I'm selling numerous VIDEO GAMES across the many platforms in gamedom! Here's an expanded list of titles and accessories, along with their prices! Shipping is four dollars for one item and a dollar each for additional purchases!**
Nintendo NES
Official third party game cart sleeves (lot of 5) $20
Nintendo Power Pad $20
Superspike V' Ball (complete) $15
https://imgur.com/a/tl56zxC
Super Nintendo
Super Mario World $15 Super Nintendo official cartridge covers (5 total) $20 https://imgur.com/a/0mJ63Dn Nintendo Wii Mercury Meltdown Revolution $4
Wii Play $5 Alien Syndrome $4 Speed Racer $4 Ghost Squad $5 https://imgur.com/a/UnACM8g Nintendo 3DS Polarium $3 Dream Trigger 3D $3
Fire Emblem Warriors (new3DS/ sealed) $25 https://imgur.com/a/eGMfYsl
GameCube
Official Nintendo GameCube memory card $10
NCAA Football 2003 (new/sealed) $25
Sony PlayStation Nuclear Strike $10
https://imgur.com/a/5OxWk9J PlayStation 2
Moto GP '07 $5
Jet X2O (BRAND NEW AND FACTORY SEALED) $15
Star Trek Voyager Elite Force $10
Ace Combat 5 $10
Monopoly $10
Headhunter $5
Fantavision $5
Underground Jampack Volume 11(brand new) $10
Underground Jampack Volume 12 (brand new) $10
Underground Jampack Volume 15 (brand new) $10
Underground Jampack Volume 14 (brand new) $10
https://imgur.com/a/1OIR42N
PlayStation 3 Heavy Rain directors cut $10 Call of Duty Black Ops (disc only) $3 Metal Gear Solid 4 $10
https://imgur.com/a/03qhkyO
PlayStation 4
Sniper Elite 5 (new/sealed) $15
Spyro Reignited Trilogy (new/sealed) $15
G Darius HD $10
https://imgur.com/a/W9BezXB
XBOX Air Force Delta Storm $5 Genma Onimusha $5
Splinter Cell $5 XBOX 360 Borderlands $4 Virtua Tennis 4 $10 Bulletstorm: Epic Edition $4 Anarchy Reigns $5 Perfect Dark Zero $5 Dead Space 2 $5 Lost Planet 2 $4 Kinect adventures (brand new) w kinect device (used) $13 Far Cry Compilation $15 https://imgur.com/a/JaqI1nA XBOX ONE Super Lucky Tale $4
Quantum Break $4
Mirror's Edge Catalyst $5 https://imgur.com/a/JaqI1nA Sega Dreamcast F355 Ferrari Challenge $15
Flag to Flag $10
https://imgur.com/a/42TOB93
Sega Genesis
Columns III (Cib) $20
https://imgur.com/a/O7MeF16
Import japanese Sega Saturn
Virtua Fighter 2 $10
Virtua Fighter remix $5
Twinbee Deluxe Pack $30
https://imgur.com/a/TZemuqC
USPS SHIPPING WITH TRACKING IS FOUR DOLLARS FOR ONE ITEM, AND A DOLLAR FOR EACH ADDITIONAL GAME/ ACCESSORIES! MORE PICS ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

For the first time this year, I voted in the score prediction poll that ACFC would lose by 2+ points. All I really wanted to see was that they were capable of scoring a goal against a team that allows less than a goal per game. (Keeping it real ya' know. I’m just trying to manage my expectations and emotions at this point in the season.)
Angel City didn’t lose by 2+ points. They scored a goal…in the run of play, no less! So why am I in such a gloomy mood? It’s…just…such…uninspiring…play.
So far this year Gotham has been a good team with really great players. Their record and stats don’t fully reflect what they are capable of. They’ve had some injuries and Juan Carlos has been working in the lab trying to figure out how to assemble all of the parts in the best way possible. He’s turning a bunch of words into sentences and a bunch of sentences into paragraphs. They’ve won 4 of their last 5, moved up to fifth in the table, and they’ll be in the hunt for back-to-back titles at the end of the season.
Someone locked Becky out of the lab. Angel City’s words don’t make sentences…there are no paragraphs to be found. Aging USWNT stars have unfortunately battled injuries; goaltending is mediocre; the front office appears to overpay for talent and be on the losing end of player deals; they have a cadre of teenagers yet somehow have the second-oldest team in the league; bench players from other teams are getting starters minutes; starters from other teams spend most of their time on the bench; the same lineup and tactics are used every game; the center forward tactics are from the Abby Wambach era; complementary football is a rare sight.
But damn, they sure do sell a lot of merch. Ah, if only jersey sales factored into contention for the Shield.
And I get it. It’s been a hot mess. So Becki has them playing to their strengths – the speed on the wings. But…it…is…so…damn…predictable. For one half this year – the first half against KC – I was inspired by the game plan. No one gets excited with the starting 11 are announced anymore. There’s no reason to try to spot formation changes at the beginning of each half. They are allergic to halftime substitutions. The injury report is the most anticipated news ahead of each game. It’s frustrating.
We’re a week into June and it’s still gloomy out. What does the rest of the month hold? Here’s what left before the Olympics break:
@ Houston – They have to win this game
Louisville – They need to be competitive
@ Bay FC – They need to be competitive
Orlando – I’m looking forward to picking up another Pride bandana
Gotham – I’m looking forward to watching half of the USWNT play in person
What do you think? A win and two draws? Two wins and two draws? A disaster where they manage a draw or two and nothing else? What do you think the forecast will be for the five remaining games in June? Are we doomed to gloom the next four weeks or should we get excited about some rays sunshine to welcome the summer months?

Before I start, I have to semi-dox myself and say that I am Indonesian. I have to do that because it would add so much more context to this story.
Prologue : The Antlers
https://preview.redd.it/ih54st9rji5d1.png?width=1732&format=png&auto=webp&s=22f3fcd319a0a621b918c5ba1cf11ff19d3ad818
I bought the latest Football Manager few months ago while the price was discounted. I was so excited to finally have J-League licensed because playing in Asia have been my lifelong FM dream but without J-League which is arguably the biggest and most competitive league in Asia, it just felt wrong.
I embarked on this year's journey the same way I have always started, to pick one of the top half teams in the league that I wanted to play, so that I get accustomed not only by the league rules but more importantly by the latest features and wrinkles of the game. I usually would play it for a season before moving on to the real long-term save.
This year, the lucky organization is Kashima Antlers. To cut the story short about this club background, you can imagine them like Japanese Manchester United with even less successful history. They have gone years without lifting a trophy but is able to consistently stay on the contention. Now that I said that, I guess they are the less horribly managed Japanese Manchester United.
My one and only mission : bring the J1-League trophy back to the Island of Antlers. Although, whatever it was that I wanted to do, I have to do it within the limitation of only 5 foreign players as per J1 rules and the lack wingers within the club. After hours of thinking and tinkering I came up with a tactic that I believe would work.
https://preview.redd.it/rzfx9sn3mi5d1.png?width=645&format=png&auto=webp&s=7eb7296ced348ee3f4414c474111ee54e643f0e2
The asymmetric 4-3-3 which emphasized the quality of Target Man Kai Chinen and homegrown talent Yuma Suzuki as well as 'hiding' the lack of winger but still be able to offer some width in the field. Saying that, it was still necessary for me to find a better winger for the formation than Yuta Matsumura, which was decent, but not good nor was he well-suited enough with the way I want to play.
Kai Chinen: Our main striker and one of our best player
The stats of Yuta Matsumura which was actually decent relative to the league quality, but not good enough. Also the only wingers other than him were some promising yet raw young talents.
**1******^st Act : The Reds
J1-League transfer window would be closed on 31 March. By the start of the month I have brought into the team some quality players: Roberto Soriano and Ismael for free and bring creativity in that midfield, and an uzbek guy called Hojiakbar Alijonov, a mature physical attacking right back which will provide those crosses from the right winger-less side of our formation.
I have not found my guy to be put in that left side though, until a young right-footed brazilian had a semi-fallout with his club and get transfer-listed. SC Internacional, his club, asked for two millions euros for whoever wanted to bring him out from Brazil. Having only spent so little, and in nearly desperate need for a winger, I jumped into the chance, and built a 2 millions worth of a deal based on so many installments and bonuses. Finally after some contract negotiation, my long-awaited inside forward has finally arrived on 06 March 2023.
His name is Joao Gabriel Martins Peglow, a 21-years-old who modeled his game after his idol Cristiano Ronaldo. He has good technique as well as physical attributes perfected by almost world class amount of flair. With him running with the ball down our left side, I believe we can outrun and outscore anybody in the league.
Peglow: Our main winger, and he had not even reached his ceiling
and I was not making it up when I say he idolized CR7.
**2******^nd Act : The Braces
You are forgiven for thinking that this story is about Peglow's debut. But it's not. His debut is mediocre at best. Playing against Urawa Red Diamonds in the J-League Cup (Japanese equivalent of Carabao Cup), he did not offer much. Only attempted 15 passes, produced 6.6 match rating, before I had to take him off in the one-hour mark of the game. In the game where the opponent produced nearly as many XGs from half as many shots, we ended up winning thanks to heroic performance of our first-choice goalkeeper, Tomoki Hayakawa.
https://preview.redd.it/ajp90s8gui5d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=5776948e9747bc51adb265861cb339e39c7f297b
Debuts are expected to be rough though. The real glimpse of what Peglow could bring to the team came almost two weeks after his debut. After another stinker which saw him produced 6.4 match rating in the league match that we otherwise dominated, I trusted and started him again in the match against one of the big boys: Yokohama Marinos. He paid that with an impressive return. I had to wait for a while though.
From the get-go, Yokohama's midfield which operate weirdly with two mezzalas in front of the single pivot, clearly got overrun by our midfield led by Roberto Soriano and spearheaded by Peglow. But it was our free agent signing, Ismael and our homegrown striker Yuki Kakita who gave us 2-0 lead before the halftime. In the 2nd half though, it's all Peglow's world and we were just living on it. He scored two goals in the span of 3 minutes before assisting another one in the closing stage of the match to close the game 5 goals to none. What a performance from him and surely, surely from then on, he would be the one leading this club to the promised land right?
Right?
https://preview.redd.it/3kj05obw4j5d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=94252890ec6063fd5dcac12f0bd6cb02b4f7f3dd
**3******^rd Act : The South-Easterners
All good things must come to an end. Some before it even begun.
I rested Peglow in the following match against lower division club in hope that he would be in peak condition for our next league match against Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Then the news struck.
It was 31 March, maybe around 10 am. Just one day before the league match mentioned before. Peglow was dribbling the ball in training when suddenly he turned sharply and fell. He scream in agony while the emergency radiology found out that he twisted his ankle and out for at least a month. It was far from being a career-ender, but if you pay close attention, it was 31 March. Not only was it just one day before the match, it was also THE transfer deadline. I only had hours to find Peglow's replacement. I had to.
https://preview.redd.it/f8soyhr1ij5d1.png?width=1629&format=png&auto=webp&s=4c00e1de090710e603a26e1dec0a83dbab606d81
I panicked and scrambled around scouting reports and player search columns. It was extra difficult knowing I had filled my foreigner quotas, so I could not add another foreigner anymore, but the japanese winger available just did not cut it. And there, at that moment, we came back full circle to me talking about the wrinkles of the league.
J-League has this unique registration rules where we could only field maximum of five foreign players, but with a little bit of curveball added. Due to some real life agreements, players from South East Asia countries is treated as non-foreign players. So I could buy and field whatever amount of players from Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and my real life home country Indonesia, together with other smaller South East Asia countries that I wanted. It did not help me instantly though as there are next to none SEA players that good enough for the top division of japanese league, let alone to be the replacement of Peglow.
That's until just 8 hours before the deadline is closed, a message come to my inbox. Agent recommendation. Candra Firmansyah, an Indonesian agent, notified me about one of his clients. A left winger, just as young as Peglow, does not get the playing time he needed in his club ADO Den Haag and after just 3 appearance in the first team, he thought it was the right time to be loaned out. ADO agreed and he became loan listed. His name? Rafael Struick.
Rafael Struick : Every Indonesian knows who this man is. For you who do not know, oh you will soon do.
I took a glimpse. And I sit there in front of my laptop trying to process it. Not only does the boy good enough for the J1-League, he almost as good as Peglow. I could even argue his technical ability is superior and his physical attributes are comparable. For a moment I got "kicked out" back to real life and thinking not as Hiruzen Hiragana the Japanese manager of Kashima Antlers my alter ego, but as me myself, and thinking "It must be nice to manage my countryman in the biggest competition in the continent."
I might overpaid for him. Giving ADO 200k just for a loan fee seems a bit much and my board felt that way too. But, I need a winger, the deadline was just 4 hours away, I did not have many choices. So I pulled the trigger. The administration team moved fast enough to conclude the deal just in time. In the midnight Kashima Antlers welcoming the promising Indonesian youngster and hopes that he is fit for the match, tomorrow.
Final Act : The Mismatches
Bad news and good news. The bad news is Peglow's injury was not a nightmare nor an SI april mop at all. The good news, Struick was in peak condition to play against Hiroshima. I did not know how he took flight from den Haag to Kashima without took a nosedive in terms of his fitness, but there he is, just hours after signing the contract, wearing red shirt and white shorts, ready for his debut.
Hiroshima was not an easy opponent to play let alone for the first time. They finished in the 3rd place the season before. The attack was dangerously led by brazilian target man, Vieira and the defence was solid under the command of Kansai University alumni Hayato Araki. The road gets steeper due to the fact that heroic Hayakawa got injured, so Karl Jakob-Hein, another emergency loanee, deputized him between the sticks. But, ready or not, it's game on.
From the very first minute, I can see that Struick got cold feet. Maybe from the jet lag, maybe because he was not familiar with the exotic asymmetric system. Whatever it was, he did not look good. My hopes for Peglow to miraculously be healed and playing that day peaked when in just the 4th minute mark, Struick has the ball in the left side on the field and tried to make a field-switching pass to Ismael on the center of the field, but his wobbly legs did not generate enough power and the ball was stolen by Hiroshima's midfielder, Matsumoto.
https://preview.redd.it/f0qgltr0pj5d1.png?width=1918&format=png&auto=webp&s=5b8f915baec7d2a2fc3c717e7a6826595ec736b4
Who brings the ball upfield, did a 1-2 pass combination into our penalty box, before swiftly pushing the ball in the path of their forward, Kashiwa who then struck the ball behind our net. Kashima 0, Hiroshima 1. In the 4th minute mark.
https://preview.redd.it/rklaitj3pj5d1.png?width=1919&format=png&auto=webp&s=ff4daac7aab6eeb0674f2b5d8a36bd3d42877376
I encouraged the team, told them that there are still 86 minutes to play. I saw Kai Chinen came over to Struick, maybe to help him calm his nerve. I did not know what Chinen said, but whatever it was, it worked. Just a couple of minutes after did that horrendous pass, Struick again found himself in the left side of the field. This time though, he had more confidence in his heart, and brought the ball way up front.
https://preview.redd.it/o5p6amkppj5d1.png?width=1919&format=png&auto=webp&s=45adbf9db54129f483d7516c3b7b51bda89beb3e
He then passed to Chinen who quickly gave the ball to Suzuki in the right side. It was Suzuki's show right after. He dribbled past two defenders before hit the ball so hard, Hiroshima's keeper, Osako could barely even react. It's 1-1 and there are still 84 minutes left.
https://preview.redd.it/zfigchc2qj5d1.png?width=1919&format=png&auto=webp&s=f73efe7eb1fac54fe898192f8f6c876ed3984677
This match is destined to be an end-to-end affair, when after Ismael Silva stopped Hiroshima's passing in the centre of the field, he found Alijonov running full speed on the right side. And running he does. Alijonov picked the ball just inside our side of the field and quickly run near the byline, bringing the ball up ahead.
https://preview.redd.it/bg4pg50qqj5d1.png?width=1919&format=png&auto=webp&s=60443eb9cfc6a5025e03088d8693472dcec36af9
Without any pressure whatsoever, Alijonov bent a cross into penalty area where all of our forwards are ready to head it home. Some of you might notice that Struick had pretty impressive jumping reach. But I did not notice that until Struick leapt above the right back who man-marked him. And when I say leap, i mean it almost looked like that Ronaldo's header against Sampdoria. Struick headed it home, his first goal, just 10 minute into his debut. It's 2-1 for Kashima Antlers.
https://preview.redd.it/y1lrcz9krj5d1.png?width=1919&format=png&auto=webp&s=1bf583e3529d0bd32432354c24f89d30572e85ff
https://preview.redd.it/9kmsb5qprj5d1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=e62a53c7032d23c8680f8e7f6e61cb055d2c09f9
That goal gave Struick and the team massive confidence boost. At the same time, Hiroshima looked trembled. Few seconds later, they misplaced a pass and let Chinen stole the ball and slot it home. It's 3-1 after 11 minute.
https://preview.redd.it/vqdileo5sj5d1.png?width=1919&format=png&auto=webp&s=9569da28b3b7701c33817dd86540ee17f1b2d38a
The game calms down a little bit until in the 35th minute, again Alijonov found space in the right side and bent another cross almost finding Struick. But this time Hayato Araki won the duel and headed the ball for a throw-in. A few simple pass from throw in then ended in Struick's feet who stood just inside the penalty box.
With a few neat moves, Struick found the ball in his right feet and rocketed the ball deep into the low left side of the goal. It's a brace in his debut and it's 4-1 for Kashima Antlers.
https://preview.redd.it/1u3p2dj1tj5d1.png?width=1919&format=png&auto=webp&s=209ff631dbef8c4c38bdd9345de33935375fb1a9
After that, I instructed my team to lower the tempo a bit, to conserve energy and retain possession. It resulted in the match gone calm for a bit. After Kashiwa sent an amazing cross to Vieira who headed it past Jakob Hein and Chinen slotted home a penalty kick to make it all 5-2, Matsumura who came in for Suzuki had the ball inside Hiroshima's penalty area before he's getting tackled. Referee pointed out to the spot for the second time. Chinen, the original taker, took the ball and give it to Struick, to let him complete this magnificent night both for him and the team. Struick shot it as hard as he could, it did not fool the goalkeeper, but it blew past him. It's a hattrick in his debut, and it's a dominating 6-2 win for the team.
https://preview.redd.it/3dagt73juj5d1.png?width=1919&format=png&auto=webp&s=60c16cc4aa06335339ae74834238d1e2b19778c7
He ended the night with 3 goals, 1 key pass, won 7 aerial duels, attempted 5 tackles and won all of them, covered 13.1 kilometres the most compared to every other player in the field, and fielded a match rating of 9.9. It was a dream debut for Rafael Struick.
Epilogue : The Reasons
Now some of you might say, "meh, I once have a debutant scored 5 goals and assisted 5 more." And I would not object that. That's why the title is the best debut I have ever seen, not YOU have ever seen. Because from FM standpoint it is "just" a good showing, not a spectacular one.
But this is so personal to me. This is my first save after months of hiatus, and just the pure hype of this game, the roller coaster of emotion just based on finding the right inside forward, it's just beautiful. This story, especially this match, makes me love FM all over again.

