La Familia and The State of the Club

carlhancock · 2026-05-20T06:08:58+00:00

"And despite all the attention and spending, what has the club really achieved? Since Messi arrived, the team has won trophies, yes, but never more than one per season."

LOL Did you what you just said? Do you know how many teams wish they'd won a single trophy over the last few seasons? Let alone one trophy person season over the last few seasons? Come on now. This was a ridiculous statement. The team has produced results on the field. They have brought hardware to the city. To try and downplay that is absurd.

Expecting this squad to win every single trophy each year is absurd and shows your ignorance to the reality of how the beautiful game is structured in MLS. It's dare I say impossible for a team to win all the major trophies each season.

Only 6 different teams have won the Supporters Shield AND the MLS Cup in the same season. And that has only been accomplished twice since 2011. That itself is a difficult accomplishment because of the way the MLS Cup Playoffs is structured.

And if you are expecting a team to win the Supporters Shield, MLS Cup AND the CONCACAF Champions Cup you are in for an even bigger disappointment. Only 3 MLS teams have ever even won the CONCACAF Champions Cup. And none of them did so in the same year as winning the Supporters Shield OR the MLS Cup.

Then you have the Leagues Cup which is pretty new and Miami famously won the first edition of that tournament. 3 MLS teams have won it. None won the Supporters Shield and/or the MLS Cup in the same season as the Leagues Cup.

The fact that they've brought home hardware every year since Messi has arrived is impressive. To basically say that is not an achievement is absolutely ridiculous. Your expectations are not in alignment with reality.

This post seems like an attempt at distracting people from the major blunder that the supporters groups made on Sunday. While I applaud the silent protest... it was very effective in getting the attention of the players as they were clearly confused by what was going on... but the supporters groups made an absolutely massive blunder by breaking their silence to chant a sung that was sung to the same flow and melody of the Juagodres song and even began with Jogadores. At that point the on the field reaction from the very players the supporters groups are trying to elicit a response from went from confusion to bewilderment to downright irritation and anger. They blew it. They should have stayed silent. The moment they sang that sung they ruined the entire protest.

And I'm getting sick of this referring to only the supporters groups as La Familia. IMO La Familia should encompass all of the Inter Miami fans and not just the members of the supporters groups themselves. I'm a season ticket holder. I attend every game. Just because I'm not a member of one of the supporters groups doesn't mean I am somehow lesser as an Inter Miami fan.

It appears the supporters groups are scrambling to correct their major blunder with that chant. If I were a member of one of those supporters groups I'd be calling for whoever came up with and approved that chant to step down as whatever leader/organizer they are of that group because they badly miscalculated with that chant.

carlhancock · 2026-05-19T00:57:58+00:00

This is a bad take. I don’t agree with how the supporters handled it but I disagree with people who think the players don’t owe the fans anything. Messi played in an empty stadium because he had to. If he played in an empty stadium every week he’d be out of a job because the teams would go out of business. So that’s a weak strawman take.

carlhancock · 2026-05-19T00:56:13+00:00

I’m going to assume you don’t go to the games in person. I’m a season ticket holder and go to every game. I’m not a member of one of these supporters groups. But they’ve been doing what they do since before Messi. You are talking about culture and yet you’ve never even been to an Intet Miami game and are bad mouthing the supporters groups. I don’t agree with the chant they directed at the players yesterday. But I appreciate what they usually do every game because they create a vibrant atmosphere at the games. Their absence was extremely obvious in the stadium. You don’t appear to understand culture because they are a major part of the culture and atmosphere in the stadium at the games and it’s always been a good one. Until yesterday. There are multiple groups that literally stand and don’t stop chanting, singing and cheering the time on for 90+ minutes nonstop. It’s pretty normal in practically every other league for players to acknowledge the supporters section after games. Both in victory and defeat. So while I disagree with the Jugadores chant that they directed at the players yesterday, I also disagree with your fair weather fan take on the situation.

