Stadiums: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

[@TheLunarLegend]

Reminds me of those arguments between children and their parents. 'Buy me this new toy or I'm running away!'

[@OldSkullInn]

TheLunarLegend Welcome to America. Land of the spoiled, for the rich.

[@SergheyKatastrofenko]

TheLunarLegend I'd just say "run away, I don't care. Actually, I'm better off without you." I don't get it. Why do cities still pay for these things? Well... I kind of get it. Corruption and manipulation. "In baseball, the books are private". Yeah? So nobody has the right to check the books? I bet these guys would lose everything and go to jail if someone would look into that. But why would they? The machine is working perfectly. And what the hell is up with that taser thing?

[@TheLunarLegend]

Marius Gabriel Lupu simple. The fans. They're the ones voting. Piss then off and goodbye job. And unfortunately sports fans, at least these die-hard serious ones, aren't good art seeing anything past their sport. All they care about is keeping the team, screw hospitals and education, football.

[@Drewzer154]

***** I'm all for tasing politicians, ALL politicians!

[@LordDragox412]

Drewzer154 You're acting like a politician, thus you are a politician. TASER TASER TASER!!! **BZZZZZZT!!!**

[@johnnyjohnson4214]

so, in America, there's no public funding for important things such as health but you publically fund stadiums?

[@SuigaRou]

What can we say? America's fucked.

[@lukepilkington734]

+Nameless User America is stupid Britain is smart

[@D3M0NFANGS]

I think you proved yourself wrong with Brexit.

[@D3M0NFANGS]

I agree with Nameless, I believe for healthcare they need to change policies more than they need funding.

[@WanderingCoyoteXVII]

I don't know about that one, nobody I've ever talked to who's lived in the UK feels the NHS is actually effective, they're just thankful they don't have to pay for the shitty service. One of my friends is actually making a point to see a doctor when he goes home to Poland, which, by most estimates, is not a country that should have better health care than the UK.

[@CliffRoth]

I have been saying this for YEARS. There is no reason stadiums should be paid for with public funds.

[@shielamabasa6784]

I agree with u Mr cliff

[@AnthonyEvangelista]

Of course there is a reason.....the reason is for rich team owners to give politicians campaign donations and help enrich both the sports team owners and help secure the politicians power.

[@AndrewCoffman]

Don't forget distracting the masses at the regional level...

[@joshuacox534]

Anthony Evangelista this guy gets it

[@snoopyolsey]

That's what Houston said back in the day. So the Oilers went to Nashville and then the Super Bowl as the Titans. Mountains of lost revenue between that loss and when we came to our senses and built a stadium for the Texans. That said, if u aren't a fan I get why u wouldn't like it. Personally, I resent the stupid bike lanes and paths.

[@Oakeedokee7]

As a European, the idea of a team just moving to a different city if they don't get what they want just seems unthinkable

[@erikgoossens1]

@Oakeedokee, exactly! In Rotterdam they want to build a new stadium for Feijenoord, just a walking distance away, many fans are up in arms about that because “de Kuip” has history (it was built in 1935 and finished in 1936). Can you imagine what would happen if it would go to another town/city? All hell would brake loose! A club is rooted in a certain town/city and that is where it should stay!

[@McChes]

This did happen in England with Wimbledon FC in 2003, which relocated from Wimbledon in South West London to Milton Keynes about 60 miles away. They changed their name to the MK Dons to reflect the location change. Many of the fans rejected the switch, however, and instead set about founding their own new team, Wimbledon AFC, which has worked its way up through the amateur leagues and now plays in League One alongside MK Dons.

[@Weirdkauz]

@@McChes Great Story!

[@SagBobet]

Well, a similar example for Europe is in Formula 1, where many racetracks are publicly funded. Also the Alpine team (owned by Renault) is funded by public French money, and also Ferrari (owned by Fiat) which receives subsidies from the Italian government. Even though it's not exactly similar, but still the same result: public money going to a sport which not everyone likes or cares about.

[@dyltack5349]

@@erikgoossens1 shit happens in baseball very often and some of those teams have been playing since pre 1900

[@Wingsaber]

"If you love your city, you'll pay for our stadium" How about if YOU love this city, you'll pay for your own stadium and save the city a ton of money???

[@mikurunrunrun]

Fans should be angry at the teams for threatening to abandon them if they don't get money that should be put to better uses rather than the people trying to stand up to them.

[@fabbymarmol766]

They are extremist sports fans. Do you really expect them to use logic? Love you pic BTW

[@DeannaBaileytheRavensFan]

+Fabby Marmol Fair enough.

[@fionasaunders5648]

Let the clubs threaten to go and let them. It happened in the UK with Wimbledon football club. They threatened to move, they did and now they are in the lower leagues. All this money being spent when public services are being slashed. It's disgraceful.

[@oskarmartin6486]

Mikurunrun I don't get it. If a major Sportsteam in my country would leave a City it would be the end for them.

[@hoihoi12250]

Mikurunrun if the san Diego raiders leave san Diego are they really the san Diego raiders. don't they need to change their names

[@StanManSteve]

"Deers aren't scary they're timid forest ponies with sticks on their heads, I fear no deer" man the writing on this show is great.

[@Vale-fd4pk]

Ryne Mcgriffin or when you are alone in the woods and you start to hear them shouting, with their weird voice, and running around ... yeah it was not a good Sunday night ...

[@VenusWarlords]

Spoken by a man who's never seen a real deer, they will MESS YOU UP

[@Qui-Dad-Jinn]

That's what I loved about Jesse Ventura, he refused to tax the people for a new vikings stadium, and instead put it into education. And I'm a Vikings fan.

[@jordananderson2728]

Jesse Ventura was a chad. I love his response to being asked to give back the Virginia flag we stole in the Civil War.

[@scotto2291]

@@jordananderson2728 What was the response?

[@jordananderson2728]

@@scotto2291 "Why? We won."

[@tsmitz8184]

@@jordananderson2728 we didn’t steal it. We captured it legitimately during battle at the cost of 80% of the soldiers sent from Minnesota. It is our history now.

[@zechariahcameron3645]

Was this before the Metrodome?

[@BLARGHALT]

Kinda reminds me of my own high school back in my hometown >blows 3 million on brand new stadium >"we just can't afford new computers this year!"

[@ishizumontoya8162]

+Blarghalt vine.co/v/e2lpuwZ2pPB

[@filipe5722]

+Blarghalt How can a high school pay a stadium? That's really a thing in the US?

[@BLARGHALT]

Filipe Barroso If anything, John's understanding the problem in the US.

[@darwincity]

+Blarghalt Priorities! It's for idiots.

[@indy_go_blue6048]

+Blarghalt The HS in my small town (about 15,000) dropped band and phys ed classes to buy new uniforms for the football team that over the past decade averaged a .500 w-l average. It then spent $150K on a new stadium the next year. This was in the late '80s. Of course the "they spent" means the taxpayers spent...

[@DanielBiggins17]

She just tasered the mayor??? Am I the only person whose mind was just blown???

[@cloeday7361]

+Daniel Biggins I could not believe it either.

[@christianinkster1729]

What an utter twit. I wonder if she has ever been to a place where you can simply go outdoors naturally and lace on a pair of skates and go skating or join a pick up hockey game in progress, as opposed to being in that giant anthill in Arizona that happens to have an ice making plant in it?

[@abundantones3838]

+Daniel Biggins It's ok because she said "taser" the minimum three times required by law in their town, before doing so.

[@fritzguy]

+Christian Inkster Most people in Arazona never leave the state, so I'm going to guess no.

[@DaL33T5]

+Daniel Biggins That scene is practically a living political cartoon for the relationship between sports franchises and local government.

[@michaelpietrzak2067]

As a San Diego native, I am glad we told the Chargers to pound sand when they demanded the city give them the land and pay for a new stadium

[@riseofthesugars5312]

Michael Pietrzak Fuck you Spanos!!!

[@ForrestFox626]

Hopefully your city will use that money for a much better use.

[@seanbell69]

Qualcomm is the shit, I don't understand why they'd need a new one

[@jarodarmstrong]

I’m happy watching the dumpster fire that is the move to LA.

[@ForrestFox626]

@@jarodarmstrong It has been!?

[@timstram]

Got pushed into my auto play today, and just want to say that I'm so proud of my home state of Rhode Island for not dealing with the Pawtucket red Sox to build a new stadium, letting the team walk to another state, and announcing a plan to tear down the old stadium and build a state of the art high school for the city of Providence! This is a true win for the city and the entire state.

