Spain vs. Brazil Olympic men's fútbol final

On the Spanish side:

Cucurella - ❤

Carlos Soler - ❤

Eric García - ❤

Pedri - ...I mean, technically, he's the best player in Spanish colors but...I'm just tired of Pedri hype.

Oyarzabal - ...are you seriously only capable of scoring against U-23 kids?

Olmo - ...he's fine until he screws things up and you can always count on him to screw something up.

Unai Simón - Despite giving away absurd own goals, ❤

On the Brazil side:

Cunha - ❤

Douglas Luiz - ❤

Malcom - ❤

Richarlison - ...ugh, you're no Neymar

Dani Alves - 😒 I like Dani Alves and he's probably the best right back ever, but...also I don't like Dani Alves because he has a really abrasive personality? I am torn about Dani Alves.

General thoughts:

Brazil is going through another talent drought. Spain is...Spain...from the top flight down to the youth, it's just Spain. On the one hand, I would like to see Spanish fútbol regain its dominance. On the other hand, I'm a bit tired of people making a huge deal about Spanish fútbol because it's so misunderstood and I just want the pain to end.

All right, back to extra time and see how all of this ends.

---

38-year-old Dani Alves beats a U-23 Spain. (Even if it's basically reliant on a Malcom goal. Malcom ❤)

I'm...honestly not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, congrats to Brazil, they've gotten another Olympic gold. On the other hand, Spain played better.

Eh. Them's the breaks.

I'm gonna rant a bit about stupid Chinese media

Nothing destroys the good-natured fun of shit talking your sports rivals than stupid media treating the shit talking seriously. And reading media getting full of themselves and failing to honestly assess the situation makes me want to bang my head.

For example, the situation with the medal rankings: China has been leading the gold medal count up until the last day in this iteration of the Olympics. However, realistically, the U.S. will probably shoot past China's numbers since Team USA has managed to get into finals of numerous events held on the last day, while events where China could obtain gold have already finished. Which means China has more or less maxed out their gold medal possibilities, with one last long shot at women's boxing, which is a very long shot. Anyone reasonable wouldn't count on it. Meanwhile, the U.S. is still the favorites for at least three or four events, with another one that's 50-50.

So, if we're honestly assessing the situation, Team USA will most likely top the gold medal chart once the last events wrap up. However, unlike previous iterations where the U.S.'s golds completely overshadow everyone else, this year, the gap will only be 1 or 2 apart.

We (the Chinese) should be happy for the improved results. Why is it necessary to pretend that China is going to be able to take the #1 position? If China somehow remains #1 in gold medal ranking at the end of the day, of course I'll be pleasantly surprised. But taking #2 while being only a few medals behind the U.S. is still an epic improvement over the usual 10+ gold difference.

Given the difference in GDP and comprehensive national power of the two nations, it's nonsense to think that China "ought" to gain more gold medals than the U.S. If it happens, it's because we got lucky, not because our comprehensive athletic capabilities have exceeded the U.S. Surely this is obvious?

Shit talking is for fans who are bantering. It's fucking annoying seeing it in the media. And that goes for the United States' media, too. I don't need to see you dehumanizing Chinese athletes either. Especially when you pretend to be concerned about anti-Asian hate. Fuck off.