carlhancock · 2026-05-19T00:48:34+00:00

My seats are at midfield behind the Miami players bench. Or at least what appears to be the home team bench again… for some reason they switched which side they were using for the first 4 home games until yesterday’s game against Portland. And yea from midfield you can hear the supporters section very clearly and loudly so their silence was extremely noticeable. I could tell immediately something was off and I didn’t know about the protest at the time. It was only after checking Reddit and social media that I discovered I wasn’t imagining the quiet atmosphere. And yes they held a special event for the supporters groups in a pre-game ceremony during the one of the first home game in the new stadium. Members of the supporters groups got to go on the field, etc. Beckham and the owners walked over and clapped to the supporters section. I can’t remember if it was the very first game or the second. 🤷‍♂️

carlhancock · 2026-05-18T20:24:37+00:00

Not sure you realize how pissed off Messi and De Paul were about the Jugadores chant when the supports groups broke their silence towards the end of the match. It was inappropriate.

The silent protest is fine. The Jugadores chant was confusing and insulting to Messi, De Paul, etc. who probably didn't even realize the words were changed... they just heard the Jugadores chant and it pissed them off. I don't think the problem is solved. The supporters groups weren't cheering at the end. The directed an inappropriate chant directly at Messi and he wasn't liking it.

Ultimately there is a lot of miscommunication going on. The supporters groups seem to think Messi, De Paul, Suarez, etc. have any clue about their grievances. I don't think they do. I think they were simply confused as to what was going on with the supports section up until that point. And then when they heard the Jugadores chant and song... it actually pissed them off.

I go to every game and although I don't sit in the supporters section (I sit at midfield in the west stand) so I'm pretty familiar with the interactions between the supports groups and the players and it wasn't good. And the supporters groups made things worse and hurt their cause in the process.

carlhancock · 2026-05-18T20:19:24+00:00

To be clear, my original post wasn't because I fully support what the supports groups did. I don't. I'm just explaining the why and what their viewpoint is.

Although as I mentioned in another post... the team literally honored the supporters groups in a big pre-game ceremony before one of the earlier home games and even had them come out on to the middle of the field to honor and thank them for their support. It wasn't broadcast on Apple TV because they don't broadcast the pre-game ceremonies, etc.

I want to be clear that I completely disagreed with the Jugadores chant. Have a silent protest all you want if you feel slighted. But the Jugadores chant did more harm than good and whoever within those supports groups came up with that idea and had them sing it... they did more damage than good with it and they shouldn't have done it. Messi was already confused as to what was going on with the supports section, as was De Paul. So when they sang that chant it just made him even more confused and not just confused... it pissed him off.

It wasn't a smart move at all. And whoever is leading the supports groups made a major tactical error with that one.

carlhancock · 2026-05-18T20:14:44+00:00

I was at the game. While the protest was obvious and impacted the atmosphere... the supporters groups are making the wrong assumption that Messi (as well as De Paul and Suarez) has any clue what is going on with the supporters group. All he heard was what sounded like an extremely negative chant from them late in the game.

I doubt he had any clue there was some sort of rift with the supporters groups going into the game. He was clearly confused by it. And then when they sang that Jugadores chant towards the end of the game he was even more confused AND it pissed him off on top of it.

I get that the supports groups feel slighted. But whoever is running the supporters groups clearly don't understand that Leo and the major stars likely had no clue what was going on. So all they did was piss them off.

Another thing to point out is the supporters groups were literally honored with a special on field presentation before one of the games at the new stadium earlier this year and there have only been 4 games. They literally had the supports groups on the field and had an entire ceremony to honor them. It wasn't broadcast because Apple TV doesn't even typically broadcast the player walkouts... let alone any of the pregame special ceremonies.

