre of that team for like 2 decades. They have such amazing players, Geyse being the young player that comes to my mind. Piano Sundhage I'm thinking is gone. and now it's just about again, getting the younger players time to shine alongside each other. And Germany. Oh Germany. Again, they have such amazing young players, Obi (who is arguably the best young player in the world rn), Brand, and Sydney Lohmann. I don't want to say Popp will retire because let's be honest that woman could play forever. But, the old generation is on it's way out and the new generation has to be shown the same kind of love. When you have such amazing young talent you have to take the future seriously and not just try to hold onto the past. I think that goes for all the team aforementioned.

Anyways that's it from me. Hope you enjoyed my Ted talk

[magdasabs]

ok i’m here with more fun statistics!

total attendance was 1,976,275

sydney olympic stadium was at full capacity for all 5 of its games (75,784)

the team with the highest average attendance was australia at 57,591 per game (403,136 total)

interestingly, ireland had the 3rd highest average attendance (39,244) and they only played their 3 group games (2nd highest avg was england)

england lost the most fair play points (-10) and japan, new zealand and brazil lost the least (-1)

hinata miyazawa and our very own amanda ilestedt both received the most player of the match awards (3 each). 6 other players received 2 each

sweden, spain and england got the most player of the match awards, 6 each

i ranked the teams 1 to 32 based on their latest fifa ranking and then subtracted their actual result in the world cup to see who under and over achieved:

germany did the worst by this metric with a score of -15 (2-17), followed by canada with -14 (7-21)

2 teams got a score of 0: sweden and haiti, meaning they finished where their fifa rank would expect them to

morocco over achieved the most of any team with a score of 19 (31-12)

and here’s some interesting stats i did before the tournament about the teams (they may be slightly inaccurate for any teams that had very last minute changes in their roster)

spain had the most players making their world cup debut at this tournament with 17. australia and canada had the least, 7 each

i also found the average number of world cups per player each team has attended

australia had the highest (1.48) followed by new zealand (1.43) and canada (1.39). sweden and brazil tie for 4th at 1.13

excluding debuts (and denmark since they haven’t qualified since 2007), switzerland had the least (0.30) followed by england (0.39)

nigeria and denmark have the biggest diversity in terms of where their players play for club. both have players spread over 10 countries

usa, italy, spain and vietnam all have the least diversity in players’ club leagues, only split between 2 countries. in all 4 of these teams only 1 player plays outside of their home country.

i think that’s all the stuff i can think of right now that isn’t just basic info that fifa publishes! hope you enjoyed ☺️

I... might be in love with you. Thank you for all the fun stats 🥺 there is so much I don't even know what to talk about! Have you looked at attendance relative to stadium capacity? I'd be interested in how it compares to previous world cups but obvs I know that would be quite a lot of work

[grantmentis]

Women's Worlds 2023 Primer

The PHF season may be over, but many of the players we love will be playing in women's worlds this upcoming week alongside their peers from the PWHPA, SDHL, Naisten Liiga, NCAA, Usports, EWHL, and countless other fantatic women's hockey leagues or organizations from around the world!

When: April 5th - April 16th

Click here for full schedule

Where: Brampton, Ontario at CAA Center. Games will be in Eastern time

Click here for tickets

What Teams are playing:

Group A: Canada, USA, Switzerland, Czechia, Japan

Group B: Germany, Hungary, France, Finland, Sweden

How to Watch:

Canada: TSN will be broadcasting all games in the tournament for Canadians

USA: NHL Network will be broadcasting all of Team USA's and Team Canada's games, but not the rest of the tournament

Finland: Broadcast scheduling here

Germany: German games should be available at MagentaSport (and apparently free!)

France: Sport En France should have at least the French teams games

Sweden: SVT should carry Sweden's games

Switzerland: available to stream at srf.ch

Unfortunately I could not find broadcast information for Czechia, Hungary, or Japan, but that may be a language barrier issue on my end. If this is something you are familiar with please let me know!

Lastly, if you want to watch a game that's not available to you, feel free to message and I can see what I can do to help

Tournament format:

All of Group A makes it to the quarterfinals, so the preliminary games are just seeding for them. The top three seeds in Group B will move on as well. Then, the knock out stage looks like this:

Below the cut is rosters, notable storylines, and expectations for each team. These are in alphabetical order.