[@HobbiesGamesChillin]

“We’re gonna leave” “K” - builds school

[@Elrond_Hubbard_1]

Give poor kids a school lunch? "THAT'S COMMUNISM. THAT'S EVIL Give a billionaire $100mil for literally no reason? _national anthem starts playing_ _eyes begin to water up_ **sniff** "Gawd bless this country"

[@FreemanicParacusia]

"And don't you f***ing dare kneel!"

[@randomcommenter3819]

But.. public schools already have free lunches for poor children..

[@maralangley8806]

@@randomcommenter3819 lol no they do not

[@randomcommenter3819]

@@maralangley8806 but they do. At least public schools in kentucky and ohio do. You just fill out this one page sheet that comes in your welcome packet with like rules and stuff and they give you a free lunch. I believe it's called fns. You can go to the USDA.gov website and read "Any student in a participating school can get an NSLP lunch regardless of the student's household income. Eligible students can receive free or reduced-price lunches"

[@someinternetguy1065]

@@randomcommenter3819 but they have limited funding for providing those lunches, in my school there were kids who went hungry on a daily basis because the school didn't have enough money to provide lunches for the amount of kids that depended on it

[@Lutranereis]

It's funny how we let people get away with forcing our communities to pay for businesses we don't need in promise for jobs and income that never really materializes. We should fight back against this kind of sick coercion, especially when it comes to sports stadiums. Threatening to move to another city if their demands are not met should be responded to with the laughter and ridicule it deserves.

[@Jwend392]

Lutranereis Unfortunately, politicians have no backbone. If we just told the Bucks (and the NBA) "No, pay for the arena yourselves" and then they made good on their threat to fuck off to Seattle or Las Vegas, the Bucks fans in Milwaukee and its suburbs will flock to the polls in droves next election looking to seek revenge on those politicians who cost Milwaukee the Bucks.

[@R4sKal]

Oh, the income does materialize, usually in the team owner's pocket.

[@ammo1317]

Jwend392 They have backbones, they are just wedged deep inside their pockets behind all that gold.

[@NoobFish23]

Jwend392 I'm from that area, and everyone I know hates the Bucks. We've got the Raiders. Who needs a deer? It's not like they could go anywhere else. Nobody wants them. Also, because I must, the Packers are publicly owned. They can never leave, and all the money goes back to supporting the team, not a billionaire's pocket. I love Wisconsin!

[@SinHurr]

Burn it all.

[@willzyxOfficial]

I don't understand how moving to another city is even an option in the US... Most European football teams are so intricately linked to their city, moving is not even an option. No one would support them anymore, not the old city, not the new one. Just shows how everything in the US is in the first place about business, and business alone. So sad.

[@Mythman-td5qm]

There's literally a Minnesota basketball team called the Lakers (because Minnesota has a SHIT ton of lakes) that moved to LA, but kept the name. Wth?

[@wegawind8747]

I actually didn't even know this was a thing in the US. The idea that a team doesn't represent a specific city is so absurde it actually hasn't crossed my mind yet. I mean, I don't even know why you would support a specific team if not because it is your home city's one.

[@Mythman-td5qm]

Wega Wind We do support our city's team, it's just that the city doesn't technically own the team, so they're able to move around if they want.

[@rickycook1539]

Mythman2090 the Packers are owned by the city of Green Bay

[@Mythman-td5qm]

Ricky Cook Well no one likes the Packers

[@gm1258001]

Here in North Texas, we use Cowboys Stadium as a tornado shelter, nothing touches down there.... I'll show myself out...

[@unaffiliateduser8995]

Lol! You're right!

[@devynescatell8302]

so, in America, there's no public funding for important things such as health but you publically fund stadiums?

[@unaffiliateduser8995]

@@devynescatell8302 Exactly. It's a shame.

[@jatindhamecha2725]

How about making an actual shelter instead ?

[@drzoidberg3849]

Here in texas, we used nrg stadium for drive through voting and covid testing last year. Edit: and also monster truck rallies.

[@lalamelol]

Cause you know, stadiums are more important than schools and health carem

[@egacide]

lalamelol No wonder we are near last in education, we value a bunch of dudes rubbing their balls all over each other more than our youth.

[@langohr9613ify]

This is holding rich and poor together, taking mony from the publuc and giving it to people that just play a game. As they could potentialy not play on a normal sport fucilet

[@TheEpic22]

Economically, yes they are.

[@TaIoCrUz246]

lalamelol About time America woke up. Stadium > Lives

[@LakerzFan96]

People that try and invalidate a problem because there are supposedly larger problems...... 😒

[@alexandernoname6339]

I will never understand why in the US sports teams can leave a town, in Europe this would cost you all of your fans and you would never find new ones.

[@helvete983]

Teams are limited and so many cities are desperate for a team, in the US you can't just create a team. There is no promotion or relegation. Imagine if Berlin had no football teams and a team from a city with more than one team, say Munich decided to relocate one team to Berlin, do you not think they would have support? They'd have to start over and rename, but they'd eventually likely be very well supported simply because that area wanted a team to support.

[@TPHB5011]

I get that. But in Europe, many teams are culturally and historically embedded in their city. Evan a change in the teams name and the name of their stadium is met with fierce resistance

[@helvete983]

Resistance isn't the same as acceptance. You can argue that some American teams are culturally embedded, and then they move, It doesn't take much to become part of the culture and don't forget some of the teams who have moved have actually won trophies. (which is paralleled by FA cup winners Wimbledon then becoming MK Dons)

[@TPHB5011]

Helvete MK Dons was Wimbledon.... MK Dons was set up because Wimbledon skipped town and now the Dons are in a higher league than Wimbledon and MK Dons never won an FA CUP

[@stevel.3903]

Soccer teams in germany can face bankrupcy or can be bought by a big company (for example RB Leipzig), but I never heard of a team relocating, cause they wont get funded enough in their home town. It just doesn't happen over here.

[@talideon]

This sounds like the very definition of an abusive relationship. These clowns don't deserve fans.

[@MissNayNay]

Cíat Ó Gáibhtheacháin Yep, exactly!

[@someonesomewhere9746]

Cíat Ó Gáibhtheacháin And just like many abusive relationships the victims still choose(?) to stay :(

[@Arkayjiya]

Cíat Ó Gáibhtheacháin That's an awesome (albeit depressing) comparison

[@verticalfracture]

talesin- god of the internet airports are infrastructure in the same way roads are

Isaac Pope so? airports are still built with public money to support private businesses that pay nothing for their construction and stadiums are infrastructure (the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society or enterprise) they are available for public use other than the main sporting events

[@MrCaptainAmerica13]

All three of the teams mentioned in this have moved cities as of 2020. Insane.

[@birdn4t0r7]

the hilarious thing is, now no one is watching sports because of the pandemic. have fun in LA, bengals.

@@birdn4t0r7 Can you imagine blowing billions of public money for such a garbage team?

[@jimothypersson8306]

I was so confused when he said st louis rams and san diego chargers cause I've only ever heard of the as los angeles teams

[@MaineGamerGirl]

@@jimothypersson8306 its fucking hilarious

[@goblinwisdom]

Its just sports bless em

[@underwaterlion5453]

Sports, the thing you weren't quite good enough at for your dad to love you. -John Oliver Hit the nail right on the head, the painful head....

[@stannisthemannisbaratheon1039]

Penis

[@fredit123456789]

Fulgencio Pritchett nah they exist in the real world as well i've seen them but hey therr are worst fathers i've seen and meet them as well.

[@ebuzzmiller34]

Fulgencio Pritchett Hey it doesn't have to always be sports, I was such a disappoint in many different ways that made my mom call me an abortion regret.

[@someonesomewhere9746]

***** OMG same :/

[@DocDarkLord666]

America: "It's the immigrants fault that we have homeless vets!" Also America: "This billionaire is too poor to build a new stadium"

[@lucifaerislifeandstuff5181]

Arms of an angel.... I am spokesperson and Remember with your tax dollars you can help this poor desperate millionaire afford the basic stadium that he needs.... Some comfort here.

[@NickleJ]

You sound like a LIBTARD, so let me make this simple for you... We could go crazy and force billionaires pay their taxes like we do to the middle class, and use THAT money to fund social services, *-- OR INSTEAD--* we could simply allow our *politicians* to compete over who can give away the most dollars in corporate handouts, while also allowing them to accept bribes and fund their campaigns in the form of "lobbyist dollars" and "PACs", and fund social services *LIKE THAT.* The better solution should be OBVIOUS, but I wouldn't expect a SOCIALIST to understand.... /s

[@mortuos557]

@@NickleJ isn't that a socialist thing to say? Tax the rich and invest in social services? I might have misunderstood you in case there was sarcasm.

[@ralphize5153]

Moritz Nesbigall there is

[@mortuos557]

@@ralphize5153 does /s mean sarcasm?