• I’m a anime only so no manga/LN spoilers please. Thank you for your feedback and sorry for posting so much lately

If I should remove or add a skill let me know all feedback is appreciated. Also this is for a Demon OC I’m working on (I’m trying to keep it lore accurate)

• Erebus, lord of night

Shadow extraction - the user is able to take over any dead soul and remake it into their own subordinate but they must have killed that person. The soul forms into a shadow species that has the same appearance as their original form and has almost no personality, the shadow can constantly regenerate from the user magicules as long as there is enough and each shadow is unique and bears all the abilities and skills of their original form
Shapeshifting - the user can shape-shift into any thing they ever saw, living or non living. The user could turn into a chair or into another person. But they won't have any of the powers of the thing they disguise themselves as
Dark snow - the user generates numerous tiny black spheres from the sky spreading to the size of a football field that fall towards the ground like snow. Anyone that comes into contact with the spheres will be enveloped in darkness and their material body will instantly die
Black hole - the user creates a black hole dorm that kills/destroys anything inside, they are also able to create a black hole the size of football
Sky domination - domination over the Sky, allowing them to change from day to night or night to day and manipulate the weather
5 senses - all the enemy's senses are completely blocked, being rendered blind, deaf and even magic sense wouldn't work
Shadow domination - the user has complete control over all shadows
Demon lord’s haki - combines the effects of haki and magic that allows his’s aura to exert a powerful spiritual pressure over his targets and inflict them with potentially lethal magical effects. It is possible for one to immediately perish if they are too weak, or cause one to lose their sanity

• Hassan, lord of assassination

Assassin - the user is able to turn invisible (including their weaponry and such), they are able to conceal their presence completely and cancels out any noise they make
Switch - allows the user to swap locations with anything that they can see
Poisonous soul - the user is able to poison an opponent's soul but cutting them
Decimation - the user can destroy an enemy's physical armour and bypass their physical/spiritual attack nullification
Drain - allows the user to drain the energy of an opponent
Dagger - the user's attacks are ten times stronger when using sharp weapons
Illusionist - create illusions to trick opponents or fool their senses
Weakness - the user's eyes can locate weak spots, their fears, perceive flaws within an enemv's attacks
Inventory - allows the user to store materials, weapons and such in a limited size pocket dimension
Parallel existence - allows him to split his consciousness and give flesh to independent alter egos of himself, referred to as an other body

• Demiurge, lord of creation (Skills my OC created)

Perception - the user mind and senses process information at such speeds that time appears to have slowed down, allowing them to perceive what would normally be moving too fast to see or hear and respond accordingly
Past events - allows the user to see past events of anything they touch
No evidence - allows the user to alter reality and perfectly erase any evidence of a crime that they were part of
Weapon smith - the user is able to craft weapons by gathering the materials required and thinking about the weapon. They are also able to alter a weapon's design, weight and such after the matter
Creator - allows him to freely manipulate his soul energy and change its form into whatever is required for the situation, limited only by the amount of desire
Analytical appraisal - releases waves that enter the target of analysis and perform a full scan of their composition, which is then sent back to the user. Through this, the user can gain information such as the material composition of the target, the amount of magicules it possesses, and if they're under the effects of skills or magic
Skill creation - allows him to freely manipulate his energy and create any ability he desires

• also some dark magic spells I made for my OC

Deadly mist - a dark magic spell that allows him to generate black fog and permeates outwards from him. It gradually kills any who inhales it, causing them to cough up blood
Ash bone - a spell of dark magic that allows the user to produce bones from their body and fire them like a bullet or use as a sword. When these bones pierce a living organism, the bone and target starts to deteriorate at a molecular level, disintegrating the victim and reducing their bodies to nothing more than a pile of ash

Hi, is there a working script for SPFL24? I already tried the one from https://www.reddit.com/WEPES/comments/16yqx12/sp_football_life_24_cheat_engine/ but it's not working for me (used https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=VDMwqqBkaog for comparison).
I love playing ML, but I hate that 17-18 YO Ronaldo and Messi regens have 70-81 speed, it's a disgrace to my memory of them.
Thank you for your time!

I have been trying to work on my 9 year old son's conversation skills. He is autistic with ADHD and sometimes it is just impossible to talk to him - it breaks my heart...
I was reading a book by Alex Kelly, speech therapist, and there was a hierarchy of communication skills and all of them are based on self-awareness and self-esteem - knowing what you're like, knowing what you're good at...
How do I help my child with that? At 9, boys in his class have this hierarchy of some sort. The combo of autism and ADHD makes it really to get good places in this hierarchy. He is slow with so many things due to his low processing speed. He might not understand things quickly, would get distracted during the games. So he naturally would not enjoy things out kids play as much and he is not competitive. Team sports the rest of the boys play, like football, are not his thing - maybe because he gets distracted as well, following the ball requires a lot of attention. Or maybe because he is not the most coordinated person?
He plays the piano and the clarinet, but it is more of a thing that he does, not a passion. He also likes his art club, but his fine motor skills are not amazing, so again, it is something that he does.
There is a lot of anxiety. New places, places with a lot of people, new activities etc are always difficult.
How do I work on his self-awareness and self-esteem? The book that I was reading suggests exploring questions "what am I good at" and "what do I like". One of the issues is that the things that he likes are not matching with other boys' interests - like football and other sports. So his self-esteem might be deflated by the fact that he does not fit in. Also, he might like something, like video games, but not necessarily be good at them - because he is slow or does not understand some tricks. He just seems to enjoy the fact that he has screentime, that gives enough dopamine for him.
Any suggestions?

Ever since Vanguard went into the picture I was hoping it would do its job banning people or punish them severely enough for them to repeat their actions but what Riot has done is essentially the pain of removing a bandage aid that is stuck to the skin. When is Riot G going to actually be serious? This comes from a player who has been playing the game for 12+ years and with how rankeds operate.
Vanguard has given me autofill protection and that has absolutely done 0 for me. Where's the LP protection or at least consolation LP and MMR preservation?
(Off topic) But also how the balance team has created too much damage and overpowered the availability of certain stats like movement speed it just makes you want to quit the game .

• Smurfing: Smurfing has been existing for both the better and worse. Some players would say: Just get better. The moment a diamond/master players show up in challengeGM lobby players from the highest ladder would instantly cry about it very hard.
• But when chall players/gm/masters/dia - really almost any smurf elo player when they visit lower elo Iron - Emerald + Diamond and even in masters there are always those people who legit don't give a F at all and will just run you down because their ego is shattered or when they're not the center of the spotlight to carry the game. Or they just take over the game because obviously they're more knowledgeable about the game. If it's a botted account then yeah MAYBE they will get banned or it will take longer creating more disruption in soloq. Even if they do get banned you could just buy a new one for a very cheap price anyway. And even if the botted account era would end the smurf disruption would still create disparity in games.
• Elo disparity just makes it harder to consistently climb without getting negative effects
• Elo inflation: I've played in all elos , iron - chall but more consistently in masters and I can tell there's elo inflation across iron - masters and maybe some in GM. But what disturbs me more is: Where do we cross the line where X amount of fundamentals should be mandatory/common knowledge in certain elos?
• So many times I've seen players just grief their wave state in diamond/masters and sometimes GM too. But when you get into high diamond/masters these players should understand the concept of Weakside/Strongside and how to manipulate the waves accordingly. Understandably players make mistakes across all elos in soloq because autopilot is a thing. Though that shouldn't mean there's no good consistency in game knowledge.

Possible Solutions:

• If a smurf queue was created solely for people who want to learn a new role, champions but still have fundamentals. To play this queue it the system would read your MMR from main and if you choose a role you have absolutely no clue on it would place you significantly lower in the smurf queue ladder. If you picked your main role and you're Grandmaster it will match you with Masters + GM or GM + Chall.
• This would enable players to learn new champions, test their limits without feeling bad of failing and perhaps playing with their friends as well and if there would be a huge difference between then the MMR would be adjusted accordingly.
• Attitude & Sportsmanship: [Account Linking] To preserve the non inting, non griefing, non toxic attitude environment for BOTH Solo Q and Smurf Queue we need to be harsher with the punishments. Instead of perma banning which would result in less revenue for riot games as a company... we would instead ban all alternate accounts + main accounts from Solo Q and Smurf Q for first 1 month -> next punishment 1 year and after that: 2 years etc. This would create a lot more breathing room in games where players want to try and win games.
  
• They would still be able to play arams and normals/participate events with their friends.
  
• Not very good players, baus playstyle or having bad games: This is where it gets tricky because sometimes games from these players (Including myself - having bad games) can mimic what the smurfs/players with bad attitude do frequently. If there were resources for adding staff to monitor griefers/people with bad attitude so the players who don't fit that category get punished for no good reasons. Because I think it will be very difficult to have an AI do the ban job
  

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1. Attitude: The attitude of players in all elos. Even in challenger is atrociously bad. Where do we draw the line Riot? When are we taking serious action when it comes to toxicity, disruption and smurfing? Can we adress this together or is this game going to sink deeper as time goes on?
2. I believe if we make Ranked Solo Queue + (New Smurf Queue) very enjoyable for people to grow and have more fun then perhaps more people would play the game/soloq overall.
3. Another thing I would want to get discussed is creating a toggle in league settings where you can toggle off and on with the FF vote because it's really disturbing in EUW but I can imagine it's very common across any region really. But from my experience it's more common on EUW than NA/RU.