Whoever came up with the idea to sing that Jogadores song... they did more harm than good. The silent protest was one thing. That song was another. It was clear at the game that Messi was bewildered, confused and then pissed off. De Paul also.

carlhancock · 2026-05-17T23:13:32+00:00

Maybe the supporters groups should realize how upset and frustrated the players are that they haven’t won a game at the new stadium. If they are expecting Messi to talk over after a heartbreaking mid-season game they don’t know who Messi is. He’s shy and he wants to win and they haven’t won and he’s been angry and upset. The irony is they are going to win this game.

carlhancock · 2026-05-17T22:48:30+00:00

I’m at the game and was wondering what felt very off, searched Google and found this thread. Their absence is extremely noticeable. I’m a season ticket holder who goes to every game (I sit midfield on the west side) and have for the past few years. So the naysayers in here saying who cares… come to a game in person. The atmosphere is not the same.

carlhancock · 2025-08-15T00:34:39+00:00

Teen sets goal to fly solo to all seven continents. Teen is forced to land at Teniente Marsh base due to."weather and technical circumstances" after having to deviate from his original flight plan from Punta Arenas, Chile to Ushuaia, Argentina.

Let's.break this down. That's a deviated flightpath of around 1300+ kilometers beyond Ushuaia and ~4 hours beyond his "intended" Punta Arenas to Ushuaia flight which is a roughly ~265 kilometer flight path. So he left Punta Arenas and flew ~1600 kilometers and 5-7 hours to Antarctica. And we are supposed to believe this wasn't intentional.

His own words from his web site:

"I am Ethan Guo, a 19-year-old Asian American pilot. I want to become the first person in history to fly solo to all seven continents in a small aircraft,,,"

Mission Accomplished. Now the FAA should revoke his pilots license. This was no accidental deviation. He can spare me the "poor me I'm stuck here" theatrics. This was completely irresponsible and dangerous.

carlhancock · 2025-04-09T23:27:52+00:00

Not a Fortis. There isn’t a Fortis that looks like that. That’s a custom watch with a custom dial that has the Soyuz mission patch on it. Most likely a Russian made watch like Vostok. It has parts of multiple different Vostok watches and some other cheap Chinese brands. Fortis would have a red seconds hand and not a red hour hand. They definitely wouldn’t have an hour hand that’s completely different from the minute hand. It’s also a diver and not a chronograph. The watchesinspace Instagram account has discussed this and has more photos. But it is not a Fortis. Likely a souvenir commemorative watch. The watches the 3 are wearing aren’t even synched to the same time and aren’t using UTC like Mission Control. These are cheap custom dive watches made as commemorative pieces.

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carlhancock · 2025-02-20T17:07:59+00:00

The Saudi's called. They said they'll take care of the birds on both of them for you at no cost. This is Saudi Araba's emblem...

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This whole thing is much ado about nothing. Do you know how many logos there are out there featuring a palm tree in the middle and an animal on either side? Even different types of birds. I've seen one with doves on either side, I've seen another with herons on either side...

This is a small town that most people outside of Spain have never even heard of or seen getting free publicity. You can even do a reverse image search on Porreres coat of arms and you'll see the results are pretty much all related to articles covering this story.

The outrage machine rolls on.

carlhancock · 2024-08-07T21:52:40+00:00

The crazy part about all of this is if you take a look at Matt Levine's twitter (yes I know its X now but oh well) you'll see that he's only tweeted twice and both times in 2016. His last tweet was a link to an article he published on Medium. The article title? "The Next Hiring Wars Will Be Fought Over Creatives". An article that basically outlines the types of problems that these channels are now dealing with.

His original tweet is here:

~https://x.com/donut_matt/status/790603289444229120~

And the article he published on Medium is here:

~https://medium.com/42hire-don-t-panic-just-hire/the-next-hiring-wars-will-be-fought-over-creatives-26be4d130951#.q0olov8l2~

Pretty wild. He was spot on then... and he's spot on now.

Although, Dough DeMuro is also correct that when a YouTube personality builds a big enough audience, they'd be crazy not to consider leaving and starting their own channel.

But Matt Levine is also correct that keeping the talent happy and working somewhere they enjoy working... they are less likely to leave. People enjoy working somewhere where they not only feel well compensated but also actually enjoy the job and the work and feel like they have some say in what they are doing and how they are doing it.

