# Dutch fans stripped. Fuck the greedy sleazy and corrupt Fifa **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 23, 2006, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859 "2006-06-23T14:08:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/21 "2006-06-23T18:15:48Z")
Proposition: > [@Happy Clam](#): > > I suppose because if you believe a company can go to extreme lengths to protect its (paid for) advertising exclusivity at an event, Nothing to do with a person’s views on IP law. Conclusion: > [@](#): > > you would support this decision. Nothing to do with a person’s views on IP law. Where does intellectual property law enter into it? Trademark law is not about “a company go[ing] to extreme lengths to protect its (paid for) advertising exclusivity at an event.” It’s about the owner of a mark (that is used as an indicator of the origin of goods and services) in which it has earned rights being able to prevent others from using (an identical or confusingly similar) mark (in commerce) in a manner that would cause confusion among consumers with regard to the origin or goods or services. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/22 "2006-06-23T18:38:32Z")
Surely this is just a contractual thing. Anheuser-Busch paid FIFA with the agreement that FIFA would not allow any other form of beer advertisement at their events. Nothing at all to do with intellectual property law and the rest. FIFA followed the rules of the contract. In doing so they gave a competitor to Anheuser-Busch a lot of publicity but they had to do what they did or risk being sued by Anheuser-Busch for breach of contract. The strictness of the rules however are kinda silly when looked at from this story’s POV. Anheuser-Busch gets its money’s worth from TV and mass marketing. A competitors brand on a pair of trousers means nothing in reality but who said lawyers and corporate heads always see reality 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/23 "2006-06-23T19:33:40Z")
Seriously, does Anheuser-Busch even export their product to Europe at _all_ (and if so, what the hell kind of freaks in Europe drink it, when they have access to far superior products)? And does Bavaria ship to North America? I mean, one would expect that A-B’s reason for sponsoring the tournament was to market to _American_ eyeballs. And why would they are, if the American eyeballs in question are presented with the name of a beer that most Americans can’t even _get_? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/24 "2006-06-23T19:35:28Z")
err, that should be, “why would they _care_” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/25 "2006-06-23T19:36:12Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Seriously, does Anheuser-Busch even export their product to Europe at _all_ (and if so, what the hell kind of freaks in Europe drink it, when they have access to far superior products)? And does Bavaria ship to North America? I mean, one would expect that A-B’s reason for sponsoring the tournament was to market to _American_ eyeballs. And why would they are, if the American eyeballs in question are presented with the name of a beer that most Americans can’t even _get_? i was appalled when my Irish friend, living in the States at the time preferred to drink Bud Light over anything else. I asked if this was just her or just because she was in the states and she said that no, it was pretty common for folks to drink it on the Emerald Isle. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/26 "2006-06-23T19:38:42Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Seriously, does Anheuser-Busch even export their product to Europe at _all_ Yes, they do. In fact, they have been in a long-running battle over the use of the term “Budweiser” with a Czech brewery, whose product is marketed as “Budweiser Budvar” in Europe, and as “Czechvar” in the United States. In some European countries, the Czech brewery has been awarded exclusive use of “Budweiser” and Anheuser-Busch sells its beer under the name “Bud.” ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/27 "2006-06-23T19:43:44Z")
It’s not that big on mainland Europe in my experience but here in Ireland you’d find Bud on tap and bottles in nearing every pub. I’ve seen it in a lot of UK\* establishments as well A surprising amount of people drink the muck 😕 Also remember the World Cup is watched in South America and Asia. Very big markets. If Bud isn’t a major drink in those regions then the exposure to these markets is worth the money. I would guess the Anheuser-Busch isn’t thinking that much about the US here. The superbowl and the other US specific campaigns cover that region. \*Mostly London it has to be said. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/28 "2006-06-23T19:56:06Z")