[@JordanWindhamBenford]

I'm from the Detroit area and man you don't know how much of a smack in the face that new Red Wings stadium is. They took over $200 million of tax payer money we didn't have to pay for that thing. Meanwhile all of our good roads are torn to pieces. The neighborhood still has no jobs. The education system is still one of the worst in the country. The homeless walk around like a zombie Apocalypse is going on. The list goes in for Detroit. They could've used that money for damn near anything and chose to be stupid intentionally.

[@johnedwards2244]

Half-Nerd Half-Something Else And I bet you guys will still elect Democrats who will keep on spending money you don't have. Really you have only yourselves to blame.

[@danielruljancic3358]

John Edwards It has nothing to do with Democrats or Republicans, You really think all the towns NFL NBA and NHL and MLB are in and have signed horrible deals like this are all Democrat run? Seriously?

[@JordanWindhamBenford]

You do a majority of the state is Republican ran right?

[@twgann]

Dude ive been to Detroit a bunch and no offense but that city is a shit hole. They ABSOLUTELY needed to spend that money on improving basically everything

[@obiwan1947]

Half-Nerd Half-Something Else Detroit is the living example of allowing Democrats - especially Black Democrats - to run a city; once called the Paris of the Midwest - into a total pile of shit

[@schattentaenzerin]

I try to imagine a soccer club here leaving for another city. The fans would wave goodbye with one finger. The new city would always see them as rivals and traitors. That new stadium would be empty.

[@partlycurrent]

Just in, Borussia Dortmund moving their ground to Gelsenkirchen :D

[@salaji8987]

No that’s just your childish mind every city in the world wants sports team

[@Lichenroc]

@@salaji8987 lmao you sound like a child

[@mastertrams]

Proof of 1 out of 4 of those claims can be seen in North London. In the early 20th Century, The Royal Arsenal moved from Woolwich (where the actual Royal Arsenal factory is) to Islington (where they still play to this day, albeit now called the simpler "Arsenal"), and both Tottenham Hotspurs and Leyton Orient have seen them as invaders essentially. Hence we got the North London Derby between Arsenal and Spurs. I know this wasn't so much moving cities, but it was relocating a team.

[@Zzyzzyzzs]

@@salaji8987 Then start and/or fund your own. Don't steal somebody else's. USA's franchise model is a castle built on sand. We have seen it fail many times both in America and elsewhere. I can guarantee you that in every town or city someone founds or moves a franchise team to, there is already a team there. It's likely a shit team with no good facilities and few fans aside from local support, but it's there, waiting for the council or somebody to fund it properly and build its support.

[@muditay.1790]

I think we have enough stadiums. Why don't we try to use the money on...I don't know, education?

[@Commievn]

Mudita Y. yeah, cheaper education will always be the best!

[@LittleBunnyKungFoo]

Mudita Y. Because, unlike what this segment would have you believe, stadiums give a return on investment to both private investors who pay for them, and the cities that receive increased tax revenue......and that money is spent on education.

[@leefarnsworth2673]

Mudita Y. Because teachers belong to union's and the union reps are mafia style idiots. Every time we give more money to education in this country the union pockets a large portion of it, the teachers and kids however dont see much of that. Unions used to be necesary but now they are a major problem. Think about the lotto. In Michigan 75% of the money is supposed to go to education and the school's. LOL no fucking way. Our Government is corrupt from head to toe and that cover's both Democrats and Republicans. They both fuck us over.

[@Spydiggity]

Mudita Y. How about we stop stealing money (taxation) from people and let them spend their money how they choose?

[@donussimonis9649]

Michael Costlow They sure give the private investors a ROI. I'm not so sure about the cities/communities though...

[@net81j]

Nobody should be spending Public Money without open books!

[@jpope125]

Amen

[@malcolml309]

Precisely! If the owners, are spending TAXPAYER DOLLARS for new stadiums, then the taxpayers, have EVERY right to inspect their books!

[@billyouka448]

@@malcolml309 and receive a return on their investment

[@jackhume1525]

"Disrespectful and childish"? wanting to have more money for schools, emergency services, and hospitals is childish? gods I fucking hate sports.

[@mokaibaNEW]

Jack Hume i live in arizona. we kinda just ignore Glendale people.

[@mmadonna62341]

Jack Hume Don't hate sports because some people unwittingly support government funded private for profit industries. Don't blame all sports for a minority of un informed people.

[@emeraldcrusade5016]

Jack Hume Yet u don't mind ppl playing Halo for hours on end and shout profanity over some trivial mistake made by a team mate, and if the latest Halo game has a terrible ending, you complain and demand the world to bend down to your whines.

[@duel4ever2012]

EmeraldCrusade Um, they don't ask the government for tax payer money to for the game. And you can easily mute the person or just ignore them. What we can't ignore, is people wasting our money on a damn stadium we don't even need.

[@jackhume1525]

EmeraldCrusade oooookay I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about. I didn't bend down and whine over a game ending and people playing halo doesn't suck up tax payer money. So you can rightly go fuck off.

[@aguywithalotofopinions412]

“Sports, the thing you weren’t good enough for your dad to love you” One line in and I’m already sad

[@Tonyhouse1168]

Makes me feel lucky that my dad went out for smokes when I was ten. He hasn’t returned yet but it could be any day now!

[@MasterArchfiend]

I wish that was why my dad doesn’t love me because it would at least be fair.

[@mariedaparellio5686]

Any sports team: “We’ll relocate if you don’t give us-” Me: “Bye, Felicia!”

[@teamkunai2409]

meaturama idk our class D.A.R.E teacher told us it

[@romankotas448]

meaturama Some bitch trying to get you to pay for a stadium

[@castleoffiction96]

“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Or do, I honestly could care less”

[@romankotas448]

Castle of Fiction Hi Felecia

[@BmoreAkuma]

Seattle did just that and OKC just don't seem to know what they are doing.

[@julia0c3anchild72]

@LastWeekTonight Wow. This actually puts something into perspective for me. When I was a kid, my family were huge fans of the Richmond Braves, the closest minor league baseball team to our town. The stadium was SUPER old and falling apart by the time I was in middle school. Every bit of the stadium the fans were allowed in was gross and/or broken, but we learned that things weren’t much better for the players, either. I know that must have been true because a lot of the players were super down to earth and told us themselves. A few of them had taken a particular shine to my little brothers with autism and would sometimes have genuine conversations with them before the games. Eventually, the team started talking about moving because no one would fix their broken stadium. All of us fans were heartbroken. We blamed the city for not funding the team’s demand for a new (or extensively repaired) stadium, but now as an adult I have to wonder why. The Richmond team was probably the most important farm team for the Braves. It was AAA and a lot of the guys my little brothers talked to were pulled up to the Atlanta team right from Richmond. The area around the Richmond stadium was also very run down even though it was an important part of the city, so I seriously doubt that Richmond had any more money to spend on the Braves. They ended up moving to Gwinnett, right outside Atlanta. All the Richmond fans were happy that the players would be in better facilities, but we were all devastated. There was a lot of crying at their last Richmond game. A year later, my family was still following the Gwinnett Braves and went down for a game. Their new stadium was BEAUTIFUL and the game was sold out because they were now in Braves territory. Somehow, the Gwinnett organization had learned that my little brothers were coming to that game and they gave us the VIP treatment. They comped all our food, took us behind the scenes, gave us special merch, and had even reserved a luxury box for our family. They NEVER would have been able to do that in Richmond. We were extremely grateful, but opted to watch the game in the seats we had bought down closer to the field so we could actually be part of the game. My brothers did get to talk to a few players. We could tell they were much happier in a stadium that people other than diehard fans actually wanted to come to, but they told us how much they missed the fans and spirit in Richmond. The Braves fans in Gwinnett were just that, Braves fans. They only looked at the Gwinnett team as the subset of Atlanta they really were. We were RICHMOND Braves fans and they knew that we cared deeply about their team in particular. We only cared about the big team because of our strong love for the little team. We all blamed the city of Richmond for years and years for “driving the Braves away.” Now that I’ve grown up, I’ve actually been wondering lately why the Atlanta organization didn’t cough up the money to keep their connection in Richmond. When you think about it, wouldn’t it make sense to fix up the stadium to spread and fortify their fan base across the nation? But I’ve come to realize that they don’t care about the people who make them rich, they just care about the money. Thanks for making this video, because now I know I’m not just being a cynical bitch. 😅❤️

[@daniellemullen5035]

These corporations that play the poverty card appear to lack self awareness, don’t they?

[@MissCalaMari]

I'm not American, so I really enjoyed hearing the story play out from a fan's perspective. Kind of a long read for youtube comment, but super interesting! Thanks for writing it out.