Canada

Roster

Notable changes: Natalie Spooner comes back after missing time with pregnancy. Danielle Serdachny makes her international senior team debut after having 71 points in 40 games as Colgates captain this year. Claire Thompson returns to the world stage after missing last world championships, comes off a spectacular olympic showing. Potomak is out, despite strong performance last world championship.

Player to watch/other fun things; Sarah Fillier. She has been one of the world's best goal scorers for over two year and, at only 22, will likely only get better

Goals: Win gold again! They've been dominate on the world stage again since the break from the pandemic, working extremely well with their new coach. They are the team to beat with a mix of vets and newcomers

Czechia

Roster

Notable changes: Klara Peslarova, star goalie for Czechia, is not here due to season ending knee injury. Michaela Hesova (who is only 17 years old!) makes her senior team debut in her place and Kateřina Zechovská comes back to the mix. Tereza Radová is out, Sára Čajanová returns. Klára Jandušíková makes her senior national team debut, one of the few ncaa dIII players to do so!

Players to watch: Tereza Vanišová is coming off a PHF championship where she scored the cup winning goal, and has been one of the Czech republics more creative offensive players that plays with an edge. Natálie Mlýnková just had a breakout year for University of Vermont that saw her have 42 points in 36 games.

Goals: Get a medal. Czechia has risen FAST on the national stage, going from not qualifying to medaling in their first wwc in just a few years. Thanks to a mix of a good core who's been playing together a long time like like Mills/Mrázová/Križová and talented youth like Čajanová, they have cemented themselves at one of the worlds threats.

Finland

Roster; http://leijonat.fi/index.php/maajoukkueet/naisleijonat/2022-23/mm2023/item/45144-naisleijonien-mm-joukkue-julkistettiin-taessae-kokoonpano ( no graphic :-( )

Notable changes: Elisa Holopainen will not play for Finland after a great showing last worlds due to injury. Susanna Tapani, who had five points in 6 worlds games last year, is also not on this roster. Sanni Ahola will make her senior national team debut as a goaltender for Finland. She had a .920 as the starter in St. Cloud state this year and could be interesting as they try to find their next starter. Emilia Kyrkkö is another new goalie, who played in Finland this year but will play at St. Cloud next year. I’d expect Ahola to get more time though. Michelle Karvinen not on roster. Lots of roster shakeup overall.

Players to watch: Noora Tulus has been a national team mainstay for some time, but the last two years she has found another gear. Coming off a club season in Sweden with 56 points in 32 games. Sini Karjalainen had a breakout season in Vermont, will be interested to see if she can translate in the world stage.

Goals:After a rough few tournaments and roster turmoil, and some coaching questions, Finland is trying to get back in Group A and compete for a medal. Competition will be fiercer than ever but they look to prove why they dominated so long.

France

Roster:

Notable changes: Marion Allemoz, who was the team captain, has retired. Morgane Rihet, who was also an assistant captain and mainstay, is not on the roster. Margot Desvignes makes her senior team debut after some strong showings in Sweden.

Players to watch: Chloe Aurard is /the/ player for this team, being a star over at Northeastern the past few years. Justine Crousy Theode, who plays in the mens division in France, will be interesting to see if she gets any starts. With no clear starting goaltender, the 22 is making her senior team debut after strong performances at the u18 level

Goals: Get their first top division win. After being promoted to Division IA in 2013, they've slowly risen to finally qualify for the primary WWC tournament for the first time since 2019! Despite tournament cancellations from the pandemic, they've kept their momentum as they look to establish themselves as a mainstay in the top division. In 2019, they did not get a win, so they hope to do so this time.

Germany

Roster: https://www.deb-online.de/2023/03/24/frauen-nationalmannschaft-finaler-kader-fuer-weltmeisterschaft-in-brampton-kanada-nominiert/ ( once again no graphic :( )

Notable changes: Going even younger in goal, swapping out lilly Uhrmann for Chiara Schultes, no Tanja Eisenschmid though her sister Nicola is there. We do have university of Maine twins Lilli and Louisa Welke still though!

Player to watch: Nina Jobst-Smith (listed as Katerina) had a breakout year in university of minnesota duluth, with 25 points in 39 games. Sandra Abstreiter is a goaltender who has proven she can steal a game.

Expectations: Similar to hungary below, finish top three in their division, hopefully with two decisive victories, to move on to the semifinals.