I'm suggesting the toggle because it would only make a difference for players who truly want to win and not get affected by the FF spam almost every single game because of various reasons to why your allied team starts the FF spam. If you're in a winning mindset and do not want to lose the game and you will press no, no matter what then you should be able to just play in peace.
This would not increase the hostage because those who would want to hostage you would just press no regardless of how many times they see the FF vote.
When games become challenging a lot of players just don't want to put in the effort of trying to find solutions and grow as a player. As a player you will face challenges every single time and more of them when you are on the losing team. I feel like many players who want to FF just wants to win the game on easy mode. If no stomp -> go next
Ask yourself: Why do you play rankeds if you just throw in the towel that easily? In other sports you dont see football players, basketball players etc spreading a lot of negativity and saying they just wanna give up and harass other players.

• Solo Queue is meant to grow as a player, be sportsmanlike and play against players at your own skill level but with players. Playing as emerald/diamond into masters, GM/challenger is just going to make LP gains/LP Losses worse because it's not consistent to deal with both smurfs and players with inflated ego/attitude issues. [Personally I've seen chall players just run it and try to gaslight and justify their inting, it's very cringe to watch]

I apologize in advance if this post wasn't conveyed more cohesively and not very well written but I hope you get where I come from. If you have any suggestions, thoughts etc. Let's discuss. I like to come up with possible solutions/chat about things that need changes.

I’ve gone through two ACL surgeries prior to this year, both on my right knee. I finally recovered properly and got back to playing football which was awesome. Yesterday I played as a fill-in for my mates Sunday league team here in Wellington. I turned completely normally, knees bent, feet set, no large force, no contact, no hyperextension. My left knee gave in and I’m set to go through this absolute hell again, this time on my other knee. I’m not sure what good posting this on Reddit does for me to be honest, but I just feel crushed and I don’t know where to go, both physically with another surgery and mentally with what it’s gonna take to bring my knee back up to speed again. 😢

I became obsessed with the idea of charity groups arriving on Irvrana and helping the Bissem with various things that don't necessarily show up in the big picture- so you know what? I decided to do it myself. Enjoy!

When the news came of aliens being real, it had been a shock- how could anyone in Irvana have seen such an audacious announcement being made by the government? Yet as the news was streamed as these strange beings from the stars appeared before a gathered crowd of reporters, all three of them as different from each other as they were from the Bissem, it was impossible to refute the claims as being some sort of hoax.
For those like Director Guinelle, however, the news was... perhaps less impactful than it was for others- an exciting oddity, to be sure, but the main relevance it had for her life was that it was an effective way of keeping her patients occupied. The children in particular were enamored with the news, fascinated by the sight of such alien beings, chattering amongst both themselves and their caretakers about countless questions, observations, and hopes they held regarding these enigmatic visitors who claimed good intentions.
It made guiding them through physical therapy all the easier- talk of the tall alien with no feathers or fur a ready distraction from movements needed to compensate for a missing flipper or foot. Pain that would have been an obstacle they needed to be pushed through faded with the distraction of the way the quietest alien was covered in quills and barbs- how did one function normally with so many weapons hanging from their back?
Even the adult patients welcomed the distraction- the melancholy of lost mobility and crushed dreams buried under theorizing about what the aliens might actually want, or griping about them being an affront to the gods- though thankfully the crowd of protestors who believed the same about their prosthetics seemed to have found a new target for their demonstrations, appearing outside of public courthouses and official government buildings instead of harassing her doctors and patients with insults and screaming declarations of them stripping their patients of their bissemity and replacing it with metal and machinery.
Their prosthetics didn't even use metal- too prone to rust, and weighed down too much! What limited mobility they could manage to provide for their patients required much lighter plastics and alloys be used!
Anyways, news of aliens quickly faded from her attention as she focused on her work as usual- signing documents, trying her best to continue sweet-talking the groups her hospital relied on for funding, doing her best to remain civil in the face of complaints of money being "wasted" when replacing missing limbs was a fantasy, reviewing potential new patients whenever they came up or got through the paperwork of appealing for a place in her halls, coordinating between the research teams who tried to find new solutions to improve their prosthetics and the doctors who would need to actually implement such changes and make sure they worked for the patient... The work was never-ending, and not well suited to indulging in distractions, even ones as big as Aliens actually existing!
So her current circumstances, sitting nervously inside of an official Lassmin limo speeding through the city streets, escorted by armed guards sat to either side her, with no explanation beyond the statement they'd given when they burst into her office and 'invited' her down to a meeting with a representative from those aliens? Well, it wasn't exactly something she'd been scheduling in advance!
Nervously combing her feathers back into place and ensuring they were evenly coated in just enough oil to give herself a healthy sheen, Guinelle straightened her posture and practiced her best business-deal resting expression as the column of vehicles pulled into the central government building's parking lot. She might not know what the aliens wanted with a specialty hospital director- one of her more 'inventive' patients would probably suggest that she was simply deemed an acceptable sacrifice by her own government. She did her best to quiet that annoyingly intrusive though as she was waddled through the halls, past onlooking groups of bissem turning from whatever they were doing to see what the commotion was about.
"Ah, the woman of the hour!" The mayor's perfect politician tone was a welcome distraction- even if it couldn't completely hide the slight nervous tremor to his words. The vritalian male's more modest stature was ever so slightly raised- he preferred to wear claw-boosters, saying the added height granted him a natural air of authority. Right now though, his demeanor was that of someone who thought they were in trouble but didn't know why- a flipper idly tugging at the ceremonial garnet of office around his neck. "Quite the unexpected series of events, isn't this? Why, aliens within our city- and apparently with a deal to offer! The tabloids ought to have a field day with this once it's announced!"
"That is... an unexpected surprise, indeed!" she slipped into her practiced 'meeting with investors' speaking patterns with ease, giving a socially-acceptable head-bob of polite agreement. "Though, I haven't exactly had it explained why such a... momentous moment requires my own presence? My facility isn't the most prominent industry within the city..."
"Nonsense! Your hospital and it's research are a prize of the city- a statement of our commitment to bettering the lives of our people, even the ones struck with the most unfortunate of circumstances!" The mayor gushed words filled with positivity but little substance- especially when she remembered the last time they had met regarding certain financial grants for their continued operation. "In fact, the aliens seem to have caught notice of your valiant mission, and are interested in cooperation in the pursuit of shared goals, in order to reach a better tomorrow with joined flippers- er, whatever they have! I for one, have no doubt that their contributions will be valued and most beneficial for us all!"
...Those were a lot of words for him to essentially say that he was missing a lot of details too and didn't actually know why the aliens had taken an interest in her facility, but then that was the way of most politicians- fill the conversation with enough noise, and people would focus on the feelings of the statements made rather than the actual substance. Fortunately, she'd long since learned to navigate such methods of obfuscation, though knowing that he was also unaware of their purpose here made that twisting in her gut just a bit more intense.
Thankfully, her worries were temporarily pushed to the side as they were waved into a conference room, where a Selmer was already seated and waiting for them. The trappings draped across her shoulders were adorned with several metals, denoting her as a military officer- though Guinelle wasn't familiar enough with their system of rankings to know exactly how high she must be in the chain of command. The officer looked between the two of them as they moved to take their seats, and nodded in satisfaction as the doors were closed behind them.
"Thank you both for attending so promptly- this situation is rather unprecedented, so there was no time to explain in... unsecured environments. I apologize for any stress that caused you, but we need to move quickly in order to take advantage of this opportunity."
"That's perfectly understandable, ma'am!" the mayor gushed before Guinelle could finish opening her beak- leaving her to carefully close it again as he began to prattle once more. "Time is a resource we never have enough of, especially when it comes to matters of supreme import! Why-"
"As I said," The officer interrupted coolly, "time is of the essence here, so forgive me if I insist on skipping the pleasantries in favor of briefing you both on the situation. That is," she looked directly down at the mayor, his boosters not even close to making up for their natural height difference, "assuming that is agreeable to you, sir mayor?" It did not sound like a question.
Guinelle watched him start to look offended, before settling his expression and leaning back in his seat. "I suppose explanations would be prudent, given the... urgency with which we were summoned."
"Great." Picking up a folder and tapping it on the table, the officer glanced between the two of them and clacked her beak. "The short of it is, we've been approached by an internal group within the aliens- not their government, but some sort of charity organization- which has expressed interest in beginning operations within our nation. Having reviewed the nature of the offer, the government believes this would be a boon worth accepting, should we find someplace willing to accept them. Your facility, Director Guinelle, is a fit for the parameters they requested, and thus we would ask for you to consider their offer, should you choose to hear them out- and for you, sir mayor, to approve of their operations being set up within your city."
"My facility?" Guinelle questioned. "They were interested in our facility above all others? Forgive me, but... we are quite specialized in our purview, and not nearly as advanced as some of the other hospitals even within this city. Is there a reason we were of particular interest to them, miss...?"
"General Kippar," the Selmer clarified, "and it's your specialization that is of interest to them, director. They are offering to provide their own knowledge of the design and production of prosthetic limb technology, and believe your facility would be the best starting point for integrating their advancements with our own efforts- and for what it is worth, we hold that same belief. Your advancements in the field are beyond what anyone else has accomplished, so it is our hope that you will have an easier time adapting whatever they provide for our own use. Though, I hope it is understood that the government is going to wish to receive access to any of the technology they are able to provide."
"That..." pausing for a moment, she thought over what she had just been told- the heady giddiness of potential access to that kind of resources and knowledge temporarily pushed aside as best she could manage in the face of a request for a commitment. "...the information I would be perfectly fine with sharing- we may even produce some official medical journals to release it to the general healthcare community. For hardware though, we cannot offer anything already assigned to a patient, as it would be their property at that point. Perhaps providing working examples unspoken for by a patient yet?"
"Seems reasonable enough," the general nodded crisply. "Though perhaps we should let this alien make their sales-pitch first, before we start counting the fish in our net. If the two of you are ready?" Guinelle nodded eagerly, and the mayor nodded as well- though he seemed to be pouting about being excluded from their previous conversation. Ignoring his ill mood, the general turned to one of the guards and waved a flipper at him, getting a salute in return as he left the room.
Guinelle fluffed her feathers in her seat, the mayor striking up a conversation about permits and such barely registering to her as she grappled with the thought of what was being offered. Alien medical technology, likely beyond anything her people had managed so far- how much would that push their own progress ahead? Had they figured out waterproofing of the joints? Were their prosthetics capable of powered articulation? The best prototypes her own people had managed so far was a replacement leg that provided a steady base and enough flexibility for the patient to walk without needing a cane, even if the battery life of it wasn't great. Just having more advanced batteries would do wonders for giving their patients something so they could move under their own power! She might need to hear this alien out before hashing out the details, but at face value, there was no way should was going to refuse this offer!
Her internal thoughts were interrupted by the door opening, and one of the tall, lanky aliens striding through. Their long limbs bending and swaying as they moved around was fascinating to observe- so different from the normal sway of a bissem's walk, this alien barely shifted to either side at all as they moved! Their unfortunately-bare face brightened as she (was it a she? Their body was different from the male that had been on the videos from first contact) laid eyes on them all, lips pulled apart in a baring of teeth as she pulled alongside the table, pulling out a seat and setting a rectangular carrying box of some sort down beside her.
Her lips began moving, releasing a series of guttural noises from her throat, before a device affixed to her chest crackled to life. "Greetings and good day," the device spoke in perfectly-understandable speech- even bearing a similar tone to the alien's voice! "My name is Lucillia, and on behalf of the Daedalus Initiative, I would like to thank you all for hearing me out and giving us a chance to bring our work to you. While our races have only been in contact for a short time, it is a great pleasure to be working with you towards our mutual mission of ensuring everyone has a chance to live Life Without Limits."
Not speaking their language herself? That made sense- not everyone could learn a new language quickly- especially if it crossed the species barrier. Thank goodness they seemed to have figured out machines that could translate in real-time for them- otherwise this conversation would be much more awkward to parse through.
"That is my hope as well," Guinelle chimed in quickly, noting how the last bit sounded like a practiced slogan. "I'm Director Guinelle, and I run the Prow-Wave Prosthetic Institute, and I'm very interested in getting my flippers on whatever innovations you can offer us to help our patients return to a normal life. I am glad your government chose our facility for the first site to introduce this technology- we'll be sure to get to work right away finding how to adapt any advancements to our own work on limb-replacement."
Whatever response she was expecting, the tall alien tilting her head back and barking out a laugh was certainly not it. "Oh, I am not here on behalf of the UN, my dear- Daedalus Initiative is a non-profit organization dedicated to relief efforts and providing medical care to those who either don't have access or can't afford the care and resources that they need. If it was up to the UN, this meeting wouldn't be happening, and you wouldn't be seeing hide or hair of this technology for months, much less getting started on it." She gestured energetically with one of her long limbs, the spindly fingers of her hand twitching in a deliberate eye-catching way. "However, I hope you'll agree that spending several months refusing children and patients medical care while politicians play their little games doesn't exactly sit well with me."
"Such games are not without reason, miss Lucillia," the mayor spoke up, sitting up in a professional posture. "While I am willing to accommodate your efforts here, I now find myself worrying if we are causing a diplomatic incident allowing you to set up a facility in my city."
"If we were setting up a facility, then we WOULD be in trouble," she answered quickly, pointing an index finger at the mayor while her thumb was held skyward- some sort of human gesture? "After all, they don't want anybody contaminating culture, especially with a new uplift, and telling them we just want to help people who've already lost limbs doesn't really seem to work. However," her finger swung around to point at Guinelle, "if an EXISTING facility were to request the Daedalus Initiative provide aid, then the SC's charters on charities and relief workers would leave us free to provide as much aid as possible, so long as it is confined to within that existing facility!"
Blinking at the energetic display, Guinelle crossed her flippers in front of her beak, considering the boisterous human as a few missing pieces clicked into place. "Well, that certainly sounds like it would be beneficial for your organization- if such a request was to be made, could you give us some examples of what might be offered to us? I can't imagine you already have prosthetics ready-made for bissem just yet."
"Well, not specifically, but we do have something that should be easy to adjust to the required specifications!" Reaching down into her case, the human pulled out a technological pad, then started fiddling with it as images popped up and scrolled along the screen- what a marvelous piece of technology that would be! Just imagine how much paperwork such a device might be able to replace! "See, we have a species back on Earth called penguins- technically several species, but I digress- and conservation efforts did end up designing some prosthetic flippers for a few members who had lost them due to either predators or human shipping. Obviously adjustments will need to be made, seeing as it's not a perfect comparison- for one thing, your flippers are far more dexterous than a penguin's would be- but I think you can see that the base design is a promising starting point!"
The human slid her dataslate over, and Guinelle picked it up, examining the blueprints she was being shown... and slowly felt her beak falling open at what she was seeing. This... this was something at a level that her engineers thought would be decades away at minimum- full articulation, no cables in need of being plugged in, no external batteries- was that a direct connection to the patient's nervous system?! Did these aliens have that kind of medical technology in such abundance that even charity workers could provide it?! While she was right that this wasn't the full dexterity of a natural bissem flipper, this was still leagues beyond the best tech she could provide to those with deep enough pockets for it- and she was considering this a base model?!
"H-how much are these going to cost us again?" she questioned weakly, the tablet clattering back down onto the table. "Our budget... while we have a decent fund for research and development, this kind of tech..."
"That's the beauty of it! We're a non-profit- and most of our funds come from donations anyways! For this project, we've already arranged the necessary funding in advance- none of this will cost you a dime! Or, whatever currency you use."
"That is... quite generous," The mayor interrupted, tapping the table with a flipper, "though you'll forgive me for asking... are theoreticals all you have to offer? While this all sounds very nice, it's good to have confirmation you can deliver the product offered- or at least something similar, to show you have the capability. That's only fair, yes?"
Something devious sparked to life in the human's eyes. "Oh, that's no trouble at all- I even brought along an example of the product we offer! This model is one I can personally vouch for!"
And with that, she reached up her sleeve, shifting something around... and then pulled her own arm off, setting it down on the table with a thunk- one drowned out by the mayor's terrified shriek as he pushed away from the table, flippers flapping at the air as his chair slowly tipped backwards and crashed into the ground, spilling his flailing form onto the floor.
Guinelle barely managed to keep her own chair balanced, flippers held to her beak as she stared at the detached limb- before jerking her gaze towards the grinning human, who seemed disturbingly nonchalant about being reduced to a single arm. Thankfully, it didn't take too long for her brain to kick back into gear, slowly clicking information into place as she noted the lack of blood, or disturbance, and the fact that she had been asked to present a working model...
"I-I didn't even notice," she stammered, eyes flicking back to the prosthetic on the table. She could see the metallic sheen at the end, with some obvious connectors sticking out... but the rest of the limb looked almost indistinguishable from the human's other limb, which she had blatantly laid on the table for comparison. Gingerly, Guinelle reached out and poked at the smaller digits of the limb, feeling not heavy iron, but some kind of soft, firm material- and the fingers flexing closed with barely any pressure from her touch.
So many tiny joints, so close together, and they'd all been working perfectly- no external power source that she could see, either on the limb or on the human. The way she'd been able to detach it so easily, without any obvious pain. Picking it up, it was surprisingly heavy- a soft material that felt so much like normal skin, so unlike the harsh firmness of their own plastic limbs that she couldn't help but run her flipper along it, marveling at how it gave and flexed so similarly to the real thing. There were differences, now that she looked at it up close- bits that were a bit too angular to be natural, strange spots of firmness where there shouldn't be- but the fact she had to focus to find them, even this close up...
"Pretty good work, right?" the human spoke up, a tinge of pride in her voice- even as the device on her chest clearly began to struggle with the speed at which she began talking, giving a strange echo between her natural speech and the translation. "Not as good as the original obviously, but that model's served me well for about fifteen years now- and it's a decent upgrade from the first one I got fitted with after, well... unfortunate events at my old position." Sitting back up, Lucillia patted at her empty shoulder proudly. "So as you can see, I've got a personal stake in making sure all the prosthetics we provide are the best they can possibly be!"
With shaking flippers, Guinelle pushed the limb back across the table to her. "W-would you mind putting this back on?"
With a knowing smile, the human rolled up her sleeve, exposing an obvious technological port right where her shoulder should be- and with a bit of shuffling, lined up the connectors and pushed it into place, the limb locking in with a solid-sounding click. Dexterous fingers flicked up a panel and pushed a few buttons, then flicked it close as a tiny light came on. Rolling her sleeve back down, the human rolled her reattached arm, making a show of flexing her fingers in sequence before grasping and spreading her entire hand.
"No stutter, no lag, just got to make sure the connection is seated properly, lock it in, and turn it on! Battery lasts for about six hours, and the charging plug is discreet and can fit into any typical electrical port. No pain when it's disconnected either- you basically turn off your connections to the nerves, and it feels more like the arm has gone numb- a bit trippy for the first few months, but certainly better than some alternatives!"
Guinelle felt her chair wobbling beneath her, and chose to simply abandon it, ignoring the clatter as she climbed onto the table and waddled over as fast as she could, eagerly extending a flipper towards the human. "As Director of the Prow-Wave Prosthetics Institute, I am requesting the Daedalus Initiative's aid as quickly as possible. Just tell me what you need from me- anything it takes to get this tech available to my patients as soon as we can!"
"Well, of course there are papers to be signed and filed," Lucillia grinned, the grip of her prosthetic warm and soft as she gripped Guinelle's flipper and shook it, "but once we take care of that, we'll have a ship flying in by the end of the week. I look forward to working with you, Director Guinelle."
"Likewise, Director Lucillia," she beamed, fluffing her feathers in joy. This kind of miracle-tech was going to help so many Bissems!