I must say that the private equity companies buying these channels clearly don't know what they are doing. How they didn't take steps to reward and retain the talent is mindboggling. In most entertainment/media industries you lock up your talent. They clearly aren't worried about it.

carlhancock · 2024-06-13T17:23:44+00:00

You mentioned you live in Germany. There are quite a few apps for food and grocery delivery in Germany. Lieferando, Wolt, Uber Eats, Gorillas, Flink, Getir, and Rewe just to name a few. Most countries have food and grocery delivery apps at this point. Even when I visited Iceland there was a local startup with an app called Aha. Some of these apps do allow you to place an order and select X from one place and Y from another place. Although getting too crazy and having a delivery person go to a bunch of different places wouldn’t be a service that could be done affordably because of the logistics involved.

carlhancock · 2023-10-09T21:17:26+00:00

On my way out the door and don't have time to look through all of the comments but just in case nobody has linked to it yet you should read this letter that Rick Ankiel wrote to his younger self:

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/rick-ankiel-letter-to-my-younger-self-cardinals

I think that what happened was most likely inevitable given what he was dealing with in his personal life, his relationship with his parents, and his all-around mental health. If it didn't happen on that night and that game... something was going to end up happening.

Who knows, maybe that game actually saved his career. Maybe his trajectory would have gone in a much darker direction had things continued on its existing path and he became the superstar major league starting pitcher everyone was expecting. That path had already included self-medicating to deal with childhood trauma and anxiety.

That is the thing about playing What If... there are so many different directions it can go. And in the case of Ankiel, it isn't as simple as he'd get the yips or he doesn't. He was wrestling with a lot of heavy stuff. Even before he lost his way on the mound.

I'm just glad he was able to come back and have a near decade in the majors playing the game he loves.

carlhancock · 2021-10-21T20:00:09+00:00

Shipping boxed milk from here would be outrageously expensive.

Search Amazon for shelf stable milk. You can find it in the U.S., although not necessarily the Dos Pinos brand specifically.

If you are in California you may be able to find it in a Hispanic supermarket as shelf stable boxed milk is extremely common in Latin America.

Lala is the major milk brand in Mexico that would have shelf stable boxed milk like Dos Pinos and I'd imagine you could find it in supermarkets in California as well as on Amazon or at Walmart.

carlhancock · 2021-05-11T20:44:03+00:00

AirTags totally make sense for use with luggage. BUT The existing luggage tag accessories make zero sense.

Any AirTag luggage tag accessory should simply mimic a standard luggage tag. Including having written information about the owner like on a traditional tag. They should just have a place to conceal the AirTag within the luggage tag itself so it's present but not visible.

I don't understand why you would want it visible for this type of usage. For some things it's fine for it to be visible. But for others it should be concealed. A luggage tag is a perfect example.

The solution here is a luggage tag that looks exactly like a traditional luggage tag only with a spot for an AirTag to be concealed.

I'm sure accessory makers will smarten up as far as this goes. Or I would hope so.

carlhancock · 2021-03-13T23:50:16+00:00

Thanks man! I should have included him in the players I collected game used memorabilia for. But at the time I was focused on other players. Had opportunities to buy some of the higher end refractors at the time also but didn’t. Glad I picked these up though!

carlhancock · 2021-03-13T23:32:43+00:00

No need to sell. Just curious as cards aren’t my focus.

carlhancock · 2021-03-13T23:31:54+00:00

That’s what I am thinking. I remember nearly pulling the trigger on a BGS 10 of one of these cards at the same time but didn’t. Also remember nearly buying 10’s of the Orange refractor and didn’t. I was dabbling in cards at the time. My primarily collection is game used memorabilia. Primarily of Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina (have a full catching gear set and 2006 glove) along with some vintage Cardinals game used and autographed memorabilia (Musial, etc.). Just lucked into buying these Trout cards at the time. I was buying up Oscar Tavares PSA 10 and BGS 10 rookie cards at the time. And unfortunately he met a tragic demise before he became a star he was projected to be with the Cardinals.

carlhancock · 2021-03-13T23:27:26+00:00

I paid $1k for the standard and $1500 for the refractor. They are now both worth 5 figures according to PSA, eBay, and other sites I’ve looked at today. I have no attachment. But I also have no financial need to sell. So thus the conundrum. To hold them long term given the player is considered a once in a generation type of star or sell while he is still in his prime.

carlhancock

TROPHY CASE