Hungary

Roster: https://www.jegkorongszovetseg.hu/noi-valogatott-megvan-a-vb-re-utazo-25-fos-keret

Notable Changes: Very much a run it back roster with little changes. Like its basically identical to their one from last year

Players to watch: Mira Seregély was already a steady contributor for Hungary, but after a breakout year in University of Maine, we may see her take another step. Same with Taylor Baker, a shutdown defender who had a solid season in montreal this year.

Goals: Finishing top three in Divison B to clinch a semifinal berth. They've done so their past two outings, but last time was on a tiebreaker. The past two tournaments they've only had one win in each preliminary round, so trying to secure two would be big. Keeping the group together to try t build on exisiting chemistry will be key.

Japan:

Roster: https://www.jihf.or.jp/common/img/info/info_20230324_153025.pdf

Notable changes: Similar to Hungary, they are running it back. Most of their changes come from adding some younger players to their forward group, including twin sisters Rio and Riri Noro making their national team debut after strong performances at the u18 level

players to watch: Haruka Toko is forever my answer here as I think she's one of my favorite players to watch in terms of her speed and shot, and she's coming off a season that saw her return to the SDHL and have 27 points in 29 games. Ayaka Hitosato also is coming off a successful first season in the SDHL, and it will be interesting to see how that affects her game.

Goals: make the semifinals! last year was a heartbreaking 2-1 shootout lost in the finals they hope to avenge, and have proven they are capable of it

Sweden:

Notable changes: Most notably, long time captain Michelle Löwenhielm is not on the roster. Sara Grahn returns after missing some time on the national team, will be interesting to see how they divide time between her and Söderberg. Ebba Berglund, Jessica Adolfsson, and several other no longer on the teams defense after being in the last few tournaments, so going for a new look there.

Player to watch: Maja Nylén Persson has become the #1 defender for the national team at 22 years old and is coming off a stellar SDHL season. Sara Hjalmarsson was over a point per game at providence college this year.

Goals: Win division B and try to make it to the semifinals. After a few rough years due to labor rights issues, the national team is trying to find some stability again and figure out their identity as they develop a young core.

Switzerland

Roster:

Notable changes: Not many, mostly concentrated in the forward group. Evelina Raselli has retired since last wwc, which is the big one.Sarah Forster makes her return after a strong season in the PHF.

Players to watch: For years, it has been the Lara Stalder and Alina Müller show, rightfully so as they are two of the best hockey players in the world and it is a gift to watch them together. We have also seen young defender Lara Christen have strong defensive performances in the past few tournaments, getting it done on both ends

Goals: Medal for Bronze again, hopefully by improved depth scoring and defense. In the past it has been their top line and Brändli who has carried them, so they hope to supplement their high end talent with a good supporting cast.

USA

Notable changes: A lot of babies! Players having babies, including Alex Cavallini and Kendall Coyne Schoffield. Then a lot of players who are very young, with 6 players being under 20, including new faces Abbey Levy, Gabbie Hughes, and Tessa Janecke to name a few. Brianna Decker has retired. No Hannah Brandt, grace zumwinkle, jincy dunne, maddie Rooney, or Jesse compher. HUGE shakeups here.

player to watch: Taylor Heise won player of the tournament last year, and has continued to dominate at the NCAA level, she may only be just beginning. Gabbie Hughes makes her senior team debut after several great years at Minnesota Duluth, and will be interesting to see how she fits into the roster.

Goals: Win gold again, especially with a new look with John Wroblewski at coach. He was the coach last tournament, but only had a few months to work with there. They looked improved under him already, so we will see how they look with a full cycle

[nightofsky101]

Top 20 Animes of 2022

Sorry I skipped last year. Trust me I was watching I just didn’t feel motivated to make another list. However this time I am, but little longer. That’s right it’s 20 now. Plus I added my reasons too. Enjoy.

1. Dance Dance Danseur

Captivating characters, beautiful animation and intriguing story. I really fell in love with this one I went far as to read the manga translation AFTER episode one and continued while the anime was airing. I love how Jumpei over came the toxic masculinity to pursue ballet. His love for ballet really is inspiring. You can see the joy in his eyes. Plus I love Jumpei and Natsuki’s chemistry there’s more of them in the manga. I really do wish the manga would get serialized here in the USA and for Mappa to do another season.