7x All-NBA (3/3/1)
‘01 MVP (3x Top-5 voting, 7x Top-10)
11x All-Star (2x ASG MVP)
‘97 Rookie of the Year
1) Memories of Iverson have gotten so simplified so quickly, I’m afraid he’s little more than “an inefficient gunner who was fast and once stepped over Tyronn Lue” to many fans today. Iverson is difficult to summarize or explain with any amount of words, so I’ll start by listing some things he makes me think of: a) playing Ninja Gaiden as Sonic the Hedgehog, b) the intensity of a cornered wolverine on all-fight-no-flight mode, c) the unflinching persistence of Melville’s Bartleby, but at the opposite end of the kinetic energy spectrum, d) Iggy Pop’s early on-stage performances, e) the quick-twitch ballance of a squirrel, f) the numerous Tupac interviews that showed skeptical non-fans that his “thuggishness” belied a deep thoughtfulness, g) a kamikaze pilot, h) the unsettling gaze of a death row inmate on his final walk.
2) Iverson’s cultural significance was bigger and arguably more important than his on-court career. He didn’t “introduce” hip-hop culture and its aesthetic to the NBA, but he became the face of that part of the Venn diagram. AI stood out because of his cornrows, numerous tattoos, extra baggy wardrobe, flashy jewelry, and the “questionable shadiness” of some members of his entourage, plus the raw directness with which he spoke was not what the league higher-ups wanted from its most popular player. It didn’t help that his background was marked by four months in jail while in high school because of a high-profile bowling alley brawl, but any objective person can see in retrospect how racist and pointed the “investigation” into that event was.
Commissioner David Stern put a player dress code into place because of Iverson, and AI was an interesting litmus test of sorts for most of the top voices in the media or authority figures in the NBA (the vast majority of both groups being middle aged or older white guys) to exhibit how rigidly “old school” they really were. As a perpetual target–including by many referees–Iverson’s popularity rose even higher, and he became maybe the most fully embraced sports figure by black America since Muhammad Ali.
3) His desire to win cannot be questioned, as he seemed to be having an existential, life-or-death crisis every game. Iverson played through numerous awful injuries (he popularized the wearing of compression sleeves), and the grit and determination he demonstrated made his teammates try harder, a bigger accomplishment than he usually gets credit for. AI was listed at 6-ft-0 and 165 pounds–he was neither–yet he flew into the lane with reckless abandon, and his body paid the price. He was beloved by teammates and fans for this because his slight stature made him the ultimate underdog (plus for how league higher-ups seemed to despise him). The media got on Iverson for his lax practice habits, but he needed the rest because of his injuries and how hard he played in games; Bill Russell did the same thing, by the way.
The problem was that his desire to win appeared to manifest itself as him wanting to do it all. Iverson rarely trusted his teammates (Philly’s front office certainly didn’t do him any favors), so he saw the path to victory as going directly through himself. It’s like he was thinking, “I’m a great scorer, so I should score as much as possible. I’m a great ball thief, so I should go for every steal.” It was hard for Iverson to see past this mentality, similar to a football defensive end who goes all out to rush the QB every play no matter what the situation or team scheme, so AI’s style of play often didn’t align itself with the best path to team glory, even if he thought it did.
4) Iverson was drafted in 1996 by a horrid Sixers team that hadn't topped 26 wins since the Barkley trade in '92, and hadn't been to the playoffs since '91. The roster was BAAAAAD. They made it into the playoffs in 1999, and Philly was respectable for five straight seasons (‘99-03), finishing over .500 and reaching the playoffs each year, and then usually making noise in the postseason (twice beating a higher seed in Round 1, never losing to a lower seed, and they squeaked into the Finals as the East’s #1 seed in ‘01).
You can think what you want about his awful shooting efficiencies and his often surly connections with his team, but the fact that he made the Sixers as good as they were for those five years was a herculean accomplishment that no other wing of that era could have topped in the same setting (not Carter, not McGrady, not Kobe).
Philly’s front office overreached and overpaid for almost everyone who took the court with Iverson, and it was not a good set of teammates for him. Had he switched places with Kobe in the late-90s and got to spend his prime with a great center like Shaq, Iverson would have had at least those three rings LA won and possibly more because I find it more likely that he would have meshed well with Shaq.
5) As you likely already know, his primary strengths were absurd speed and athleticism (best in NBA history) and his prolific scoring ability (four scoring titles, career 27 ppg, 30 ppg from ‘00-06). Iverson’s incredible shiftiness mixed with his “I’m going to embarrass you” mindset and elite hesitation crossover made him a nightmare to defend 1-on-1, and he attracted so much attention flying into the lane that he was able to create opportunities for his teammates. Iverson hit more tough buckets in traffic than almost any player ever, especially at the ends of games when his confidence and aggression earned a bunch of clutch wins.
His inconsistent shooting was well known (career 42% FG, 31% 3FG), so he was more than capable of shooting his team out of contests as he’d angrily go into “I’ll outscore everyone” mode. AI was regularly top-5 in spg, but he was also regularly top-10 in topg, and it’s been said more than a few times that he often played out of control.
6) Iverson might be more associated with a single season (‘01) than any other star ever. He led the league in scoring (31.1 ppg), steals (2.5 spg), won MVP in a landslide over peak Shaq and Duncan, carried a not-Finals-worthy team to the best record in the East (56-26) and into the Finals, and once there he had his most iconic game (Game 1: unexpected Sixers win in OT in LA over the HEAVILY favored Lakers by racking up 48 pts and 5 steals, plus AI had multiple clutch plays including the Ty Lue step-over bucket in the final minute of OT). It's the season we think of when we think of Iverson.
7) There were persistent discussions by the fans, media, and front office about him being traded away from the Sixers due to some combination of bad fit, bad attitude, crazy lifestyle, and bad shooting efficiencies, especially after the team fell off a cliff following the '03 season (Iverson missed 34 games in '04 as the team went 33-49). He was finally traded to Denver during the ‘07 season, and he was thisclose to being traded to the Pistons in 2000 (a clause in Matt Geiger’s contract stopped the deal), right before his amazing ‘01 season.
8) The pairing of high scorers Iverson and Carmelo Anthony in Denver was a really big deal at the time, seen as a duo who each demanded double teams and would cripple opposing defenses. In an expected-by-many twist, their two best scoring seasons together (‘07 and ‘08) were not the team’s best seasons, and they never won a playoff series together.
9) As fun as it was for fans to watch Vince Carter's post-prime career as he graciously accepted supporting roles on multiple teams, Iverson's post-prime career was really hard to watch as he kept demanding a central role on multiple teams well after his athleticism was no longer next-level. Whether it was his last partial season in Denver, his time in Detroit, his three games in Memphis, his curtain call in Philly, or even his two months on a second-tier Turkish team, Iverson’s days after ‘08 were cringey and unfortunate.

Teamwork

• Flawlessly beats a pro football team with at least 40 goals.
• Takes heavy injuries from Team Evil over the final battle. Only hits where the environment takes damage are shown in the thread.

Steel Leg / Sing

Physicals

• Kicks a can straight out of the horizon.
• This embeds the can into a brick wall. When Fung (fodder) pulls the can out, the wall crumbles down.
• Kicks a fridge into the air.
• Gets hits in the head repeatedly by people with melee weapons. It's to be noted that only his Steel Leg is resistant to pain.
• Stomps several gang members, with feats like cracking concrete with kicks & stomps, creating long winds with his kicks & shattering wood with his kicks.
• Kicks a ball straight into the air so high that the team starts doing other things to wait for it to come down.
• Him & Fung are afraid of what would happen if he kicked a ball to a plane.
• Learns how to control his kicking strength & keeps kicking an egg into the air without breaking it.
• Repeatedly very, very accurately kicks a ball into a wall hard enough to lightly shake the ground.
• Kicks a football & shoes hard enough to hurt members of Team Rebellion & deform a goalpost.
• Kicks a goal before a pro football team can react.
• Seems to send 8 men flying with the shockwave of his kick.
• Punches though wood.
• Is very good at impossibly manipulating his kicked ball's movement.
• Kicks a ball so that it leaves some temporary air trails & creates a shockwave.
• Kicks a football through the football field sign.
• Speeds up Mui's tornado ball. (Warning: The Evil Goalkeeper's clothes get torn off.)

Mystical Powers

• Can sense when other kung fu masters reawaken their kung fu before Fung.
• Kicks a ball so hard it bursts into flames which turn blue & then turn into a tiger construct.

Mui

• Dexteriously makes a yin-yang symbol in a puddle, manipulates a dough, makes and destroys a small whirlwind & with 1 hand, stops a pan thrown at her hard enough to blow her hair back.
• Uses a style called "Shove a 1000 Cattle With 4 Tails".
• Blocks hits from her boss without looking.
• Stops a demonic fireball from Team Evil, spins it a few times to create a large tornado & sends this tornado at the field. The entirety of Team Evil gets 1-shot by this tornado. This tornado also summons lightning in the sky. Steel Leg speeds it up a bit but knowing he jobbed for the whole game, he must've not helped too much. (Warning: The Evil Goalkeeper's clothes get torn off.)

Iron Head / Fei

Before fully reawakening his kung fu

• No-sells a wine bottle being smashed on his head.
• Again.
• Gets hit in the leg with a guitar several times. It's to be noted that only his Iron Head is resistant to pain.
• Gets his back broken.

