baxus

Air quality in Belgrade is really poor, to the point of outdoor exercise not being recommended. It has really not helped with my laziness when it comes to running. I finally went out to do a 5-5.5km yesterday evening and quite enjoyed it. The bad part is that I did it around 10PM yesterday and had a crossfit workout today at 8.45AM, so now my legs are feeling quite heavy now.

I agree that Messi has been repeatedly asked to carry the team (more often country than the club) on his back. What @mormont points out there is basically a difference between Messi and Ronaldo's career. That being said, he's still playing with top level players even if they are not 100% tailored to his needs. Best players in the world do best in biggest matches (obviously, that's not limited to football) and he has failed to do it a few times.

I think the whole "Barca didn't build a team around him" is not really true. Barca's team was good enough to get into the CL semifinals last season and have 3-0 lead before the match at Anfield. Messi is the team star player and he should step up in big matches like that one at Anfield. Instead, he looked defeated even after Liverpool went 2-0 up, let alone after third and fourth goal. Now, I understand that it was one of the all-time great Liverpool performance, I get that there's something special about European nights at Anfield and that's all great, but Messi is the one team looked to for leadership and he is the one who failed to produce it. His body language was so bad that it was clear even to people watching on TV that Barca were done for. Can't even imaging how his teammates felt at the moment. Messi is a great player, one of the all-time bests and the best one of his generation* and no matter what team he's on he'll be looked to for leadership, inspiration and plays that win the game. He needs to step up as a leader, because at the level he's at being team's best player is not enough. *personal opinion, not meant to start Messi vs. Ronaldo debate

They were pretty massive in the rest of Europe, too.

He is my compatriot and I love seeing him become as great as he has become, but it has to be said that he's different from what tennis crowds are used to seeing. His behaviour from the beginning of his career did him no favours when it comes to making him crowd favourite.

It's not that confusing, once you think about it. Spectators paid insane amounts of money to watch the match and they would want to see the best match possible, regardless of who they're supporting. Seeing Djokovic trample Thiem 6:2, 6:2, 6:2 in an hour and a half would not be in their best interest. Seeing Thiem trample Djokovic like that would be a sensation and they'd all at least have that "I was there when it happened".

I think I've had enough of rowing to last me a lifetime, at least on the machine. I'd go out on the river again any day.

Here we go again...

Most of the people I know definitely know what a Klingon looks like or what they are. You are severely underestimating Star Trek impact. See how stupid it is trying to prove a point that way?

Given that the GoT went to shit after original material dried up, I'm not that confident that spin-off series would reach the quality of first couple of seasons of GoT. EDIT: Time will tell, I guess.

Give it a couple of years and we'll talk who remembers Khaleesi's boobs then. Huge viewership does lead to cultural phenomenon, but it's not the only requirement. As already stated, Lost was huge while it aired, so was a bunch of other shows and most of them have been all but forgotten by now. Also, we shouldn't forget the fact that when original Star Trek series aired TV was nowhere near as big as it is now and there was no way to see those shows except to watch them on TV (either when it premiered or one of the reruns) while today you can watch it on TV, you can stream it and let's not go down the path of copyright infringement.

You wot mate?

If we're talking about who had more viewers, then GoT takes that one, but huge viewership does not make something a cultural phenomenon. Star Trek had much more influence on the general public. We all know about Spock, "Beam me up, Scottie", "live long and prosper"... You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who couldn't recognise a Klingon from a picture. There are other series that ran for decades after the original series ended, numerous big blockbuster movies. Hell, there are people around the world who speak Klingon! Sure, GoT had breasts but is, as others have already said, almost forgotten barely a year after the last episode.

Star Trek was and still is much more of a cultural phenomenon than Game of Thrones.

I was on vacation for 17 days and haven't done much during that period. Good part is that I've made a decision to add one running session a week and go for a half-marathon in my hometown. I have three months until the race and that should be plenty of time to get some distance under my belt.