2. Sasaki and Miyano

Cute sweet wholesome BL love story I LOVE MY BABIES. If I had to pick a favorite couple of the year it would be Sasaki and Miyano. AAAHHH I couldn’t stop smiling watching this anime it’s good for the soul. Even if you’re not into BL this is the most safest to watch. The anime version of Heartstoppers.

3. My Dress Up Darling

Cute fun wholesome and sweet romance blooming in front of you. Marine is such a joy no doubt my best girl. Goujo’s passion for hinadoll is inspiring. The animation is so pretty especially when they smile. This really did made me proud to be an anime fan. I can’t wait for more of Marine and Goujo.

4. Blue Lock

Out of the ordinary sports anime with some wild and intense animation. Forget about friendship and team work. It’s all about being an egoist survival of the best striker. I really love the characters. BTW I was watching this before the World Cup started and during it really was life imitating anime. Until Japan lost to Croatia. Root for them next World Cup. I can’t wait for more I probably will reading the manga.

5. Demon Slayer Season 2

I laughed cried and screamed. This season was full of emotions plus I felt like I was watching a movie. I love Tanjiro’s growth this season, Uzui was a badass he really is so cool. Nezuko was amazing. Daki and Gyutaro got me heartbroken. Zenitsu and Inosuke were unstoppable everyone really had a fantastic moment.

6. My Hero Academia Season 6

A whole lot better than season 5. A few nip picks here, but it didn’t bother me too much. I really did enjoy this first half. The voice acting was phenomenal and I was just so happy to see my favorite parts of the manga finally animated. Deku is a beast, Bakugou got me screaming, Shouto I want to hug him. I super excited for the next arc.

7. Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie

Cute and funny anime to watch. The moments with Shikimori, Izumi and their friends made me love this anime more. Who said a girl can’t be cute and handsome. BTW Hachimitsu is my spirit animal I love her.

8. Raven of the Inner Palace

The magic in this anime was pretty. The characters were fascinating, I love the Chines setting. Shouxue bring peace to the dead was uplifting. Plus I love Shouxue development she deserves the friends she has made.

9. Urusei Yatsura

The return of the original waifu Lum. I only watch a few episodes of the original anime they were pretty funny and the remake so far is fun to watch. I can see why Lum is so lovable.

10. Love Live Superstar Season 2

Between this one and Nijigasaki I like Superstar’s story more. Plus the series has broken some Love Live traditions. Liella really is a group you should be watching. Magaret and Lanzhu from Nijigasaki are queens. Love Live keeps on innovating new barriers.

11. Attack on Titan Final Part 3

Had me on the edge of my seat. Eren is a freaking beast I couldn’t believe this season it was shock after shock. I can’t imagine how this is going to end. I can’t handle anymore deaths.

12. Kaguya sama Love is War Season 3

Cute and super funny season. Ishigami had me proud like a mama. Miyuki and Chika’s rap was the best. Kaguya finally admitting to herself she loves Miyuki was so sweet.

13. Tokyo Mew Mew New

Another well done remake. I did watch a few episodes of the original anime when I was a kid. So this was kind of nostalgic to me. The girls are so cute I can’t wait to see more of the remake.

14. Mob Psycho 100 Final

A great ending to Mob. After 3 season it really was a joy and emotional journey to watch Mob Psycho 100. I will miss the crazy animation and deep story so much. Thank you Mob for everything a classic that will always be remembered.

15. More than a married couple, but not lovers

To me this was the vanilla version of Domestic Girlfriends. No step sisters, just a love triangle between a guy, his childhood friend and his marriage partner. So many funny and sweet moments. I do ship Jirou and Akari more.

16. Chainsaw Man

Wild and crazy anime to watch. It felt like I was watching a fever dream. I will be honest it didn’t get me hyped as the manga fans expected. But it was great to watch. It’s only the beginning though I do hope it gets another season.

17. Spy x Family

Funny cute and little suspenseful. It did felt like the Loid and Anya show though I do wish we got to see more of Yor’s assassin work too. The heart warming family moments really did touch my hear. Again family doesn’t always have to mean by blood.

18. Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting

Another cute and wholesome anime. Kirishima acted more like a big brother to Yaeka who knew a killer yakuza could have a heart. Family doesn’t always have to mean blood.