After fully reawakening his kung fu

• Can sense the world around him with his eyes closed & counter-attack opponents this way. Echolocation?
• Headbutts a ball & sends 3 players flying.
• Hitting his head sounds like hitting metal.

Iron Shirt / Tin

• Before fully reawakening his kung fu, gets knocked several dozens of feet into the air.
• Can hold a football close to his stomach without using his appendages & fire it hard enough to knock a member of Team Rebellion away.
• Takes hits from members of Team Rebellion & gets hit in the head with a wrench hard enough to heavily dent it.
• Blocks tens of flame kicks from Team Evil till the entire team is tired, then launches the ball & sends them flying.
• Survives getting inhumanly twisted trying to Team Evil's Special Attack.

Empty Hands

• When members of Team Rebellion throw 10+ shoes at him, in slow-mo, he collects all the shoes fast enough to make it look like there's several of him (still in slow-mo).
• The rest of Team Shaolin get clowned by a team of super-skilled women. So, they let the entire team of women gather in front of the goalpost to try & kick goals. But Empty Hands counters all their kicks consecutively & throws the ball into the goalpost.
• This goes very differently when they do the same with Team Evil. The evil goalkeeper throws at the ball at him from across the stage. An evil striker then kicks the ball at him hard enough to damage the ground in it's trail, then enough to set it on fire, then dozens of feet away through a sign. But he still survives this.

Weight Vest

• Before any of them have reawakened their kung fu, breaks out of Iron Head, Empty Hands, Iron Shirt & Hooking Leg all restraining him at the same time.
• Can fly.
• Jumps dozens of feet into the air to intercept a football.
• More flying.

Hooking Leg

• Gets the better of members of Team Rebellion.

Team Rebellion

• Beats the heck out of Steel Leg & his 5 brothers before his brothers have fully reawakened their kung fu. Members of Team Rebellion can send people into the air.
• Takes hits from the brothers after they reawaken their kung fu. (The middle GIF has a Rebellion member bend a thick metal wrench.)
• Some members of this team end up joining Team Shaolin.
• Off-screen, they take hits from members of Team Evil. 3 out of 5 keep playing till Mui arrives.

so im a footballer. and i really want to get into good shape for the start of next season with my chance to get into a city team. i already do a LOT of running (5ks with my dogs every night) but for my size (5’1) i’m still on the slightly hefty side for my bones (55-58kg). i want to maximise my bodies potential (speed) and i think losing weight would help. anyone have any ed avoidance weight loss tips? or should i just keep focus on eating healthy? don’t want to fly too close to the sun. cheers!

I have only played 2 games… but it’s horrendous. The lack of a single player mode to practice first is what kills it off entirely for me.
Dead ball control & overall dribbling. Movement is way too choppy and all over the place. Passes travel at nonsense speeds that make no sense. Somehow they managed to make an AI worse than EA’s defensive brilliance.
I don’t know what to make of it, considering it’s a BETA sure… but that implies it’s close to the “real deal” and I have no clue how this is meant to compete to EAFC/FIFA, it can’t even compete with eFootball/PES at the moment in my eyes.
It’s suited for the arcade maybe… but as a console game? No shot.

Have a few items i'm trying to clear out all in good condition, all games are CIB unless noted otherwise.
*Open to offers on Bundles especially with lots listed as well.
*$5 Games for various systems available $25 Minimum if only buying from this list please.
*$3.50 Shipping for first item & Free Shipping with orders over $75 sent via USPS.
*Paypal F&F only please with Pics available upon request.
*Local to Los Angeles for meetups if possible

PS4 - $200 on Lot

PS4 Slim 500 GB Console with 1x OEM Black Dualshock $175
Metro Redux CIB $15
Plants vs Zombies 2 : Garden Warfare $10
Deus Ex MD $10
One More Dungeon Limited Edition - Sealed Game $45
Vesta Limited Edition - Sealed Game $40
Caveman Warriors Limited Edition - Open Game $30
Bleed 1+2 Limited Edition - Bleed is Open & Bleed 2 is Sealed - $45
XMorph Defense Limited Edition - Open Game $30
Ghost Blade HD - Sealed $35
Blue Rider - Open Game $30

XBox - $75 on Lot

https://www.flickr.com/photos/200232813@N07/albums/72177720315735025/
Metro Redux $10
Rare Replay/Ultimate Gears of War $20
Torment Tides of Nememura in GameStop Case $10
Sunset Overdrive $10
Pillars of Eternity in GameStop Case $10
One Lords of the Fallen $10

N64 Carts - $475 on lot

https://imgur.com/a/H9g5GqQ
Cruis'N USA - $15
Body Harvest - $20
Aerofighters Assault - $10
Top Gear Overdrive - $10
Tony Hawk 3 - $65
Buck Bumble - $30
Pokemon Puzzle League with Manual (game and manual in great condition) - $40
Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko (Entire label was missing so a cheap replacement was made) - $20
Command And Conquer - $20
The New Tetris - $30
Snowboard Kids 1 with Manual (manual and game in great shape small tear on back of Cart) - $70
Robotron 64 - $20
Forsaken 64 (video rental sticker on label) $15
Mischief Makers - $40
Wipeout - $15
Doom 64 - $30
NHL Breakaway '98 Box (good condition no inner tray) - $10
Mario Tennis 64 Game with Box (Box is rough shape, missing ride side flap. includes inner tray, Cart is clean) - $50

Gameboy

TMNT Fall of the Foot Clan Loose - $10

Switch - $325 on lot

Hori Split Pad Pro Blue CIB (used about 7 months in 9/10 condition) - $25
Old Skool GC Controller Adapter (Works on Switch/PC/Wii U) - $20
Hyperkin Joy-Con Grip Charger - $10
Monster Hunter Rise Joy-Cons with Grip NIB - $125
Shin Megami Tensei V [Steelbook Edition] - $30
Blacksad: Under The Skin [Limited Edition] SEALED $25
KORG Gadget $65
Psikyo Collection Vol. 3 JAP $45

PS Vita - $275 on Lot

The Walking Dead: Season 2 $25
Hot Shots Golf World Invitational $15
Legend Of Heroes: Trails Of Cold Steel 1 $40
Dynasty Warriors Next $20
Stranger Of Sword City $25
Shantae Half-Genie Hero [Risky Beats Edition] $45
UnEpic SEALED $65
Risk Of Rain SEALED $35
Aqua Kitty SEALED $40
Shiren the Wanderer Dice of Fortune CE SEALED $50

Dreamcast - $20 on Lot

NBA2K1 loose $10
World Series Baseball 2K1 loose $10
MTV Sports Skateboarding loose $10

3DS - $100 on Lot

Legend Of Legacy Launch Edition SEALED $60
Crush 3D Loose in 3DS Case $10
Cubic Ninja Loose in 3DS Case $10
Codename S.T.E.A.M Loose $10
Smash Bros 3DS CIB $17
Steel Diver CIB $8

PS1 - $45 on Lot

Fighter Maker Loose $10
FF9 CIB (Case damaged) $15
Sim City 2000 Game+Case (damaged) $10
Oddworld Abes Oddysee CIB $20

DS - $50 on Lot

Bleach Blade Of Fate Loose $15
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Ring Of Fates Loose - $15
OEM Charging Base for original 3DS $20
Intec DS Case(scuffed up) $10

PS3 - $75 on Lot

Final Fantasy X/X2 Remaster Limited Edition $10
NiNoKuni 1 Steelbook $20
Zone Of The Enders HD Collection $15
Yakuza 3 Loose $15
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection Loose $15
Genji Days Of The Blade $20
Genji Days Of The Blade Loose $10

PS2 - $200 on Lot

https://imgur.com/a/pBJLqjf
https://imgur.com/a/1odALsV
Onimusha 2 $15
MX vs ATV Unleashed $10
Tekken 5 $30
Kingdom Hearts 1 GH $10
Kingdom Hearts 2 GH $10
Stuntman $10
Looney Tunes Back in Action CIB Looney Tunes Back in Action $10
Tak $10
Soul Caliber 3 $15
God of War 1 First Print $50
GTA San Andreas (missing manual) $10
ATV Offroad Fury 4 $10
MDK 2 Armageddon Loose $10
Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2 $10
The Getaway $10
007 Agent Under Fire Loose $10
Test Drive GH $10
Eye Toy Antigrav with Eye Camera $20

XB360 - $15 on Lot

3rd Party Controller $10
Marvel Ultimate Alliance in Gamestop Case $10

Gamecube - $275 for Lot

GBA to GC Link Cable loose - $15
Donkey Kong Bundle (includes CIB copy of Donkey Konga, 1x loose Bogo Drum controller and DK Jungle Beat Bongo Drum controller in box but missing game BOX IS IN ROUGH SHAPE) - $125
Odama CIB with Microphone (Big Box is in rough shape but Game/Case/Manual/Mic are in perfect condition) $35
GB Player OEM Case Holder *Missing outer cardboard and Manual $25
Monopoly Party+Manual in Blockbuster Case $10
Star Wars Rogue Leader+Manual in DVD Case $15
Spiderman 2 Player's Choice (Missing Manual) $15
Megaman Anniversary Collection (Missing Manual) $20
MC Groovez Dance Craze$10
Fifa Soccer 2002 $10
Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2 loose in GC Case $15
Resident Evil 1 CIB Players Choice $30

Wii - $20 for Lot

Nights Journey of Dreams in Gamestop Case & Manual $10
Generic Dual Wiimote Charging Dock $10

$5 Games - $150 on Lot

GC 007 NightFire Case with Fantastic Four Games
GC NFL2k3 Loose with Cover & Manual
XB360 BF3 Limited Edition
XB360 Kinect Adventures
XB360 Motionsports
XB360 Call of Duty Ghosts
XB360 Darksiders 2
PS2 Wheel of Fortune
PS2 Motorcross Mania 3
PS2 Seaworld Deep Sea Adventures
PS2 Socom US Navy Seal
PS2 Final Fantasy X-2
PS2 ThrillVille
PS2 Star Wars The Force Unleashed
PS2 Army Men Soldiers of Misfortune
PS2 Welcome to Jumpack Demo Disc
PS2 MX vs ATX
PS2 Army Men
PS2 Rocky
PS2 NCAA Football 2004
PS2 Army Men : Sarges Hero
PS2 Full Spectrum Warrior
PS2 FIFA 2001 MLS
PS2 NCAA Football 2003
PS2 NCAA Football 2004
PS3 Need for Speed Most Wanted
PS3 Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 3
PS3 Need for Speed Pro Street
PS3 Red Faction Guerilla
PS3 MoH Warfighter LE Loose
PS3 Crysis 2
PS3 Mercenaries 2 in Generic Case
PS3 Call of Duty MW3 x2
PS3 Assassins Creed 4 BF
PS3 Beyond Steelbook (Bad shape broken at spine)
PS3 Uncharted Dual Pack in Custom generic case
PS4 Has Been Heroes
PS4 The Division

Controller Lot for Repair - $75 Shipped

3x XBox One/Series Controllers
(White controller has minor drift on Right thumb stick, 1st Black one has Left Bumper issues where it's not detecting the press always and the 2nd Black one has the B button gets stucken on occasions.
Both Black ones have something small loose inside rattling. And both Black ones come with original back voters as the Power A one shown here is for my rechargeable batteries. Shipping should be around $10-15 at max if that.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/200232813@N07/albums/72177720316925867)

Covers, Cases and Manuals

8x Universal Game Cases (N64,SNES,Genesis,etc) $8 Each
3DS Persona Q : Shadow of the Labyrinth Case $10
PS4 Rise of the Tomb Raider 20th Anniversary Extras Only No Game $10
Grand Kingdom Case $10
Toukiden : Kiwami Case $10
Wii Dragon Quest Swords Manual $7
Wii Monster Hunter 3 Manual $5
Wii Elebits Manual $5
GC Ghost Recon Case & Manual $7
GC True Crime Streets of LA Case & Manual $10
GC Spiderman 1 Case Only $7
GC Dead to Rights Case & Manual $10
GC Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow Case & Manual $10
GC Hitman 2 Case & Manual $10
GC MoH Frontline Case & Manual $7
GC Rainbow Six 3 Case & Manual $7
PS2 Red Faction Case $5
PS2 Call of Duty FH Case & Manual $7
GC NFL 2K3 Case $5
PS4 Nioh Case $5
PS Vita Exist Archive Case $5
PS3 Zone of Enders HD Collection Case & Manual $10
PS2 Dragon Quest 8 Case & Manual $10
PS2 Onimusha 2 Case & Manual $10
PS2 Tekken 5 Case & Manual $10
PS2 Kingdom Hearts 1 GH Case & Manual $10
PS2 Kingdom Hearts 2 GH Case & Manual $10
PS2 Area 51 Case PAL version $5
GC NBA 2K2 Case & Manual $10
PS2 Final Fantasy X-2 Case $ Manual $10
PS2 Starwars Battlefront Case & Manual $10
GC Prince of Persia Cover & Manual $10
GC Viewtiful Joe 1 Manual $20
PS2 Katamari Damacy Cover & Manual $10
GC Burnout 3 Takedown $5
PS2 Nightmare before Christmas Oogies Revenge Cover & Manual $15
PS2 GTA San Andreas Cover & Manual $10
PS2 Capcom Classic Collection Cover & Manual $15
PS2 Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution Manual $5
PS2 Megaman X Collection Cover & Manual $15
PS2 Star Ocean Till the End of Time Cover & Manual $10
PS2 R-Type Final Cover & Manual $15
PS2 Soul Caliber 2 Cover $7
XB Panzer Dragoon Orta Cover & Manual $30
XB Ninja Gaiden Black Cover & Manual $10
PS2 Mad Maestro Cover & Manual $10
PS2 007 Everything or Nothing Manual $5
PS2 Half Life 2 Cover $10
PS2 Devil May Cry 3 Cover & Manual $10
PS2 FF X-2 Cover & Manual $10
PS2 REZ Cover & Manual $15
PS2 Rygar Cover & Manual $10
PS2 Chaos Legion Manual $7
PS2 Zone of Enders 1 Cover & Manual $10
PS2 Final Fantasy 12 Manual $7
PS2 Front Mission 4 Cover & Manual $10
PS2 Metal Gear Solid 3 Subsistence Cover $7
PS2 Escape from Monkey Island Cover $7
PS1 Final Fantasy Chronicles GH Back/Front Cover & Manual $10
PS1 Tenchu 1 Cover & Manual $15
PS1 Final Fantasy 7 GH Front/Back Cover & Manual $15
PS1 Buster Bros Collection Cover & Manual $20
GC Zelda Master Quest Manual + Windwaker Promotional Paperwork $30
PS2 Black Case & Manual $10

1992 AD

• February 7 – The Maastricht Treaty is signed, founding the European Union.
• February 8 – The opening ceremony for the 1992 Winter Olympics is held in Albertville, France.
• March 1 – The first victims of the Bosnian War are a Serb bridegroom's father and an Orthodox priest in a Sarajevo shooting. In the Bosnian independence referendum, held from February 29 to March 1 and boycotted by Bosnian Serbs, the majority of the Bosniak and Bosnian Croat communities have voted for Bosnia-Herzegovina's independence.
• March 12 - The tram accident at Vasaplatsen in Gothenburg
• March 23 - Sierra Leone Civil War begins
• April 5 - Bosnian War: Serb troops, following a mass rebellion of Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina against the Bosnian declaration of independence from Yugoslavia, besiege the city of Sarajevo.
• April 29 - Los Angeles riots: The acquittal of four police officers in the Rodney King beating criminal trial triggers massive rioting in Los Angeles. The riots will last for six days resulting in 63 deaths and over $1 billion in damages before order is restored by the military.
• July 25–August 9 – The 1992 Summer Olympics are held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
• November 3 – In the 1992 United States presidential election, Democratic Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton defeats Republican President George H. W. Bush and Independent Ross Perot.