[@spaceman081447]

@@daniellemullen5035 RE: "These corporations that play the poverty card appear to lack self awareness, don’t they?" No, they're VERY aware that they're screwing the public, but they just consider it to be "business as usual."

[@davesy6969]

It took you a long time to realise that it's all about the bottom line. I'm glad your brothers got a special day out but diehard fans screaming for new stadiums to be built with public money is ridiculous. It sucks resources from every other department and the billionaires get richer. Some of those contracts that cities have signed to keep their teams are so one sided a 7 year old must have negotiated them.

[@asherpins6568]

Yeah fuck the braves. I'm from Atlanta where their old stadium is and it's now owned by GSU and is in complete disuse. They abandoned their real connections to the city in favor of the income coming from white season ticket holders in Cobb County and gwinnet. I've since seen them lose a lot of popularity here in the city that made them.

[@redstar7017]

How stupid does our society have to be to think that a professional sports team is more important to a community than infrastructure, public health and safety, and education? I mean, they had to sell a fucking hospital!? I guess little Timmy with cancer will never get to meet his favorite baseball player because he died.

[@wattsemu582]

THANK YOU

[@wattsemu582]

rip little timmy

[@Cleron_O_Andarilho]

It´s populism, itps common in latin american countrys who tend more to "socialism" ideas. The state give what people want, and people is manipulated by this rich smart guys. They make some idea popular or take something that it´s popular in low class or midclass workers (majority) and use them to take public money in their pockets.

[@anomalocaris2593]

Forest Frost That was also a problem in our last election and your's

[@Cleron_O_Andarilho]

Aksel Ariel Kumral Yes in USA, the populism it´s about the comon american capitalism cristian. Here it´s about the worker class that run the state and fight the evil capitalist that they don´t know that this "worker heroes" are their capitalist elite.

[@wcolby]

This would be funny, if it weren’t so sad.

[@AFN2750]

The new subtitle for this show

[@f-35alightningii79]

Well you have been replaced, I don’t need anyone now, When I delete you maybe I’ll stop feeling so bad.

[@wcolby]

@@f-35alightningii79 Who are you talking to?

[@user-bf5sc8pn8x]

2015 was a simpler time

[@ReiDusGelo]

@@wcolby its the lyrics from a music

[@seanmr3774]

I hate to say it, but it starts at high school; especially here in Texas. We have football stadiums that can easily seat 16,000 people, I’m not kidding. High school football coaches can easily make $98,000 a year while teachers make an incredibly less amount of money. Then in many colleges and Universities sport athletes with great skills but low gpa’s can get into these schools but others that are actually going for an education get turned away. I know it’s about money, but we sure do need more engineers and doctors.

[@humzahhassan4521]

Sean MR to be fair college athletes are like .1% of a college campus and are also fucked over by the people in charge and with Allen and Katy I don’t mind but schools taking money away from other areas is wrong

[@o76923]

In more than half the US states, the highest paid government employee is a men's college football or basketball coach. It isn't the governor, the state attorney General, the chief of police, the state Surgeon General, or anything like that. The pinnacle of bureaucracy is man who yells at children to make ball go in hole.

[@Doin_the_Absolute_Most]

Facts. Our stadium for our local high school cost $55 million and seats 16,000 people. Insane.

[@wolftitanreading5308]

@@Doin_the_Absolute_Most Hell my school who had a losing team was given all sorts of shit while cutting art and other studies the football team managed to somehow be able to get new jackets, new jersey and equipment and also a fucking gym, that the normal students weren't allowed to touch

[@NickleJ]

Well buddy, _public education_ and _amateur athletics_ are *BUSINESSES.* Your acting like education is a freaking tax-payer funded social service or something... /s

[@turbosdolphin]

So stupid that public $$ to build ridiculous stadiums, when our roads, bridges and dams are over 60 years old and in deplorable disrepair 😠

[@dragonlordthekingofdragons6373]

In Michigan the potholes are so bad

[@John-el5sv]

Yea John Oliver's episode on infrastructure highlights how desperate some repairs are, hopefully things will improve before a major disaster happens

[@quentinr7862]

i.imgur.com/RFrwoSR.jpg

[@daniellemullen5035]

I love you

[@JC-ev2ns]

Wearing a hockey jersey in a court room..... calls others childish. Ice hockey in Arizona is insane

[@TM-tl6do]

J C it wasnt a court room. It was like a town hall meeting. Still stupid though

[@gingermurry5914]

Richard painter

[@gingermurry5914]

L

[@ricardosoto5770]

Ice Hockey in Arizona,,,,,, think about that.

[@hossahunter22]

By that logic so is ice hockey in LA...Arizona has just produced the best hockey player from the USA in many years (Auston Matthews). Kenya just started their Olympic ice hockey program. Are you going to tell them not to try? Sports should be available for people everywhere, regardless of what kind of sport it is.

[@Rebeyells]

Oliver: “speech” Me: This is literally the closest I’ve ever come to giving a single sh*t about sport.

[@Hobbityfus]

That is what I thought.

[@franciscoperalta6236]

Me 19 minutes ago: "Stadiums? How is this news worthy?" Me now: "John Oliver you news human inspiration"

[@mr.mediocregamer9653]

The #1 rule of being rich is that you NEVER use your own money for anything. There will always, always be chumps willing to throw their hard earned money at you if you can convince them that you will double it for them. Or, politicians willing to use tax money if it means they get those sweet, sweet kickbacks that fund their vacations and retirement plans.

[@ikendusnietjij2]

Eethan O'Connell You forgot to mention rule #2 tell people that taxation is theft and thus you shouldn't be taxed. (while you use public money rather than your own)

[@mr.mediocregamer9653]

Darckense Onoda I hate rich people... But don't offer me the job of being one. ;)

[@LuisCasstle]

Eethan O'Connell #OPM

[@noiserrr]

Eethan O'Connell so simple and true i'm willing to bet you're either rich yourself or have the power to be so but refrained from going that path.

[@mr.mediocregamer9653]

noiserrr I actually did. While working in China at an animation studio as a writer. I had an opportunity to cheat a lot of workers out of their salaries to push a personal project forward. But in the end I felt too guilty about hurting them and didn't go through with it.

[@manlikederek925]

Spend billions on stadiums=yes Spend anything on infrastructure=nah

[@Tshikonelo]

Health care? Nah

[@Dougiewoof]

Well funded schools... Nope

[@zacharywalker524]

Who needs infrastructure?

[@dpeYoutube]

To be pedantic, a stadium is a peice of infrastructure just you know not one that should take priority

[@2keyblades]

IRS to go after Tax Cheating billionaires and millionaires

[@ariestheram5693]

"What you're doing is childish" -Lady who goes to a public hearing wearing a full sports jersey

[@kishascape]

These people need to be sent to "reeducation" facilities en masse.

[@Aging_Casually_Late_Gamer]

America: "how will we ever pay for healthcare? Its so expensive! Also America: "let shell out money to have pools and aquariums in our stadiums! Everybody needs that right?!"

[@kiritugeorge4684]

@@raglanheuser1162 Wow, you tried so hard to be hurtful but its just pathetic.

[@raglanheuser1162]

@@kiritugeorge4684 theres nothing pathetic about sparing the world more of your bullshit. Every little bit helps

[@1211Matrix]

@@raglanheuser1162 careful, everyone. We got a badass over here.

[@kiritugeorge4684]

@@raglanheuser1162 So cute😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@davesy6969]

@Nikita P i waste my money on sweaty women.

[@pixpusha]

If students have to show bank statements and receipts to increase the amount of school loan money they can get (that they will have to pay back!), its ludicrous that sports teams don't have to show their bank books to get public land and money they DON'T have to pay back. I don't want to hear any city complain of bad infrastructure anymore. In fact, after the next environment disaster don't even file a state of emergency. Go sit in your stadium and look at the fishes.

[@sciencepower608]

pixpusha Yhis comment is hilarious

[@youhan5961]

i hear u loud n clear. it's a pretty unfair world right so only people like u n i have the rights to bitch. those sports fans morons dont

[@tajj7]

This is why US sports franchises make no sense, surely teams should be rooted to their areas and cities, Man Utd can't up and leave Manchester, then they wouldn't be Man Utd.

[@karn6356]

Which is in the exact same City.

[@karn6356]

True - WFC became MK but fans never accepted them and created their own Club AF Wimbledon which is now in the exact same division- besides after the change of legacy of MK FA made it illegal for such practice. As for Arsenal, they might fot the name from the location, but are still residents in the same City. Its like sayin that if Miami Merlins moved a couple of blocks they should not be called Merlins. Foorball clubs move from one stadium to another but still resident in the same city and hold close ties to it since its their identity. On the same basis Celtic is considered a Catholic club and Rangers are Protestants. Don forget that american Leagues are closed with no reglations but the Europe, the fotball Leagues have protomtion and reglation, so the fans folows the team in both good and bad times.