19. I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss

Another otome isekai, but it did felt rushed I wished it was more slowed paced. I love Aileen and Claude’s relationship they are so cute. At least they had a happy ending.

20. Shine Post

Such an underrated idol anime. Probably because Love Live was airing around the same time. Love seeing each girl’s reason for being an idol and how much they want to achieve their dream. BTW Rio has the best voice.

HAPPY NEW YEAR SEE YOU IN 2023 !!!!!

[doyouevenknowwhatshappening]

THIS IS A LONG, BUT IMPORTANT POST, PLEASE READ WITH DISCRESSION

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This is for educational purposes only.

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Trigger Warning for what's happening in Congo right now:

• Slavery

• Inhumane Treatment

• Mentions of SA

• Child Endangerment

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If you didn't know, right now in Congo people are suffering. Not just suffering, but being completely mistreated, abused, and used as tools. This issue IS NOT new. However, with the recent stream of information from Palestine, people getting educated about that horrific scene, people have brought light to many other issues worldwide that western media turns a blind eye to.

Where even is Congo?

Congo is an African country, located right on the equator, with most of the country running under it.

The DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) is not to be confused with the smaller country to the left, The Republic of Congo.

6.9 million people have been displaced since 1996, due to violence. Some of which, directly ties in to forced evictions due to cobalt mining.

Curious to how much that actually is?

This is 1,000 dots

See how many dots?

Just with that?

This is 200,000 dots.

Getting into much steeper territory no?

Each of thoes dots is a Congolese person.

This is 6.2 MILLION dots.

They're nothing but pixels now.

This is LESS than the amount of people displaced in Congo.

And Congo is a BIG COUNTRY.

It's not a tiny small one.

It's huge.

I mean, it's as big as HALF the USA.

It's the 11th biggest in the WORLD.

With a population of 95.89 MILLION people.

That means that over 7% of the Congolese people have been displaced.

(Some sources say there are only 86.8 Million people in Congo, such as Livingcost.org, if that is true I do wonder why it jumped down so far!! (This is sarcasm))

That's the same amount of people worldwide currently with college degrees.

These are the mines in Eastern DRC.

As you can see, it's more than just simply Cobalt.

However, do we even know what Cobalt is?

Cobalt

Is a highly used metal. Mostly used in machines, such as saws, batteries, surgical implants, and even paints.

There is radioactive, and non-radioactive cobalt.

"Cobalt (Co) is a hard, gray metal that occurs naturally. It is found in rocks, soil, water, plants, and animals, including people. It can harm the eyes, skin, heart, and lungs. Exposure to cobalt may cause cancer. Workers may be harmed from exposure to cobalt and cobalt-containing products. The level of harm depends upon the dose, duration, and work being done." According to the CDC.

Cobalt should be handled with care, and contact with the skin should be avoided. The dust affects the throat, nose, and lungs. The people of Congo have no protective gear, and alot of the mining there is done by HAND.

These people don't even have

Clean drinking water

And rely on their CHILDREN to make money

(Who only makes roughly 6675.00 Congolese Francs a day. This may seem like a large number, but for some insight, that's 2.50 USD, 3.68 Australian Dollars, 3.31 Canadian Dollars, 359.92 Japanese Yen, 42.13 Mexican Pesos, and 1.93 English Pounds. In the US, you could buy a small bag of chips or a candy bar. In Australia, you wouldn't even have enough for a small cup of coffee. Same for Canada and the US. In Japan, you could maybe get a small coffee or a vending machine food. In Mexico? Same deal. Oh look. Same deal for the UK.)

Imagine getting paid less than a penny after working tirelessly in a mine.

In Congo, almost 62% of Congolese people live off of 2.15 USD per day.

Per-DAY

Not per hour. Not per minute.

Per day.

You need over 400 USD to pay for things you need in Congo. Due to this, children are highly stunted in growth and potential.

The DRC is home to many Indigenous peoples, who are discriminated against and displaced at a high average. They play a hugely important role in the culture of Congo.

Congolese women experience an even higher volume of violence and harm. Almost a third have experienced SA. Only about 16.8% of women have completed secondary school. Women earn consistently less money than men do.

Right now, there is crimes against humanity taking place in Congo. This is an undeniable fact.

How can I help?