1993 AD

• January 1 - Czechoslovakia ceases to exist, as the Czech Republic and Slovakia separate in the Dissolution of Czechoslovakia.
• February 26 – World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a van bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center) explodes, killing six people and injuring over one thousand.
• December 31 - Georgian Civil War ends
• April 19 – Waco siege: A 51-day stand-off at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, ends with a fire that kills 76 people, including David Koresh.
• May 24 – Eritrea gains independence from Ethiopia.
• June 25 - Kim Campbell becomes the 19th, and first female, Prime Minister of Canada.
• August 25 – The Sámi Parliament holds its first meeting. The Thing shall "monitor issues relating to Sami culture in Sweden".
• September 13 - Oslo I Accord: Following initially secret talks from earlier in the year, PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin shake hands in Washington, D.C. after signing a peace accord.
• November 1 – The Maastricht Treaty takes effect, formally establishing the European Union.
• December 2 - Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar is gunned down by police.
• December 16 - Macedonia becomes independent from Yugoslavia.

1994 AD

• February 25 – Israeli Kahanist Baruch Goldstein opens fire inside the Cave of the Patriarchs in the West Bank; he kills 29 Muslims before worshippers beat him to death.
• April 7 - July 19 - Rwandan genocide
• April 26 - Tuanku Jaafar ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, becomes the 10th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
• May 6 – The Channel Tunnel, which took 15,000 workers more than seven years to complete, officially opens between England and France; it will enable passengers to travel by rail between the two countries in 35 minutes.
• May 12 - First Nagorno-Karabakh War ends
• June 17
  • NFL star O. J. Simpson and his friend Al Cowlings flee from police in a white Ford Bronco. The low-speed chase ends at Simpson's Brentwood, Los Angeles mansion, where he surrenders.
  • The 1994 FIFA World Cup starts in the United States.
• July 17 – Brazil wins the 1994 FIFA World Cup, defeating Italy 3–2 in a penalty shootout in the final (full-time 0–0).
• September 18 - In The Swedish general election, Ingvar Carlsson defeat Carl Bildt
• September 28 - The car ferry MS Estonia sinks in the Baltic Sea, killing 852 people.
• October 1 - Palau gains independence from the United Nations Trusteeship Council.
• December 4 - The Stureplan murders
• December 11 – First Chechen War: Russian president Boris Yeltsin orders troops into Chechnya.

1995 AD

• January 1 - Austria, Finland and Sweden join the European Union.
• January 17 – The 6.9 Great Hanshin earthquake strikes the southern Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan with a maximum Shindo of 7, leaving 5,502–6,434 people dead, and 251,301–310,000 displaced.
• April 19 – Oklahoma City bombing: 168 people, including eight federal Marshals and 19 children, are killed at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and 680 are wounded by a bomb set off by Timothy
• August 24 – Windows 95 is launched by Microsoft.
• October 3 – Murder trial of O. J. Simpson: Former American Football star O. J. Simpson is found not guilty of double murder in a criminal trial for the deaths of former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
• November 4 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated at a peace rally in Tel Aviv.
• December 14 – The Dayton Agreement is signed in Paris, officially ending the Bosnian War.

1996 AD

• July 19 - The 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States/August 4 – The 1996 Summer Olympics conclude.
• September 19 – The American Space Shuttle Atlantis Docks with the Russian Space station Mir.
• November 5 – 1996 United States presidential election: Incumbent Democratic) President Bill Clinton defeats his Republican) challenger, Bob Dole and Reform Party candidate Ross Perot.
• December 13 – Ghanaian diplomat Kofi Annan is elected by the United Nations Security Council the next Secretary-General of the United Nations.

1997 AD

• Zuban invasion of New York City in Planet Earth for the next 1003 years. (Alternate First)
• January 1 - Malmöhus County and Kristianstad County are merged into Skåne County
• January 25–April 15 – Albania suffers severe riots and teeters on the brink of civil war
• May 23 - The landslide in Vagnhärad: Five villas in Vagnhärad slide into the Trosaån. 33 houses are being emptied due to continued landslide risk
• May 1 – Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as the Labour Party) wins the 1997 United Kingdom general election and returns to government for the first time in 18 years.
• July 1 – The United Kingdom hands sovereignty of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China.
• August 31 – Death of Diana, Princess of Wales: Diana, Princess of Wales, is taken to a hospital after a car accident shortly after midnight, in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris. She is pronounced dead at 4:00 am.
• October 2 – The EU's new "constitution" the Treaty of Amsterdam is signed
• October 27 – Stock market declines trigger the Asian financial crisis.
• December 1 - The Höga Kusten Bridge is inaugurated north of Härnösand in Sweden, and will be Sweden's longest suspension bridge
• December 19 - The movie Titanic ) has premiered in cinemas.

1998 AD

• January 1 - The Västra Götaland County is formed by a merger of the more than 300-year-old counties of Skaraborg, Älvsborg County and Gothenburg County and Bohus County. However, two of Skaraborg County's municipalities, Habo municipalities and Mullsjö municipalities, were transferred to Jönköping County.
• January 17 – The Drudge Report breaks the story about U.S. President Bill Clinton's alleged affair with Monica Lewinsky, which will lead to the House of Representatives' impeachment of him.
• February 7–22 – The 1998 Winter Olympics are held in Nagano, Japan.
• April 10 – Good Friday Agreement: An hour after the end of the talks deadline, the Belfast Agreement is signed between the Irish and British governments and most Northern Ireland political parties, with the notable exception of the Democratic Unionist Party.
• June 3 – Eschede train disaster: an Intercity-Express high-speed train derails between Hanover and Hamburg, Germany, causing 101 deaths.
• June 10–July 12 – The 1998 FIFA World Cup in France: France beats Brazil 3–0 in the FIFA World Cup Final.
• September 20 - In The 1998 Swedish general election. Göran Persson Wins
• 7 October - Oslo's new airport Gardermoen is inaugurated.
• October 30 - Gothenburg discothèque fire
• 6 December - Gävle is hit by a violent snowstorm. Schools are closed and residents are asked to stay indoors.

1999 AD

• April - Digital terrestrial television was launched in Sweden
• April 1 – Nunavut, an Inuit homeland, is created from the eastern portion of the Northwest Territories to become Canada's third territory.
• April 20 – Columbine High School massacre:
• June 10 – Kosovo War and NATO bombing of Yugoslavia: NATO suspends its air strikes after Slobodan Milošević agrees to withdraw Yugoslav forces from Kosovo.
• June 10-13 – European Parliament election, turnout is record low in several countries, for example Sweden. The Liberal People's Party is reaping successes that are considered to be due to Marit Paulsen
• August – The gay, bi and trans festival Stockholm Pride is organized for the first time.
• December 20 – Handover of Macau from the Portuguese Republic to the People's Republic of China after 442 years of Portuguese rule in the settlement.
• December 31 – Boris Yeltsin resigns as president of Russia, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting president.

So basically, he is playing football since childhood so basically 7 years, im not training at all except going to gym. I think i can prob win him but problem is that im super slow and literally no stamina, i cant start training football with other people cus they already in my age have too much experience. So guys, i got month to do this, what can i do to increase my speed and stamina enough to beat him? Thanks

All prices are negotiable. Feel free to request more pictures or ask questions.
Everything will be packaged carefully, shipping costs will be split, and I will not ship outside the US.
Neo Geo Pocket Color

