Tens of Thousands of People Illegally Steaming The World Cup Were Actually Streaming Pixelated FIFA 23 Games
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Thousands of people who thought they were watching pirated streams of the World Cup in Qatar were in fact watching pixelated replays from famous soccer video game FIFA 23.
More than 40,000 people in France alone fell for the trick, which involved illegal streaming sites linking to YouTube channels which were emitting replays of FIFA 23 matches, but using headlines such as “Live Germany- Japan on 23/11 Group E World Cup 2022″, which did indeed correspond to that actual match at the World Cup (which Japan won by the way!).
Incredibly, the streams in question also had commentary in Vietnamese of the FIFA 23 match, but far from making the viewers more suspicious, it only added to the belief that this was an illegal stream, being captured from Vietnam.
“Until I saw the comments in the chat, and the close ups of the faces of the players I didn’t realise these were replays of FIFA 23 matches,” said one of the viewers after admitting to having been duped.
Man oh man. Imagine you were one of the 44,000 dumbs in France who thought this was real. Your team makes the semi-finals of the World Cup and you don't even watch it because you're too busy watching 12-year-olds go head-to-head in a matchup for the ages. Embarrassing. Infuriating.
Plus, it's not even like you can complain about that. You cant head over to TikTok or Snapchat and air your grievances. People will know you are a helmet dragger if you do that. Nope. You have to suffer in silence.
Years later, you'll be eating a nice dinner- but not fancy- with your wife. Upscale causual. Kinda like your relationship. :) It's a dinner that you've been looking forward to for months. Where at? A little place called The Old Place which is just outside of Malibu. It's delightful. Up in the Santa Monica Mountains, the Old Place is located on the grounds of a 19th-century general store-turned-saloon and steakhouse, complete with large, wooden fixtures and a Wild West aesthetic that’s not unlike what you’ll find in Pioneertown. The menu is filled with American comfort staples like bone-in ribeye steaks, glorious apple pies, and something called a “noodle and cheese bake”—a mac-and-cheese-like dish made with thick egg noodles smothered in melted parmesan, goat cheese, and mozzarella. Delicious.
At dinner, small talk inevitably turns to the pitch. She's a huge footy fan and cheers on both Team USA and the French National teams. Her great-grandfather immigrated from France in the early 50s because times were tough in France but her great-grandfather had the foresight to leave and come to America. The economy was booming here, and he could give his family a better life. Over her noodle and cheese bake, she stops to speak with her mouth partly full.
"Do you remember in the 17th minute of the Quarterfinals match against England? Haha I'm sure you do. I'm sorry. Everyone does." You look sheepishly at your apple pie slice as the vanilla bean ice cream begins to slowly melt over the tasty treat creating the dessert version of Sloppy Steaks. She sees it in your eyes,,,
You didn't watch.
"Alan," she says while gripping her white napkin with a fist of iron, "you mean to tell me that you don't remember when Aurélien Tchouaméni fired in a belter into the bottom corner from way outside the box in the 17th minute? Or the 78th minute when Olivier Giroud scored. It was a crosser from Griezmann and Giroud headed it in at the near post. It was unreal when it was deflected off of poor Maguire's shoulder. You dont remember that?"
"No," you muster as the tears begin to fall from your eyes like shooting stars that never reached their full potential. "No," I accidentally watched the FIFA 23 stream illegally. I was duped for that match along with tens of thousands of other people," as if that excuse would fly. Fucking pathetic.
Disgusted, she begins to puke ribeye all over the fucking place. It was a goddamn scene.
"I cant do this anymore," she says while cleaning the carrots from her chin. "I fucking hate you and so does the entirety of France!"
After leaving the restaurant, she gathered up some of her things from their AirBnB (which is a racket) and went to a hotel. She spoke to a few friends, calmed down, and gently went to sleep after jilling off HARD to World Cup 22 highlights just like she was meant to do. Kinda cool, right?