Not everyone can donate, but if you can, here are some good places to donate to:

SAVE THE CHILDREN.ORG: https://www.savethechildren.org/us/where-we-work/democratic-republic-of-congo

UNICEF IN AFRICA: https://www.unicefusa.org/what-unicef-does/where-unicef-works/africa/horn-africa?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA67CrBhC1ARIsACKAa8QRSHqTPN6NInqxweJiuzZeiKQPG3EZIJ2TOtJCO9XGGYEEh_D07I8aAsW5EALw_wcB

Other ways to help:

• Supporting Congolese Content Creators, Artists, and Small Businesses, lifting their voices. Listen to stories.

• SHARE- Share information, spread the word!

• There are filters on Tiktok. Use thoes. It's the least any of us can do.

• Boycotting- Don't buy new vape products, don't buy from Tesla, and don't buy from Apple! You don't need the latest Infinity double X loop doop 2G phone. Use what you have already. Boycotting big tech companies comes first.

This is INHUNANE

And human exploitation.

It needs to end.

Please help the people of Congo.

Praying does nothing.

Sources:

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/cobalt/default.html#:~:text=It%20can%20harm%20the%20eyes,cobalt%20and%20cobalt%2Dcontaining%20products.

https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/drc/overview

https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violence-democratic-republic-congo#:~:text=Clashes%20involving%20militant%20groups%20over,of%20civilian%20casualties%20and%20displacement.

https://reporting.unhcr.org/operational/situations/democratic-republic-congo-situation#:~:text=The%20drivers%20of%20displacement%20in,into%20neighbouring%20countries%20as%20refugees.

[thommi-tomate]

Holger Badstuber about the DFB team

Hello football fans!

It is a very difficult time for German football. The World Cup in Qatar proved it, and it is still very obvious after the three unsuccessful international friendlies against Ukraine, Poland and Colombia , one year before the European Championships at home. We were and are mediocre in world football. The boos given by the fans at Schalke on Tuesday are understandable.

However, the sooner we realize that in 2024 we are just an outsider, the easier it will be to accept this role. Psychologically, that may not be a bad thing, so there is more to gain. In any case, we must quickly focus on forming a strong unit. On and off the pitch.

About Hansi Flick

The whole construction remains unstable from front to back. There is often talk of a "process" in which the team is still finding itself. But Hansi Flick's behavior alone in television interviews shows that he too is far from satisfied. He seems pissed off. Actually, I expected more enthusiasm, more self-confidence and more conviction from him at this stage. I miss the sovereignty. Nevertheless, we have to trust him and his undisputed experience.

The next opponents are Japan, France and USA in September and October; by then, their framework should be ready. I would like to wait and see before I can really judge the "process".

For me, however, one thing is clear: Ilkay Gündogan performed at the highest level as captain of Manchester City and won titles. He should be positioned in midfield. Joshua Kimmich helps the national team better at right-back. Football is about biting the bullet and not playing in your favorite position. In defense he can give a lot to the team.

A clear identity also requires courageous decisions. That's why I absolutely cannot understand why the DFB is allowing discussions about Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer to go on forever. They are icons for Germany. Other nations have their deserving veterans who have played for a long time and celebrated success. In Spain it was a Busquets, in Italy a Bonucci: it shouldn't be about their age, but their value to the team. If Müller and Neuer are fit, they have to play for the German national team.

With his experience, Müller can always have a positive influence up front, where we have big problems scoring goals because there are no connections, no automatism due to constant changes.

In the national team we are currently lacking what has been forgotten in the training of young players in recent years: the character and attributes that have distinguished us as a nation in major tournaments such as willingness to sacrifice, fighting spirit, discipline, perseverance, endurance and courage. We have been able to show perseverance, perseverance, endurance and courage. That is why Germany did not deserve a victory recently.

However, I also see developing an awareness of this as a great opportunity for some young players. The players who now get the opportunity to present themselves can score tremendously if they live exactly these qualities 120 percent.

Musiala and Wirtz are glimmers of hope on the horizon. Just as "Poldi" and "Schweini" once enchanted fans and represented a cheeky new generation, they too have potential. If they are used properly, the EURO could be real fun for everyone in Germany.

The national team deserves a different status than it has now, but first it has to perform and deliver - now more than ever!

Source

Honestly, I can agree with a lot of Holger's ideas, except with Ilkay, in selection he never maxes out like he does with C*ty and I really hope that changes because you can't be such an uncommitted captain