• NGPC Stone Blue - 300
  
• Biomotor Unitron - 150
  
• Baseball Stars Color - 150
  
• SNK Vs. Capcom: Card Fighter's Clash Capcom Version - 150
  
• NeoGeo Cup 98 Plus Color - 250
  
• Master of Syougi (JP version) - 85
  
• Ganbare Neo Poke Kun (JP version) - 150
  
• AC adapter (BOX ONLY) and 2 software catalogs - 100
  

Nintendo

• Nintendo 3DS XL Super Mario Bros 2 Limited Edition - 300
  
• White Gameboy Advance Console w/AC adapter - 180
  
• Nintendo DS Lite case - 20
  
• Pokeball 3DS Case - 25
  
• GB Castlevania Adventure cart - 17
  
• GB Toy Story 2 cart - 6
  
• GBA Final Fantasy Tactics Advance - 70
  
• GBA Dynasty Warriors Advance - 20
  
• GBA Scurge Hive - 70
  
• GBA Sea Trader Rise of Taipan - 45
  
• GBA Castlevania Circle of the Moon cart - 28
  
• GBA Hot Wheels Stunt Track Challenge cart - 5
  
• GBA Metroid [Classic NES Series] cart - 25
  
• DS Chrono Trigger - 100
  
• DS Age of Empires The Age of Kings - 15
  
• DS Polarium - 7
  
• DS Zhu Zhu Pets - 7
  
• DS Puss In Boots - 5
  
• DS Fossil Fighters Champions cart - 70
  
• DS Kirby Super Star Ultra cart - 21
  
• DS Mario Kart DS cart - 14
  
• DS Naruto Ninja Council 3 cart - 7
  
• 3DS Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars - 30
  
• 3DS Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D - 13
  
• 3DS Mario Kart 7 cart - 13
  
• 3DS Super Smash Bros for Nintendo 3DS cart - 10
  
• NES Shatterhand - 55
  
• NES The Simpsons Bart Vs The Space Mutants - 5
  
• SNES Super Mario All-Stars cart - 23
  
• SNES Super Mario World cart (rough label) - 15
  
• SNES Super Mario World cart - 20
  
• SNES Batman Forever cart - 8
  
• SNES Final Fantasy Mystic Quest cart (rough label) - 15
  
• SNES FIFA International Soccer cart - 8
  
• SNES FIFA International Soccer cart (rough label) - 6
  
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It’s the kind of question that comes up from time to time: “who’s the strongest man in history?” A bit like: “who’s the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time?” and just as difficult to answer. The problem, of course, is that weighing up great champions of different eras is fraught with danger and coming up with an objective means of comparing their achievements is not at all straightforward.
Or is it? Surely the man who has lifted the heaviest weights across a selection of the most commonly contested tests of strength should be relatively easy to identify? Afraid not. The problem with that approach is that events constantly change and maximal weight alone is an insufficient test of who is or isn’t the strongest. That is precisely the reason strongman as a sport exists, with all its wonderful diversity of disciplines involving explosive strength, endurance and speed. Otherwise, the powerlifting world champion would simply be declared the strongest and that would be the end of the debate.
There are always people who will maintain that athletes of earlier eras would beat today’s best if they were given the same opportunities to train and compete. This supposition is based on a belief that they are intrinsically superior in some aspect and if transplanted into the modern era would still rise to the top. There is logic to this idea; after all, why should the current era lay claim to all the world’s most genetically gifted strongmen?
It is safe to state that no one in history has ever lifted a heavier log than Iron Biby and his 230kg world record. It is called a world record for a reason – it exceeds all preceding lifts. Whether someone at some point in history had the potential to lift more is pure speculation. Judging who is the strongest of all time must be based on known facts. On 7th September 2024, Biby will be heading to the Utilita Arena, Birmingham to try and beat his record. Click here to get your tickets on the event you do not want to miss!
But what of competitive dominance? An athlete can only beat their contemporaries, and some eras are undeniably more competitive than others. Is Mariusz Pudzianowski the strongest Man of all time because he won the most World’s Strongest Man titles? Is it harder to win WSM today than it was in the early 2000’s? Would Bill Kazmaier have won more titles if he had not been frozen out? It seems clear that this is only one aspect of deciding who is the greatest. Weightlifting and strongman have the advantage of being based on objective data and if these credentials are lacking, no number of winner’s trophies can remedy the fact.
Then, of course, the various forms of strength must be considered: static strength, explosive strength, strength endurance and dynamic strength, as well as durability, which is crucial in such a physically demanding sport. Each are as important as the others in most strongman contests, though often static strength is given greater emphasis. Finally, the prowess of individuals in certain disciplines must be taken into account: who has the greatest overhead strength, back strength or grip power?
The truth is that all these factors are pivotal in deciding who is the strongest ever, and any decision will always involve a certain amount of subjectivity. The list offered below is merely a suggestion, and while many may disagree with aspects of it, there are plenty who may concur with the athlete deemed to be the strongest of all time.
Louis Cyr
Many believe the French-Canadian Louis Cyr to be the strongest man to have ever lived. His career, that spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is now the stuff of legend with many books written and films made about his remarkable life. Born in 1863, he spent his youth working on a lumberyard and on his family’s farm. His unnatural strength had become apparent and he started his strongman career at the age of 17, besting Michaud of Quebec, who was recognised as Canada’s Strongest Man, by lifting a 220kg (480lb) granite boulder.
Throughout his career as a touring strongman, he amassed some staggering feats of strength including lifting 243kg (535lb) with one finger. He famously backlifted 18 men weighing a combined 1,967kg (4,337lb) or two tons. He achieved a 124kg (273lb) overhead press with his famous Cyr Dumbbell; an event that is now prominent in modern strongman competitions. He is also attributed with a one-handed dumbbell lift of 238kg (525lb), made all the more impressive due to its 1.5-inch handle. Ben Weider called him the “strongest man ever.”
Louis worked as a police officer throughout his career and was famed for his horse resisting. In 1891, in front of 10,000 he resisted the pull of four draught horses, with grooms cracking their whips to encourage the animals to pull harder. Styled as a modern Samson, with long hair to match, he died in 1912, undefeated. There is a park in Montreal named after him alongside a statue of him in the Place des Hommes-Forts.
Paul Anderson
No debate of who is the strongest man to have ever lived would be complete without the mention of the lifter the Russians called “a wonder of nature.” Born in Tocca, Georgia, in 1932, the American first made his mark in strength spheres as a 20-year-old, breaking squat records that had stood for thirty years. He had begun lifting to gain strength as a football player, using weights of concrete poured into wooden forms.
By 1956 Paul had become world and Olympic champion in weightlifting, establishing new world records in the Olympic weightlifting disciplines. He became an iconic figure in the cold war era after travelling to the Soviet Union and exceeding their best lifter by over 30kg in the press. He won his Olympic gold suffering from an ear infection and high fever and would have won further medals had he not turned to professional lifting and thus disqualified himself from the strictly amateur contest.
Anderson was a true pioneer of strength sports and achieved some truly remarkable lifting bests, including official weightlifting results of 185kg (408.5lb) in the clean and press, and 199.5kg (440lb) in the clean and jerk. The squat was arguably his most impressive lift with an authenticated 420kg (930lb) lift in 1965. He unofficially achieved a 285kg (628lb) bench press and a 372kg (820lb) deadlift. His most spectacular and controversial feat of strength was the 2,840kg (6,270lb) back lift he was reputed to have performed in 1957. Dubbed “the greatest weight ever lifted by a human being,” the achievement was listed in the Guinness Book of Records until 1985.
Lasha Talakhadze
Traditionally, the winner of the super-heavyweight class at the Olympic weightlifting contest has been referred to as the Strongest Man in the World and there is one individual who is arguably the sport’s most dominant athlete and undeniably the man who has lifted more weight from the floor to overhead than anyone in history.
The two-time Olympic champion from Georgia holds the all-time world records across all weight categories in the snatch, clean and jerk and total. He is a seven-time World and European Champion and has been unbeatable since he took his first world title in 2015. He has utterly dominated the super-heavyweight division, establishing 26 senior world records.
At the 2020 Olympics he set the current world records of 225kg (496lb) in the snatch, 267kg (589lb) in the clean and jerk and a 492kg (1,085lb) total. Over his career so far, he has added 9kg to Bulgaria’s Antonio Krastev’s snatch record that had stood since 1987 and exceeded Leonid Taranenko of the Soviet Union’s 266kg clean and jerk that had stood as the heaviest ever lift since 1988.
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson
Known as “The Mountain,” after his role on the TV series Game of Thrones, Hafþór Björnsson would be many people’s pick for the strongest man in history and he is not short of credentials to back up that claim. Björnsson was the 2018 World’s Strongest Man winner and has stood on the podium at World’s a total of eight times – a number only bettered by Žydrūnas Savickas. He is a five-time Europe’s Strongest Man and three-time Arnold Classic champion. He is the only man to have ever won World’s, Europe’s and the Arnold’s in a single year.
His competitive record includes a plethora of other victories, including ten Iceland’s Strongest Man titles and numerous Giants Live wins. He is, without question, one of the most prolific winners Strongman has ever witnessed. At a truly imposing height of 6-foot, 9-inches and a bodyweight usually well in excess of 200kg (440lb), the Icelander has one of the most impressive physiques in the history of strength sports.
His lifting achievements are no less formidable than his winning record. Despite having pulled an astonishing 501kg (1,105lb) in the deadlift, Björnsson’s greatest and most iconic feat of strength is arguably the 650kg (1,430lb) ship’s mast he carried for five steps, surpassing the legendary feat of Orm Storolfsson who had managed three steps over 1,000 years before. It is perhaps as a stone lifter though, that Björnsson is most renowned. His 17.54 second world record with Giants Live’s 120-200kg set of Atlas Stones has never even been approached.
Mariusz Pudzianowski
Nicknamed “The Dominator,” this mighty Pole stands alone as the only man to have won World’s Strongest Man five times. Few athletes have shaken up the sport as Mariusz did, exploding onto the scene in 2000 and blowing away the opposition with his unbeatable blend of athleticism, strength, explosiveness, and endurance, not to mention his ripped physique!
In an era when moving and more speed and endurance-based events were in the ascendancy “Pudzian” seemed impervious to pain or fatigue. He swept to an unprecedented five world titles between 2002 and 2008, picking up runner-up spots in 2006 and 2009. If that were not enough, he won Europe’s Strongest Man a record six times and picked up seven Polish titles as well as a multitude of international wins that rank him as one of the sport’s most frequent winners.
When it comes to laying claim to being the strongest man in history, Pudzianowski may not be able to boast the kind of maximal lifts that some have achieved, but his strength endurance and all-round athleticism are unparalleled. Many of his performances in events such as Conan’s Wheel, Power Stairs, Farmer’s Walk and Shield Carry remain unbeaten and in an era where athletes’ bodyweights are ever-increasing, it is possible Pudzianowski’s like may not be seen again.
Brian Shaw
Brian Shaw is one of the world’s most successful strongmen and regarded by many as the strongest men to have ever lived. At a colossal 6’ 8” (2.03m), and 193kg (425lb), he is one of the sport’s true giants. Excelling in basketball as a high-school and college athlete, his true passion was for weight training, and he was able to exploit his tremendous natural strength to great success in a career that is notable for its longevity as well as its achievement.
Brian is one of a quartet of men that have taken the World’s Strongest Man title on four occasions. He is also a three-time winner of the Arnold Classic, a contest that is held in the highest esteem among strength aficionados. Further contest victories have fallen to the Colorado Colussus in abundance; few athletes can compare to his winning record. Taking his first world title in 2011, there were no “easy” victories for Shaw, who battled it out at World’s each year with Lithuania’s Žydrūnas Savickas, beating him into 2nd three times.
Shaw’s top end strength is as impressive as it gets, looking across the full array of strongman events. He has held world records in multiple variations of stone lifting and deadlifting, including Elephant bar and Hummer tyre, and has always featured at the top of the pile in any static lifting discipline, be it for maximum weight or repetitions. However, maximal strength is not his only area of prowess and he has dominated the world’s best for a generation in Atlas Stones, Fingal’s Fingers and vehicle pulling, both on foot and arm-over-arm.
Eddie Hall
For a professional strongman, winning the sports’ greatest accolade – World’s Strongest Man – should surely be the defining moment of their career. Defeating Hafþór Björnsson and four-time WSM winner Brian Shaw was undoubtedly a truly historic feat, but for Britain’s Eddie Hall, aka The Beast, he is better known for a single feat of strength he performed in Leeds in 2016.
At the 2016 World Deadlift Championships – event one of Europe’s Strongest Man – in front of a crowd of 10,000, Hall sent shockwaves through the strength community by deadlifting 500kg (1102lb), or half a tonne. In one evening, he added a mind-blowing 37kg (81.5lb) to a record that had crept up kilo by kilo for decades. No other strongman has come within 50lb of this record in competition since.
Regardless of who has or will exceed this incredible feat of strength, Eddie Hall will always be remembered as the first man to break the magical half tonne barrier. The lift was the strength sports’ equivalent to the 4-minute mile. Such achievements shift peoples’ views of what is possible and set a new standard for up-and-coming athletes to strive for. Many strength sports fans would argue that Eddie Hall’s half tonne deadlift is the greatest strength feat ever performed.
Magnús Ver Magnússon
As the great Jón Páll Sigmarsson retired, another Icelander, in the form of Magnús Ver Magnússon, stepped up to dominate the sport, emulating Sigmarsson’s four titles. In fact, Magnússon claimed the World’s Strongest Man title on his very first attempt, defeating Denmark’s Henning Thorson in 1991. He is also one of only two men to have won three World’s Strongest Man titles in a row: taking victories in ‘94, ’95 and ‘96.
Magnús is another of those athletes for which winning seems to have been a habit, and in addition to his WSM victories, he was a seven-time Iceland’s Strongest Man winner, two-time Europe’s Strongest Man and World Muscle Power champion. These are just a selection of the strongman titles “Maggie” amassed over his career, but he was also a twice senior European champion in powerlifting, claiming victory in 1991 – the same year he first won World’s Strongest Man.
By no means the largest of the strongmen of his era, Magnússon was a true all-rounder who showed great dynamic strength and ability, but also a level of static power that belied his size. Having been defeated by Magnús in the squat lift at the 1995 World’s with an incredible 437.5kg (965lb), his great adversary, Gerrit Badenhorst of South Africa, commented that his squat was the greatest he’d ever seen from someone of that bodyweight. Little wonder then, that he is widely considered to be one of the strongest men of all time.
Bill Kazmaier
The American powerlifter, William “Bill” Kazmaier was the first real star to emerge in strongman and his menacing and imposing physical presence left an indelible mark on the sport. From 1980-1982 he was untouchable, winning World’s Strongest Man three times consecutively. In his prime he stated that he was “the strongest man who ever lived” and his dominance over his competitors in that era certainly leant considerable credence to that claim.
As a powerlifter, “Kaz” is regarded as one of the all-time greats and a true pioneer of the sport. He was the first man to raw bench press 300kg (661lb) in competition and in 1981 set a total record of 1100kg, a figure that would remain unsurpassed for more than a decade. He was twice an IPF world champion and a multiple world record holder across all three lifts. Much of this was performed whilst also contesting and winning World’s Strongest Man.
Such was Kazmier’s dominance at World’s Strongest Man, it led organisers, who were looking for a more global appeal, to leave him out of the contest for several years. He would not return to the competition until 1988, where he began a brief but heated rivalry with Jón Páll Sigmarsson. It is reasonable to assume that Kaz could well have won a fourth or fifth title – he won the 1982 World’s by 13 points – if he’d ben given the opportunity. In his curtailed strongman career, he established world records in the deadlift and Log Lift, among others. No other strongman since has ever achieved such supremacy in two separate sports – a fact that confirms, for many, Kazmaier’s position at the top of strongman’s pantheon of greats.
Žydrūnas Savickas
If there is one man who ticks all the boxes to be heralded as the strongest man to walk the planet, it’s none other than “Big Z.” With over 80 international contest wins, he is by far the sport’s most prolific winner. He has won World’s Strongest Man four times, taken the Arnold Classic title eight times, won two IFSA World Championships, three Europe’s Strongest Man titles, as well as seventeen Lithuanian titles. He won Fortissimus in 2009 and has broken over seventy world records in the span of his astonishing career.
Like Kazmaier, Žydrūnas was formerly a powerlifter and had picked up four European IPF silver medals before turning to strongman. His static strength was there for all to see, but his unrivalled overhead power was not revealed until he began pressing logs and axles in strongman. Winning six World Log lift titles, he raised the world record from 188kg, which was the first record he set in 2004, to 228kg in 2015, eclipsing the 500lb barrier in the process. He has established world records in squat events, Axle Press, Super Yoke and deadlift variations.
Savickas stands alone in the sport because of the sheer unrivalled quantity of his competitive victories, combined with the unparalleled breadth of the world records he established over his 25-year career. Had he not missed the opportunity to contest World’s Strongest Man from 2005 – 2008, it is probable he would have at least equalled Pudzianowski’s five titles. He had already finished 2nd on three occasions prior to the IFSA split and won their World Championship twice in the four years he was unable to attend World’s. Winning his first World’s Strongest Man title on his return to the fold in 2009, he assumed, in the eyes of the most knowledgeable fans, his rightful position at the very zenith of the sport. To many, he still occupies that position as the strongest man of all time.

There's not a lot of long interviews with Svreca online, which is why I was intrigued by the video interview that David Verdeguer of Valencia record store La Discoteca did with the Semantica Record label-boss in april of 2023. Three things struck me: 1) it was 90+ minutes long, 2) it was quite recent and 3) the two friends seemed to be having a good time.
I decided to take a chance and had Google Pinpoint transcribe the thing into Spanish and then machine-translated that into English. I then edited the interview, cut some words and moved some stuff around to improve the flow of the text. Occasionally the translation was gibberish so I improvised. If at any point you take offense to something said: blame me.
The whole thing is more than 10.000 words, so I'll cut it up into two parts for some nice weekend reading. This Saturday we feature part one, which delves into Svreca's early career as a floor-clearing DJ in Madrid, quitting corporate life to take a last shot on music and the one remix by Regis that changed the course of his label (and life).
The second part next week will cover Svreca becoming a globetrotting DJ only to discover the anxiety that comes with having your dreams come true, the connection that Semantica Records has with Scandinavia, a violent remix by Donato Dozzy that makes people run away and why cemetery-loving Oscar Mulero is one of the most professional artists working today.
Enjoy reading this. Kind regards. And remember: ^{the goal of this Reddit is to get Svreca booked at Berghain.}
Peter Mertes

"Svreca: emptying dance floors since 1999"