[@boomdos4265]

True. Like the Ravens and Cleveland Browns...the Ravens were once called the Cleveland Browns. When they were the Browns, they retired a number of one of their players. They move to Baltimore, rebrand and still have that same retired number. Technically THEY ARE the Browns still...but an expansion team in Cleveland branded themselves the "Browns" as well. Yeah US sports franchising doesn't make sense at all.

[@CatraValentine]

Ex-fucking-actly! :D Just wouldn’t happen in Europe, we would chase those dumb fuckers out of our cities!

[@hazukichanx408]

And also I get the feeling a lot of european athletes would be all, "But... I live here. So do most of my friends. I'm not going to move to some other city; there's a housing shortage and everything, where am I gonna find an apartment? Where are you guys going to?" Which is a strange upside to that whole situation, actually.

[@GlennDavey]

"[SUBJECT]...... It's that thing you never think about, until I devote a segment to it." - Every John Oliver show

[@JoeSrok]

Milwaukee resident checking in. The governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, actually gut our state university budget to help pay for that shitty stadium. It hasn't been built yet but the specs look absolutely ridiculous.

[@ChesterGSawmill]

Scott Walker is the epitome of stupid.

[@vidzChannel]

so how do people like that get elected? beats my imagination!!!

[@gn0015]

Dude, think of that Chinese guy who would look at you wearing a Bucks jersey. He'd point at you and say "Milwaukee Bucks!"

[@Davitofrito]

Originally from Wisconsin. With all the crap going down in Milwaukee and the rising poverty of the state? Its like the Romans and their Colosseum. I don't believe a democrate would be any better though. Really wish we could vote on these things but if you vote to spend more, you would also be told your voting for personal income tax percentage increase. That way you'd have to see less of your money on every pay stub and know exactly where its going because either you or someone you know voted for it.

[@raylindert4432]

I live in Bay View. woo!! 414!

[@loverboymadita7811]

John Oliver is a beautiful human being and I love him with all of my heart.

[@Thesignalpath]

That woman is infuriatingly ignorant.

[@kurikuraconkuritas]

+The Signal Path Blog Stupid people with loud mouths are the most dangerous

[@TheSpecialJ11]

The prime example is likely the Republican nominee.

[@Estarile]

What I so want to say to her "Lady, Sports are a privilege, not a right. Go **** yourself."

[@killian9314]

+Estarile or Taser her head

[@TheAcer1981]

Your comment is infuriatingly intricate, and so is mine.......

[@averyw1497]

Can we please show some love for John’s locker room speech? It was freaking awesome.

[@methadope]

We replace stadiums with public money but not bridges.

[@VenezuelaNow]

methadope Bridges aren't important, do you really need to cross the river unless you're going to the game

[@frostmasterxxx8938]

You both have no idea what you're talking about

[@guitarhausdoesntknowwhatac3285]

FrostmasterXXX But you do of course.

[@ArmatBegmanov]

methadope What bridges gonna do? Move to LA?

[@brianlee9054]

50 Ducks In A Hot Tub Bridges need to be maintained. Check out his episode on infrastructure

[@BigEZ95]

ALL HAIL JOHN OLIVER AND HIS FRESHLY CUT HAIR!

[@BigEZ95]

Don't forget his routine jokes about STD's!

[@SuperCharlieGames]

Or his spider hands!

[@houndsfan54]

#legomanornothing

[@BigEZ95]

Super Charlie Games Spider Fingers damn it. Or maybe I'm wrong. Fuck

[@BigEZ95]

My last comment is filled with grammatical errors. Please let me live.

[@DeadDancers]

I've never understood the allure of sports in this way but if I had a team I loved and they tried to extort something in that way that love would instantly become loathing. It blows my mind that they somehow retain fans who beg them to stay, like an abused spouse who begs for more.

[@DeannaBaileytheRavensFan]

THIS!! All of this!!

[@tybooskie]

Me too. It's so funny because if an individual athlete received welfare payments he/she would be ruined in the public eye.

[@DeadDancers]

Sam West OH yeah? Why is that? Is it because of their assets accumulated while earning high or..?

[@DeadDancers]

Sam West Yeah but, I mean, isn't that what happens to most people? We tend to live to our means and when our high-paying jobs end... suddenly we find ourselves without money. I've seen it a lot at home, people with six properties and sleek cars and holidays overseas every three months suddenly losing everything just because they lost the job that was supporting their lifestyle.. But because they had so many assets and so much money, they have to serve mandatory waiting periods for welfare and too bad if they run out of savings first. I guess what I'm asking is... what makes the nfl people different in this regard? *Edit - Hang on, I've just had a quick look at American Welfare. It's, uh, quite different to what I'm used to. Ouch. Still, you'd think such high paying jobs in a country or state with no welfare waiting to catch them would mean they'd plan their money more wisely... guess not.

[@clemhfandango.]

They love getting abused when you see them happily paying over $8 for a bottle of crappy beer or paying $130 for a team jersey.

[@jamesgreen4212]

I know I'm 5 years late, but props to the Arizona Mayor for getting tazed for charity.

[@David-sq2en]

It was not charity... it was to collect money to build the stadium for the billionaire owner... a way to have some private funds so it is not all public money.

[@dirty_deeds3523]

Charity for the rich 🤦‍♂️

[@jean-lucpicard5510]

@@David-sq2en Can't tell if it's sarcasm or been dumb?

[@whowantsabighug]

So American taxpayers don't pay for universal healthcare but they have to pay for stadiums? smh

[@olliebear535]

It's pretty bad here

[@TheSpecialJ11]

Instead we pay taxes for an extremely inefficient healthcare system, all the while going bankrupt with our own healthcare that isn't paid for by said system.

[@TheSeptemberSapphire]

I once knew someone that got charged for a $40,000 ambulance ride (this is not counting the actually hospital bill) when they were having a heart attack. The distance was less than 2 miles, they could see the hospital from their house.

[@QuantumFerret]

Alicia Brautigan yeah but could they see Russia? That's the real question.

[@leogrant1681]

I once got charged $900 for one just to get two stitches in my face....in my defense I didn't have my insurance card on me at the time, but fuck.

[@CloakingDonkey]

This is the sort of shit that makes me laugh whenever someone says "It's impossible to pay for free education in the USA!! Where would the money come from??" But you'll happily pay for Stadiums that the team owners should damn well buy themselves...

[@Jiggerjaw]

+CloakingDonkey No one is like that. If you are against public spending to send all of America to college, you are definitely against public spending on frivolous things like sports stadiums. I have never met anyone who is on different sides of those two arguments.

[@Tamaki742]

Jiggerjaw That... Doesn't make any sense whatsoever. One side is the argument of spending money to give people better futures. Anothet is spending money just for people to watch people hitting, throwing, or bouncing balls around. Rationally, the first one is the better expense, it's a necessity anyway. The latter is luxury, you won't die if you don't have it.

[@gggnumber1]

Jiggerjaw, you gotta do some more asking.

[@linjingyu9067]

I am actually tired of this argument. The very simple principle here is, outside of general sacrifice for the entire community, what does spending on free education really give you? People who support paying for the stadiums are already paying their well share of tax and why should they not have a say in what they want it to be spent on? Why is it people must force their own standard onto others, and force them to spend their money in a way that is 'better for other people'?

[@CrabTastingMan]

Lin Jingyu: "People who support paying for the stadiums are already paying their well share of tax" That is not true. *Taxpayers who couldn't give a damn about sports end up paying tax money for that.* "Why is it people must force their own standard onto others." Indeed. Guess which has a bigger population group: sports fans, or people needing general education? *Why is public money funding private sport enterprises?* Are you suggesting sports should become a public service? If so, why a specific sport and not others? "The very simple principle here is, outside of general sacrifice for the entire community, what does spending on free education really give you?" *You think Education is a sacrifice, with no value?* Can you please explain why you think education is worth less than stadiums people have to pay tickets to go to anyway?

[@quinnimon]

Make them pay.

[@sugar1n]

Eamon Quinn i cried with that speech

[@thegroove14]

Eamon Quinn How about one million dollars?

[@Huna98]

As a rams fan, when he said "stand up st louis!" I stood up. I said no. John oliver is my coach. #makethempay

[@willfreese]

Make them pay!

[@JaredHoy]

Davis Winn it's my understanding that St Louis owner is the one paying for the majority of the proposed LA stadium.

[@recordsandsunsets]

if the game was at all interesting, and people were really there for the game, then there would be no need for all those stupid distractions at stadiums.

