It started as a cryptic warning shot. Dave Portnoy posted that his guy Davey Pitch had futbol sources whispering that Flo Balogun's red card suspension might get overturned, and told everyone to bookmark it. That's the kind of tweet that either ages into legend or gets buried and forgotten by Tuesday.
Bookmark this tweet. Davey Pitch’s futbul sources are saying a certain red card may be soon overturned 🚨⚽️
Balogun getting sent off matters because USMNT needs him on the field, not in a suit. Losing your best attacking piece to a suspension in the middle of a knockout run is the kind of thing that sinks tournament runs, so the timeline here was genuinely stressful for anyone who cares about the national team. Big Cat summed up the vibe for everyone watching Davey Pitch's prediction play out in real time: 'We need you to be right, Davey Pitch! No pressure.' Barstool's own account followed with the payoff everyone wanted, confirming Balogun's ban had been suspended and he'd be available to play Belgium.
Barstool's official confirmation that the red card ban was suspended and Balogun was cleared to play.
Naturally, nobody in the group is pretending FIFA reversing a suspension right before a match involving the host country's team is some pure act of justice. PFT Commenter said the quiet part out loud, joking it's nice to benefit from FIFA's corruption for once after getting burned in the Slovenia game. It's a bit, but it's also the kind of bit that only lands because everyone half-believes it.
Its awesome to be on the receiving end of fifas blatant corruption for a change. Were even for the Slovenia game now
The reaction content wrote itself from there, including one clip of a guy shredding guitar while chugging a beer hands-free, captioned as the internal monologue upon hearing Balogun would be cleared for the Belgium match. It's not footage of anything soccer-related, it's just the mood.
A pure reaction clip standing in for the collective excitement over the news.
Portnoy, for his part, is taking the win and running with it. When people started asking how the reversal actually happened and who pulled the strings, he shut it down with a straight-faced 'a great journalist never reveals their sources.' Whether Davey Pitch actually has a pipeline into FIFA's disciplinary committee or just got lucky with a good guess, the tip landed, Balogun is playing, and Barstool's soccer department has never been more insufferable about it.