DAVID VERDEGUER (DV)): Hello, good afternoon, welcome to the record store and it is a very special week for us because we have celebrated the anniversary of the record store and today we celebrate the 13 years already completed of the Dance Club.
And we have here with us an amazing surprise thanks to our friends from party promotors SONS who are the reason the man on my left is here in Valencia today as he will play at Spook tonight. Without further ado: Mr. Enrique Mena Marín.
SVRECA: Thank you very much for inviting me, David, to this celebration event. Congratulations on both anniversaries and thanks to the people from SONS and Spook who have brought me back to Valencia after a long period of time.
DV: Well, it’s always a pleasure to have you here in Valencia. You are the prodigal son of this city. If I remember correctly, since January 1 2011, you have been coming here periodically. Between 2011 and 2015 you were practically a regular here every year, so it’s like your second home, isn’t it?
SVRECA: Valencia and I had a very special relationship and then also a personal one with the people here from Valencia, especially with you and as that has remained alive, that’s the reason why we are here again.
DV: Let’s start by talking about your career from the beginning, because there is a phrase that you had as a slogan for many years which was ‘Svreca: emptying dance floors since 1999’.
SVRECA: Completely true. Yes, completely true.
DV: So let’s talk about before 1999, before you started DJing. In Madrid, at the end of your science studies. What places inspired you, or was it more through the internet that you discovered things and went to record stores? Tell us.
SVRECA: Well, there was a huge techno scene in Madrid when I arrived. It was possibly already at its peak, at a time when techno was a business and huge events were already being held in nightclubs. That is, the techno scene was more than consolidated and then I continued to see small scale clubs. I remember, for example, one that was only on Thursdays and had super important guests every week. So even on weekdays in Madrid there was high-quality techno.
DV: And you already got hooked on techno. What influences did you have there before 1999 and before you started DJing?
SVRECA: Not before 1999, quite before, the influence of electronic music is varied. I get things that I like from many sides and it’s not just one. Here, the city of Madrid has very little to do with it. It has to do with the television channels that were available at that time. I was watching foreign channels already, and there was electronic music on TV, and then I was amazed by many of those sounds. And at that point I began to investigate where that music was coming from.
But well, I was maybe already 14 or 15 years old and was already enjoying what it was like to discover this type of physical and mental music, but I could not find it in everyday life, only in very specific places.
DV: So you had a satellite dish? This was before the internet, right?
SVRECA: Yes, it was from the community; they had installed it a few years earlier, and there began to arrive a stream of music that I did not understand very well.
DV: Now we are going to talk about 1999 to 2006, okay? That’s where Svreca begins as a DJ. You start to play in Madrid. Tell us about those seven years between 1999 and 2006.
SVRECA: I can tell you that I bought a lot of music. As a buyer and a vinyl collector I was almost compulsive, and I began, well, a bit to weave what I wanted my identity to be in behind some decks. And it was very difficult to DJ at that time because I was not a person who related to the nightlife of Madrid. It was very far from what I liked and it was very complicated to DJ at that time.
So what I did, I bought a lot of music, practiced at home, and occasionally the opportunity would arise to DJ at some rave or go to some club and do an opening. To take your records out for a walk. Then, as we got closer to 2003-2004, I was accumulating more performances, but it was all basically in slots that had no relevance within the scene.
DV: Well almost everyone when they start looks for those opening slots or they look for an opportunity at a rave or at a private party with friends.
SVRECA: I remember that I was very eager for people to be able to hear me. It was an obsession. I was working on the music I wanted to play, and it seemed diametrically opposed to everything I saw, even in the most select techno places.
I would say ‘please give me the opportunity because I have music that is incredible, but it’s very different from what you do. And it’s something that is perfect for when you do openings or when the dance floor is still cold, and I’m sure it fits perfectly with a techno party’. But it was super difficult, It was super difficult.
DV: I mean, in those early years of the 21st century, you already had a style of playing, right? You had a certain selection of music that was difficult to fit in, for example, at the peak moment of a club session or a clear festival.
SVRECA: Absolutely. And at that time, I was not interested at all in competing with the people that were playing at 3 or 4 in the morning, or the DJs at that time. I was like ‘they’re playing very good music, and it’s very cool, but I am discovering these other labels and these other artists that no one pays attention to or cares about, and they seem much more interesting to me.’
And I mean, it was also a way of standing out from the crowd, because technically I saw myself as quite limited in my ability to compete with the people who were already playing techno every weekend. That is to say, I didn’t see myself playing techno better than Pelacha and her wave sound, to give you an example of a DJ who was very relevant in the Madrid scene at that time. So, I couldn’t compete with the mixing style of Pelacha or Oscar [Mulero] or those who were moving at a national level. It was unthinkable.
DV: Therefore, the choice to play what you played was based on your musical taste but also on strategy, no? Not as a strategy to do something that others weren’t doing. But with another musical style, which is 4/4 all the time, you can enter different atmospheres, change speeds, cadences, rhythmic structures, trends…
SVRECA: It was purely a musical matter. All the music that wasn’t 4/4 and all the music that wasn’t designed to make a dance floor move at that moment was what attracted me the most. There’s a lot of that in Semantica Records although it has changed a lot.
At the time when I was very much outside of the scene, that part of the music was what touched my heart the most, and it was what I wanted to play. I didn’t want to play the techno of 4 in the morning, even though it was also amazing for many people. It didn’t interest me at that time.
DV: Was it a question of altruism?
SVRECA: No, it wasn’t a question of altruism. It was simply that the music I liked was different but it was electronic music of very high quality. And the reality is that the higher the quality, the less people liked it because it required more learning, more attention. Then I discovered that this approach for the club is really complicated. Even in the early hours of a party it’s really complicated. It feels like you are killing people, it feels like you’re torturing them.
And the consequence of that was the famous phrase that I shared among friends and the first promoters and DJs with whom I was starting to have a relationship of ‘Look, I’ve been clearing dance floors since 1999’ because that was the reality. I would enter a dance floor and even if there was a bit of a vibe, I would start my set and it was totally anticlimactic. People would leave and the venue would be cleared to do whatever you wanted.
SVRECA: At that time it seemed to me, well natural. Like this is not being understood by anyone. But then, I didn’t really understand the situation either. I thought they were missing out, like ‘This is wonderful.’ It didn’t make me very self-critical. But then I saw that it could fail and I would go back to examine the records after the set.
It was also a problem of focus at a more climactic moment of the night. When I was no longer an opening act and would come on after another colleague, and there was already an atmosphere more akin to what one goes to a club for - to dance and enjoy the music - I did notice that I was choosing the wrong records when mixing.
No matter how good they were, they were the wrong records and thus eliminated all the tension on the dancefloor. And it wasn’t about electronic or experimental stuff. It’s not that I would arrive at 2 in the morning and drop three ambient tracks. No, it was dance music, it was techno, it was electronic, but the beat wasn’t clear enough for the dance floor and so it destroyed everything.
I realised that having or selecting very good music, or what I thought was very good music, was not enough. And that’s where I really started to rethink many things about what a DJ should be.
DV: I believe that people like you are necessary because otherwise, we wouldn’t have progressed. That is, the same style would have been maintained for a long time. So take us back to around 2006. I understand you worked at a company, asked for some money to set up your own label and left?
SVRECA: I was a project manager at a Spanish telecommunications company. Well, it was Dutch, a Dutch multinational at that time, and just as the crisis was around the corner at that moment, a Spanish company decided to buy the Iberian part. And I saw that it had no future. They offered an incentivised severance, and I said, ‘Well, if you give me half of the severance pay, I’ll leave.’ And that’s what I did. I left with my unemployment benefits and my severance pay, and I set out to give it my last shot.
I think at that time, I thought it could be the last opportunity because I was already well into my adult life, and I saw it as the last chance. Maybe it wasn’t exactly like that, but I said to myself: ‘These years, I have to go all out with the label, and this has to be like…’ It was the last shot.
DV: You were not very young anymore. How old were you?
SVRECA: Well, I would have been about 27 years old.
DV: But you say that you were already living an adult life, right?
SVRECA: Yes, yes, I already had a stable job. I had my rental apartment. I was in that kind of life. I already had a partner. I was very close to giving up and saying, ‘Well, I really like music, I have a label, or I’m doing these things, but nothing has to come from it.’ I was already accepting that my role was going to be that.
DV: And how does someone, who is not a record seller, learn how to run a label? Because we are speaking of 2006 and the beginnings of Semantica Records.
SVRECA: Phew, the beginnings of the label were very complicated because the scene - and I’m not only talking about the techno scene, but the entire publishing business - was sinking at the moment I started the label. That is to say, there were a series of distributor-stores in Madrid that carried very important labels, even foreign ones at that time, and they were floundering because the MP3 had just burst onto the scene and the digital world was reaching the DJ booths in a way that had not happened before.
The computer appeared, and it became apparent that to have the music, you didn’t have to buy it. This was the first time that happened on a massive scale, so all these people who worked in the distributors and the stores were seeing it coming, and those who were purely in it for the business disappeared. So I started the label just at that moment. I was with Jacks [?] which was a distributor and a very large store in Madrid, and then with other people who remained in that area, and it was very difficult to work with them.
First, because of what was happening, and second, because they were people accustomed to making a lot of money with a single record, and that was never going to happen again. At least not like it would happen ten years before when they would sell 6000 copies of a maxi-single.
So that was when the label was born, and the first years were very complicated without knowing if it had any future. I kept putting a lot of money into it, kept paying for jobs that were quite expensive, and it never really took off, but that’s because a label has a very limited return. I always understood the label as a platform because it was very difficult to get gigs in my city, and I said: ‘Well, let’s try it this way, let’s try to have a presentation card that is better than just DJ’ing.’
DV: If you’re going to create a catalogue like the one you have created, obviously, important people are going to start appearing here and there. How were your first contacts with people like Jimmy Edgar, Donato Dozzy, and Oscar Mulero? I mean, there are so many important names from the beginning. DJ Muerto (a.k.a. Arcanoid) whom you have mentioned many times, was a very influential DJ for you in Madrid, a man who played incredible music.
SVRECA: Yes. And something similar happened to Luis (DJ Muerto/Arcanoid) in the openings that I saw. Very similar to what happened to me when DJing. He was the one who played the best music and people didn’t understand it at all. It was a very good example that you could play very good music and it wouldn’t have any significance on the dance floor, but it did have significance for many of us.
When I saw him at events in Madrid where he often had the opening role, I was amazed by his selection and the music he played. It was like world’s apart from what happened the rest of the night. When Luis stopped DJing, the standard began. The known came on. You began to recognise records, you began to understand that it was a techno party. But before that, there had been an alternative universe of electronic music, and that is what I wanted to do.
DV: What has happened to us in Spain? Why do we find it so hard to understand electronic music, to understand IDM, for example, which is music created in the early '90s and was already about 15 years old in 2006. Why do we Spaniards need so much power, so much energy, to enjoy ourselves on a dance floor? Why has it has been so hard for us to find spaces where we can start to play different electronic music and find people who like it?
SVRECA: I think that in the end, nothing has happened to us, right? We just had a delay as a country, maybe 40 or 50 years behind other countries which, curiously, I don’t know, like Germany, France, the United Kingdom. Countries where the music industry or where artists have another role, because these countries are rich and we are not.
After traveling, I’ve discovered that we as an audience don’t have any problem since the shortcomings we see here with respect to our culture and spaces are also present in other places. We are in a very good position. I mean, in Germany, aside from Berlin, the rest of the cities have one or two clubs, and if some with great infrastructure and extremely good sound, because there is money and because there are also a series of government aids. Culture is understood differently in general. But then, if you compare those places with Madrid or Barcelona, they are not so far from how the public reacts to the artists or the electronic music presented.
In fact, Spain has a lot of alternative festivals that are very healthy and more are appearing now. So when you compare us with the rest, I think we have a stigma that we are nothing. We think others are better. We think we’re inferior and that nothing ever works out and that everything will go terribly wrong, and that is a very Spanish way of thinking.
DV: And perhaps what benefits so many foreign artists is that Spain may be one of the countries that produce the most performances over the year because it has a climate that is very favorable for festivals. You can do a festival here in spring, summer, and autumn. In most European countries, they can only be done in summer or indoors. So someone like Jeff Mills for example has been here more than in Japan or England.
SVRECA: What has happened here - and still happens - is that we are not very protective of our national industry. Let me explain: in other countries, they propose something like a Sonar Lisbon, for example, which they produce themselves, and it is brought from the local to the national level, and it is chosen very well.
But here, that is not important. Here, one does what one does, with very little care, it doesn’t matter. You book your headliners and sell tickets, and the rest is not so easy. When you bring this type of proposal to a brand that has to rent large spaces that need permits, many countries are very protective of their national artists. They say no, you can do all this, but there is a quota. Why are you going to invite so-and-so if we have these three local artists who are almost better? I need to bet on them first, and then you do notice that lack of protection because we have a number of clubs and festivals, and for a long time, foreign artists have slipped in again and again, asking for huge amounts. And I don’t know, in Madrid, I don’t know what local artists there are to defend it. There are only a few because if there’s a big event from outside they don’t get an important role, they don’t get a chance to play before the star performance of Jeff Mills or another big DJ. Whereas in other places, that is important.
DV: And perhaps that’s why you created your own club night, your own event, to develop artists from the label?
SVRECA: No, Lumen Et Umbra was created out of the need to DJ. As a promoter that meant very very little, it is simply because of the need to DJ because it was really complicated for me at that time and I wanted to teach myself music at all costs.
DV: There were few, but there were quite cool events here at the Creu de IMC [?] for example, it could have been the one with Regis, we were also at the Slip Archive and there were some events at the always mythical and familiar SPK, right? Well, they were here last week, Santo and Rossi [?].
SVRECA: A greeting to them, we love them a lot, Santo and Rossi [?]
DV: Yes, what more artists, what more artists went up at Lumen et Umbra that you can remember well?
SVRECA: I remember the one with Regis because it was a great night and also because I started to have a different relationship with someone who for me was like an idol on many levels, that is, not only as a producer but also because of his label that I admired so much.
And I also remember the one with Raime, which was an English duo, that at that time was making spectacular music. Unfortunately, they have not done anything similar since, but at that moment it was something great and we invited them and it was a total disaster.
So, as a promoter, it was very similar to what happened to me as a selector who could pick things that would be wonderful or marvellous for the gallery. But if people don’t like the event because they think it is snobby or has no appeal then it makes no sense to invite artists that nobody knows. A better context is necessary. I now understand this. It is necessary to have a club or a stable programming or festival to invite certain artists and then it shines.
If you let yourself be carried away by passion, these things happen to you. You think something is wonderful, but of course, you lack the understanding that there are a lot of people who do not know these artists.
DV: And this directly influences the final result. We heard you talking about Regis and we are now going to listen to a song that we used to play all the time at our parties, and I’ve heard you say that there was a Semantica Records before this track, and one after. We’re talking of course about the Regis remix of Svreca’s Utero.
When you were creating Semantica we still did not know each other but obviously we met through the records and the store, and this song from around 2011 came out at around the same time when we finally met. And it just seems to me a completely celestial song of incredible emotionality.
SVRECA: It is one of the best remixes of Regis by far.
DV: Let’s listen a little.
[They listen to Svreca - Utero (Regis Remix)]
[It's very good.]
End of part one. Next week part two, which deals with the Scandinavian/Italian connections of Semantica, Labyrinth Festival, Donato Dozzy acting like a caveman, the professionalism of Oscar Mulero and why being a Superstar DJ has its downsides.
Please check out the video of this interview and leave a comment + like there on YouTube.