[@jimothypersson8306]

hence why football has no problem with this, also there's regulations for teams moving

[@marionperez6746]

if the game was at all interesting, and people were really there for the game, then there would be no need for all those stupid distractions at stadiums.

[@TheKazragore]

@@jimothypersson8306 Are you kidding? The average gridiron game has about 14 minutes of actual ball play across its entire duration. I don't call that interesting in the slightest. Unless you actually are talking about football, in which case, yeah, I guess soccer is a lot of fun to watch when players aren't constantly diving in search of free kicks.

[@jimothypersson8306]

@@TheKazragore yes I am talking about the real football. Not handegg

[@danpinzone8226]

Stupida f. Ing game

[@edwardhall7351]

I am now 395,625% sure that John Oliver is the reincarnation of Steven Colbert.

[@Outlawzand1]

Edward Hall He's got a genuine touch like that of George Carlin ^^

[@gigabic7487]

The buddhists were right!

[@bige8949]

Edward Hall Now that's impressive! Being reincarnated while still being alive, Colbert must be on another level.

[@pancakemanguy]

No one can replace Stephen Colbert

[@cerritoboy]

Edward Hall You know something, John does look like Colbert but he is ten times funnier than Steve!

[@thatoneguycpr8997]

Fucking nailed it. Also, random side note on the story by the Milwaukee mayor, it could actually be true, in China basketball is insanely popular, so the only reason a Chinese man would know of Milwaukee would in fact be from the Bucks.

[@starfire139]

ThatOneGuyCpr But what if it was a Chinese American man who happened to be visiting China at the same time as the mayor?

[@mariokarter13]

ThatOneGuyCpr Or he was wearing a Milwaukee Bucks shirt and the guy could read English. :P

[@champan250]

You know that most of these apparels are made in China and they sold defected or cancelled orders at less than a buck. I saw old grandpa wearing Yankees Posada t shirt in China and of course he has no clues what baseball is. Oh also true story that came across quite a few girls in Asia thinking the Yankees cap is just a New York's symbol and have no clues when I said I am from Boston and hate the Yankees

[@LordDragox412]

champan250 "Hey, Chinese guy, FUCK YOU! 'Cause you're wearing Yankees symbol! Oh, you don't know who Yankees are and you're confused? Well then, fuck you anyway!" #Kappa

[@Jonra1]

mariokarter13 My thoughts exactly.

[@jonasc.5910]

I don't see why my tax dollars should go to funding a bunch of overpaid, overpriced ball clubs. Let the fans pay for them. Another form of corporate welfare.

[@johnandan1594]

or instead of getting their fans to pay for it let the billionaires pay for their own stadium cause they probably have the money to do so.

[@xevious1538]

The owners should, but they don't.

[@deathpyre42]

To be fair, this is mainly because weak state governments can't stand up to this kind of thing. If anything, reducing the power of the government would make this happen more often.

[@jonasc.5910]

Someone always there to make apologies and excuses.

[@alexanderfretheim5720]

A couple teams successfully moved to LA back in the 60's and now everyones convinced that they can move their team if they don't get what they want, even though it really hasn't worked out for the Seattle Supersonics/OKC Thunder.

[@limbobilbo8743]

>what your doing is childish Says the women in a sports jersey yelling at a politician for wanting to save money

[@CC-vq1yg]

The amount of stupid on display is mind blowing. Imagine what the city could do with 8 million in healthcare & education

[@sirius1696]

@TJ Thunder she just tased the mayor for refusing to blow money on a stadium, I don't think she does

[@anteconfig5391]

@@sirius1696 I think it was just a stunt to make her feel better. I'm almost certain that no current passed through those wires.

[@spaceman081447]

@@anteconfig5391 RE: "I think it was just a stunt to make her feel better. I'm almost certain that no current passed through those wires." That's irrelevant; she still should have been immediately arrested for assault.

[@RemixerUltimate]

AnteConfig you can literally hear the current running through the wires.

[@ceofounder]

Only in America; where sports stadiums are absolutely way more important than homes for the homeless! Also more important than hospitals and public schools/education! Last Week Tonight is cable television awesomeness! Thank you Mr. John Oliver.

[@ashleyoesterle789]

The dumbing down of America is complete. They obviously care more about sports then our education systems.

[@yougosquishnow]

yep. it is sad. in that town hall meeting I wanted some official on the panel to look at that woman the be like "are you fucking kidding me? we don't have the money for this bullshit we gotta put your kids through better schools than you went through." but of course no one would do that even to that dumb lady.

[@hoobearcouch6085]

I'd say it's been this way for a while. If anything I think we're making a slow creep towards progress. Slow. Very slow.

[@rynemcgriffin1752]

Ashley Morton Aaaaaaand what about European countries? How much do you spend on that massive football stadium?

[@irondragonmaiden]

Or even health. Imagine how much fatter our wallets would be if that PUBLIC TAX MONEY was spent on healthcare instead.

[@ShawnsterVideos]

than*

[@germanlondono8700]

And here we are, in 2018, with both Chargers and Rams in L.A. And next year with Raiders in Las Vegas. Fortunately L.A's new stadium for both teams is going to receive 100% private funding.

[@kristianbrandt3012]

Doesn't matter, it still means fans have to travel across half the country to see a single game, they're pissing all over their biggest supporters which if you ask me is kind of a dick move. And players have to move their families aswell. Effectively the high command is giving everybody who made them what they are the finger.

[@haymaker710]

The owners don't give a shit. They know they will get new fans at whatever city they move to.

[@kristianbrandt3012]

Jon Haymaker Whichever. But you're right. Doesn't change the fact that it's a complete dickmove.

[@jdrancho1864]

We don't want to burden the fans, so we are not going to relocate' said no team ever. And players get traded and have to move all the time - actually, players are like migrant labor, they move during the season, and then return to their homes in income-tax free states like Florida. I mean, how many NFL players actually live year-round in Buffalo or Green Bay? The only people getting shafted in any corporate move are the grunts in the trenches, the ones making maybe 5 figures. The players and execs get their moves smoothed and paid for, the maintenance and office staff, who can least afford it, is left to struggle on their own. I like LA's attitude. Move, don't move, we don't care. You want a stadium, just go ahead and pay for one WITH YOUR OWN DAMN MONEY! We don't need a team to boost our civic pride and ego. And guess what, because we have two of everything, we might as well get TWO NFL teams instead of just one, because LA.

[@haymaker710]

Amen, brother.

[@jctripplesticks]

"...the Oakland Raiders, the St. Louis Rams, and the San Diego Chargers..." Man that feels weird to hear now, but it worked out better for the cities they left. Imagine having to *share* a stadium (minus the Raiders)

[@KingLazy93]

Things are working out for the Rams. Not so much for the other two.

[@SetheMan]

@@KingLazy93 Unfortunately true, the Rams dissed their fans and yet got literally EVERYTHING they wanted (even a Superbowl with a win), only the other teams received some form of bad karma.

[@seththomas9105]

I member' the St. Louis Cardinals(NFL) and LA Rams. And Oakland Raiders before a couple of moves. I'm not even that old.

[@thebighorse]

forget public schools and education. we have fancy sports stadiums.

[@joelscb]

thebighorse exactly. Who needs an emudacation when you can run a 100 in 4 secs

[@josepontes3110]

Is it better alienate people in thinking the earth is flat and giving free votes while the rich says is all conspiracies, and people follow the “father” of the far cry 5

[@kaushikiyer4881]

and public transportation

[@nathanmckenzie904]

Chef if you can run 100yrdz in 4 seconds you are in some SERIOUS roids

[@voluntarism335]

Red herring fallacy, public schools and education is irrelevant to the topic of sport

[@eyvindwolf]

As a Wisconsinite, I feel it is my duty to inform you that deer are among the most likely things to kill you in this state, followed closely by alcohol and wandering cows, and are therefore very worthy of your fear.

[@ribbonsofnight]

how scary are cheese graters?

[@test_human2647]

I dont belive you cows are far more dangerous, propably blaming the poor deers

[@FlexedNoose]

@@test_human2647you do realize moose injure the second most amount of people in the world?

[@MichaelCuthbert-m7l]

Raatid jajaajaajjajajajajajajaja we raise deer for a living and you surely sounds like my gramma, she's f'n scare of deer wuajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajaja

[@TerlinguaTalkeetna]

Only when you hit them in your car at 78 miles and hour. Yeah it's totally the deers fault! Scary creatures are humans.

[@OpenMind3000]

Awesome as always

[@Mussi93]

Hab gerade erst noch das letzte Video von dir geschaut und dann finde ich deinen Kommentar hier. Die (KZbin)-Welt ist schon klein ;)

[@H3inrichXVI]

OPEN MIND überall die gleichen Leute, egal ob man Money Boy, Open Mind, Velcro oder John Oliver guckt :D

[@McDonaldsCalifornia]

Immer eine angenehme überraschung wenn man zufällig auf ein open mind comment stößt. Guter geschmack in videos.

[@jasonshillingford7902]

SuperDöner lahmacun lol

[@hodorhodor182]

Will Johnston um well actually erm... as a like regular internet enthusiast... maybe you should go back to /r/mensrights and stay there erm...

[@one_degenerated_ontarian]

Every time I see a Stadium with a corporate name, I'm immediately reminded of the Tampax Stadium from BASEketball.

[@thatindiandude4602]

This is actualy a worldwide phenomenon, remember World cup football stadiums and olympic stadium are virtually unused after they are built.

[@ACoolStupidDog]

Anil Nair Same thing for Olympic parks and stadiums. Edit: I can't read properly.

[@bobbyarliss]

Anil Nair Shhhhh, just watch a cat video. We'll be in for your monies shortly.

[@vguyver2]

Anil Nair Look at what happened to Brazil for the stadiums they built specifically for the Olympics and World Cup. Huge cost, loss of lives, and nothing for cities they were built in afterwards. No team wants them, no city wants them, no one wants them. The are just there, empty everyday, every year, just taking up space and maintenance costs. The only use they've found for them thus far is for parking storage of busses in the parking lot.

[@Rintamaa42]

Anil Nair You should come to Finland where we still use the Olympic stadium of Helsinki what was built in the year 1938...

[@thatindiandude4602]

Ri de :D Finland is a great country. I am from India bro. Which means Finland is like a country on another planet because everything works :D

[@gerardjagroo]

John Oliver is awesome! Pity I didn't discover these videos before.

[@alwinpriven2400]

we need a John Oliver in every country.

[@The_G_89]

Alwin Priven If that happens, the World would be a better place.

[@alwinpriven2400]

George Horna yes, there would be no problems.

[@i_so_late]

Alwin Priven yeah I think people forget that every country has their problems, we just know more about the problems in america

[@TheBestJoniM]

We need a John Oliver in all of us.

[@edheldude]

Alwin Priven What everybody needs is teams of investigative journalists who do the background work seen on this show.

[@joliecide]

Whenever snippets of FNL come out, my eyes are clear and my heart is full.

[@Sultanofszing]

I lived in England for a while and I can tell you one thing: If Liverpool re-located to Manchester, the S.A.S. would overthrow the government with the full support of The District.

[@gallimead]

irish rover accepted. And we wouldn't give you the time of day, anyway.

[@schattenfaust]

in UK Liverpool is part of the local culture, they don't move an inch if you even gave them 10 Trillion Dollars because Liverpool FC part of the city soul, but in the USA everything is about the money like in everything

[@havocgr1976]

First of all they d never do it, but even if they did, they d last a day in Manchester....And even if they somehow survived they d have very shortly ZERO fans...

[@Sultanofszing]

The exchange in comments just proves the Original Post.

[@heatherrockwell9012]

14:11 Yes, because worrying about people hitting a puck with sticks more times than another group of people while money could be going into things like hospitals isn't childish.

[@thecraftycyborg9024]

As a Cincinnatian, I about died laughing at the end.

[@ToastyNova]

Same 😂😂😂

[@CorollaLvr2000]

Wouldn't have taken much research to come up with "home of Neil Armstrong" or "birthplace of Doris Day"... But yes, as a Cincinnatian, I laughed harder than I should have. 😂😂😂

[@castleoffiction96]

Cassie C it’s been two years and i STILL don’t know what the soundtrack for that speech was

[@PerovNigma]

Castle of Fiction No idea either.

[@jonathanpeterson1984]

As a Jags fan and Jacksonville native, we’re pretty happy those pools got installed in our stadium. It has provided endless entertainment during bad games, which we have a lot of. It’s also over 100 degrees at many of our home games so I promise you’d be happy to sit in that pool and watch the game.

[@hannahplas2495]

That ending was amazing!

[@sushiwife429]

"I fear no deer" -john oliver

[@GeneNerd]

Said like someone who's never had a Deer swerve to hit Them. Midwest deer mean business

[@syedhassany9683]

I definitely fear Giannis

[@mortuos557]

@@GeneNerd tbh, zazu can probably just fly off

[@benlewis5136]

Talkin mad shit for someone in feilnaught distance...

[@dojinho]

I'm always amazed to find out that this show manages to find significant topics of systemic inequality and abuse week after week. Apparently, there are so many areas of injustice in the US that you can talk about a different subject every week for years without running a risk of exhausting the pool of topics.

[@TM56]

dojinho I'm sure the same came be done with your country.

[@someonesomewhere9746]

TM56 *claps loudly* But still... :(

[@dojinho]

TM56 If you dig deep enough, you'll find a few topics that our people shouldn't be too proud of (the mining industry, the aboriginal people, the tar sands...) but my country (Canada) is an amateur at f$?k#&g people over for money when compared to the US. Unfortunately, the pupil is looking up to the master in envy and tries hard to surpass him!

[@TM56]

Wow. Seriously? Are you indirectly blaming my country the USA on Canada's own internal corrupt issues? Here's a thought: Why don't Canadians take responsibility for their own government's corrupt actions without interjecting anti-American/USA swipes that many Canadians think is the root cause that causing all of the issues in their so-called near perfect "utopia" and best country in the world known as Canada that Canadians love to remind? Okay? Thanks.

[@dojinho]

TM56 I recommend you take off your blindfold and read my comment with eyes wide open. You'll find that your reaction is totally unwarranted! BTW: You have no reason whatsoever to standup to all the violence the US government is bringing all over the world. I don't blame US citizens for any of it. The US government is anti-democratic and happens to be the most dangerous country on Earth, not because of its people (who, from my own experience, are usually extremely kind), but rather in spite of them. This is well illustrated by the fact that government policies - both internal and foreign - are 180° from the aspirations of the majority of its citizens!

[@ZaKing523]

John: “Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield were perfectly good, state of the art Spider-Men.” Kevin Feige: “I agree”

[@josephbowietaylor]

Can I just add, if all the teams move to LA, then it won't be the NFL, it would be the LAFL. Just me?!

[@adhishreetrivedy6718]

How many stadiums LA as ???

[@noveaubleu702]

Just you

[@TDubsDaily]

when your watching this in 2017 and literally those 3 exact teams moved to LA and las vegas

[@poetofrain]

good ridance

[@MrSheppik]

How tf do teams move like that? What about their fans?

[@Otto-W]

Adam Gutyán it's a business, a very subsidized business, at the end of the day they only care about the money. I would rather have less stadium perks and a better infrastructure.

[@Deamonfly]

I am from San Diego, and basically everybody but the most diehard fans now root AGAINST the Chargrers on any matchup they have. I don't follow sports and I do it too. I have no idea how the Chargers are doing, but I hope it is bad and not profitable.

[@maggie1400ave]

Good for us Californians tho

[@AlwaysHereAndNow]

John Oliver you are fucking amazing. Your show is smart, educative and funny. It's gold.

[@tomggabin5838]

That's 'educational' P.L. Travers. Show us how smart you really are.

[@aidanstovin2059]

how hilarious that the rams, chargers, and raiders, mentioned at the beginning, all moved within 5 years of this video

[@tcnugget]

The rams moved the next year, chargers the year after. This piece got dated almost immediately

[@duppercale]

"St. Louis stand up and look at me. Your'e more than just the Rams!" *proceeds by moving to LA....

[@Bozeman42]

The point was not that the teams wouldn't leave. It's that you shouldn't bow to their demands for public money. Let them leave.

[@magicalsimmy]

If your team leaves you for LA and you're left with a giant fucking stadium - there is so much you can do with a little imagination and forward-thinking. Get rid of the seats and make a fucking open-air tiered market out of the thing - and at the bottom have a beautiful green space full of flowers and trees to sit in, or a skating rink/pool for more northern climates. Make it into a space FOR THE PEOPLE of that city - who gives a rat's ass about the teams, who leave it standing there doing virtually nothing in the off-season? Fill the arena with tiny houses and make it a community for people who can't afford over-inflated housing prices - and make the concession area a market with amenities for the community. Put an art gallery and a garden in there. Recycle every part of the arena and turn it into building material for green energy structures. You could conceivably turn the stadium into an algae biofuel pit. Turn the stadium into a university - you could retrofit it. We have science now. It can be done! Hell, it would be better off as a tiered landfill or garbage recycling centre. At least it would be serving a purpose for the city instead of acting as a giant money pit for fucking asshole billionaires who can't possibly spend their money in their lifetime (unless they buy a gold Bentley or something - then the fuckers deserve to go broke while watching their car get melted down). The hockey team in my city keeps threatening to leave if we don't build a new stadium for them - in a downtown core that's already strained for available land area. Fuck off, hockey teams - you're parasites. The team from my city was on my flight to Hawaii after they lost a Stanley Cup bid and they spent their time whoring in Honolulu. Don't tell me they weren't prostitutes - everyone in Honolulu knows that the girls who wear the clear plastic heels are prostitutes. Seriously - anyone who has worked in the hotel industry knows how much you assholes whore around and treat hotel staff like fucking shit. I used to work at the Westin (where a metric fuck ton of hockey teams stayed) and we would time the prostitutes - 15 minutes, every fucking time - and a call to Room Service right afterwards (and threaten to beat up the server because your order took a little too long because the entire team called at the same fucking time - boo fucking hoo, Africa's weeping for the poor hungry hockey millionaire). Yeah, no bitter memories there at all. LMAO! Do we really, as a society, want to support this shit? This is INSANE. Personally, I'd rather watch gamers play against each other - it's exciting, requires intelligence and they don't need a stadium built on public money to play their fucking sport.

[@pinhead5043]

+LawndaleLion by the look of the date of the comment it's possibly the lightning

[@horsemask]

+Skeptical Simmy This is the most insane post I've ever read. Why not just say "I don't care about sports so everyone who does like them can go get fucked!" That's what you just said! Also, you have no idea what you're talking about when you say that sports require no intelligence. Playing the quarterback position well at the professional level is something only about 20 people in the country can do. Also, eSports are not a sport. Not yet. I'd rather watch people use their brains and brawn in sports than some nerds sitting around clacking around on keyboards. Yeah, real fucking exciting.

[@RoyalKnightVIII]

That's ridiculous! sports stadiums is for sports!

[@petesperandio]

+Skeptical Simmy Exactly. A good example of this would be the Reading Terminal in Philadelphia. It used to be a massive railway hub in the Northeast, then it was struggling financially. Somebody suggested that they turn the place into a market, and now you have one of the best markets in the entire country. We need more people doing stuff like this.

[@rvapes5912]

+Bad Voodoo You like sports? Fine. Let the owners pay for their stadiums themselves and jack the prices up to cover it. I'll bet you also bitch about people on welfare as you wink and nod over the massive welfare program that is sports stadium subsidies. So yeah, I don't care about sports, so everyone who does like them can go get fucked.... They can get fucked by the same owners who are trying to fuck ALL of us. Bend over and spread your *own* cheeks. The rest of us aren't interested in getting fucked by billionaire sports team owners and we resent mightily your insistence that we ALL take a fucking just because you happen to enjoy it. Fuck you.

[@christopherstory514]

Privatize gains and socialize losses.

[@someonesomewhere9746]

Christopher Story yep :/

[@LZKS]

Christopher Story 'Murica

[@jetriot]

Christopher Story I haven't heard it put that way before but it is very accurate to the current American system. Capitalism can not exist if we do not allow failure. Otherwise it just becomes exploitation and crony-capitalism reigns.

[@christopherstory514]

jetriot The unregulated liberties our current capitalist system are allowed to enjoy have turned the otherwise noble and necessary economic system into an unchecked cancer. Sucking up resources and crippling healthy systems. Detroit is a great example of that.

[@rileycollins9463]

andre silva " well, how do you think people become billionaire ?"no how do you think people become billionaires? um if its plural it needs to stay plural.

[@ruthv2352]

I LOVE YOU JOHN OLIVER!!! THESE DAYS YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN MAKE SENSE!!!! GOD BLESS YOU!!!!! AND YESSS , YESSS WE CAN!!!!! MAKE THEM PAY!!!!

[@Angelcakes13]

Watching this 3 years later and seeing that both The Rams and the Chargers did move to LA and are getting a new stadium in 2020 makes this video so much sadder. The rap didn't work.

[@ForrestFox626]

Shows that teams don't give a f**k about their city of fans.

[@yourteamsucks2136]

LA is a black hole for the NFL. Each time a team went to LA they left quickly.

[@Eliteerin]

It's dumb because in the UK premier League teams stay in the same place 99.99% of the time which is better for the fans, after all, what's the point in having a giant stadium if no fans go there and no one visits

[@hamydunn9183]

I believe ram's owners are paying for the stadium. And the stadium is in Inglewood, one of the poorest city in LA area. So, I doubt that city chipping in.

[@bryankriser8656]

and the raiders moved to vegas

[@PosthumanHeresy]

It is literally a tactic of emotional abuse.

[@lorenrenee1]

Imagine if we replaced actual public infrastructure at the same time.

[@ljohnson2181]

Hmmm! How topical!

[@SagBobet]

Wouldn't that be amazing? Let sports teams y'know, negotiate their own pay with networks/advertisers based on their performance and popularity, while we get reliable infrastructure? I could only dream.

[@BlitzKing2000]

13:52 And now the Arizona Coyotes are no more, which is hilarious.

[@ryanlintott6849]

How the hell did the mayor agree to being tased?

[@cottoncandyman8274]

Probably looks good. Willing to be tased for charity.

[@slitor]

Probably some charity deal, like Ice Bucket challenge from hell.

[@jriddleeleven]

Scumbag_Stormtrooper Yeah man. I lived in kingman arizona for 4 years. its basically americas largest trailer park. With more poor, homeless, and heroine than las vegas and phoenix combined.

[@theman37379]

He said in the video he was tazed for charity after people raised money for it.

[@mattreed2033]

Did the Great Wall guy ever consider that, if he was indeed wearing that shirt, maybe the Chinese guy just understood Latin characters and, you know, read it?

[@onkelpappkov2666]

Did you see that ludicrous display last night?

[@stuartwilliams7643]

@@onkelpappkov2666 what was wenger thinking, sending Walcott on that early?

[@Canada1994]

The NBA is extremely popular in China to the point that the NBA plays some games there and online streaming for NBA games is huge in the country so maybe the guy actually knew of the team but I get what your saying.

[@amelliamendel2227]

I just want to say thank you so much for the end make them pay chant. We out now using it in every customer relations meeting we have. It's inspired the entire sales team. It's truly been a wonderful thing for our company.

[@rexmcdowd]

10 years later, and i imagine the city of Glendale is probably pretty pleased that they let the Coyotes go. Probably one of the best decisions they ever made.

[@cooperwolfe5478]

I think the whole Phoenix area is glad. The Coyotes actually left the Glendale area a year or two ago and moved to a small college arena at Arizona State and it was just embarrassing for the league.

[@raphaelkhan1668]

Here in Calgary, we're considering spending almost a billion dollars on a stadium while our train system still works like shit.

[@andylikesyourkite]

WOAH, you have a train system?

[@dizzyzane]

+andylikesyourkite In Oz, the entire country is connected via a train/road system.

[@chadstondangerfeld6749]

It works fucking brilliantly! What are your standards mate? I can get anywhere I need on a train in a matter of minutes, and across the city in less than an hour.

[@raphaelkhan1668]

That's when there's no accidents/construction on train lines. The 201 shuttle is decent, but if we had a web of trains an accident along one line would be no problem.

[@doorreviewsjustforyou8129]

Well at least the Flames and Tickets sales are paying for a large part of it. But here in Edmonton a lot of the cities population would rather have no train system at all than stay in Rexall Place.

[@jimbobjim1225]

the exception to the rule and the real America's team is the Green Bay Packers. Publicly owned since 1919. By charter, they can not be sold or moved. Very impressive for a town that was less than 25,000 people at its inception and is just over 100,000 now.

[@ricardosoto5770]

The only NFL team I will buy stuff. In fact, the only US pro team I will do.

[@Ivy94F]

Exactly. I wish all the cities owned their teams the way GB does. Absolutely impressive!

[@Primalxbeast]

Do you really want to be in a small swimming pool filled with sports fans chugging beers? You have to figure that a good number of them aren't going to miss part of the game for a bathroom trip.

[@enmodo]

Primalxbeast it's okay, they make them put on a diaper before getting in. Mmmmm, warm water... brings back the first grader in everyone!

[@flszen]

Who else is watching this episode in the middle of a pandemic when basically all the stadiums can’t be filled with fans?

[@sammywise2001]

I hope they get tax money to cover their expected losses! Wouldn't really be fair otherwise.

[@KMCA779]

They're full of cardboard fans!

[@ianr.1225]

I like your optimism that we've made it as far as the middle.

[@Hehe-nt4oe]

@@sammywise2001 /s?

[@GoogleIsAPieceOfShit2023]

July 2021