**ascenray** beat me to it. I found this [cite](http://www.didyouknow.cd/anheuser.htm) that gives some details. The Czech town where the beer is made is known in German as “Budweis”; so “Budweiser” just means it’s from that town (like “Frankfurter” means “of Frankfurt”)." And according to EU law, a locative name can only be registered as a trademark by a manufacturer from that location. Interesting stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/29 "2006-06-23T20:06:30Z")
There are two kinds of people I can’t stand; those who are intolerant of others’ pants, and the Dutch. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/30 "2006-06-23T20:16:35Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > Bavaria have been very smart here. Giving out the trousers with their brand on it probably didn’t do them any harm with the Dutch. The actual advertising value outside of the initial small scale give out was not that high in global terms. > > They have now gotten global publicity because of the actions at the match. A good world cup fluff story will run worldwide due to the fact that a lot of countries follow the competition very closely. > > Small win/Big win for Bavaria. They have got a big win. Exactly. Reminds me a bit of a smaller version the McLibel case. If McDonald’s had let those folks distribute their pamphlets and not done anything about it, then maybe one or two thousand people would ever have known anything about their claims. But by pursuing what turned out to be the longest lawsuit in British history, the company made itself look stupid and gave more publicity to the anti-McDonald’s folks than even their wildest dreams could have prepared them for. If FIFA had let this alone, i never would have heard of Bavaria beer. Now it’s news all around the world, and FIFA (and, by exntension, its sponsors) look like heavy-handed idiots. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/31 "2006-06-23T20:51:09Z")
Re: Bavaria. I’ve just come back from three months in Amsterdam. Bavaria is a upcoming beer there. There are some bars that sell it as their main beer i.e. Just ask for a ‘beer’ and you get a Bavaria. Although the vast majority will still give you a Heineken. It’s selling quite well in Dublin as well. In the pubs that sell it it’s the cheapest beer on tap by almost a Euro(the average pint of lager being ~€4) and it’s not bad. Little actual character but then again Bud, Carlsberg, Heineken and Harp are pretty characterless as well. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/32 "2006-06-23T22:30:05Z")
FIFA sounds pretty dumb, but when it comes to moronic sports organizations, I doubt they can top the NCAA and the various sleazy boxing leagues. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/33 "2006-06-23T22:32:19Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Seriously, does Anheuser-Busch even export their product to Europe at _all_ (and if so, what the hell kind of freaks in Europe drink it, when they have access to far superior products)? Yes, amazingly. Actually the half-time adverts for Budweiser are pretty amusing - they have a pair of American commentators playing out some great spoofs of how we imagine you view football (which are probably pretty accurate for some people). Not that it’d make me drink the crap, of course; I have no idea why someone would go with Budweiser over actual Budvar, which is all over the place these days. My friend who occasionally indulges has a theory, which (roughly stated) is that even if you got to sleep with supermodels every night of the week, every so often you’d still just want a skanky whore. I’m not sure I agree, but the argument has a certain something to it. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/34 "2006-06-23T22:47:18Z")
[Look what Heineken did with the football [soccer] hat. 🙂](http://www.worldcupblog.org/world-cup-2006/holland-for-heineken.html) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/35 "2006-06-23T23:01:14Z")
I’ve heard that the contract for Budweiser to be sponsors was awarded before Germany had been chosen as the host - anyone know if this is true? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/36 "2006-06-23T23:29:49Z")
:eek: Well, that was certainly enlightening. I still think FIFA and the sponsors got a huge black eye over this. Surely we’d never put up with crap like that in the U.S. of A. If somebody, say, tried to keep someone from attending a public appearance of a political officeholder because the attendee was wearing, say, a T-shirt expressing opposition to a policy position forwarded by the officeholder, why the vast majority of the freedom-loving American public would be so outraged, they would probably revolt right then and there. Oh, wait… ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/37 "2006-06-24T00:01:18Z")
> [@Dead Badger](#): > > How nice that you’re so enlightened; I suggest you don’t wear them, then. Although if it’s degradation you’re concerned about, I’m surprised that you don’t seem bothered by forcing people to walk around in their underwear. Enough people appear to have found them funny to want to wear them, probably because they’re primarily designed to appeal to a particular nation’s supporters, the beer advertising being only incidental. You have _been_ to a sporting event before, right? It’s no sillier than painting your chest blue or clapping those big pointy foam hands. I have no idea what your vaunted taste has to do with forcing people to take their trousers off. They were **not** forced to wear nothing but their underwear, as another poster has pointed out. I point out that, if privately sponcered, the sponcers have a right to protect their investment. They _could_ have banned the wearers from the stadium, & refunded the ticket price. I also point out that the de-pantsed fans were not so humiliated that they chose not to attend. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/38 "2006-06-24T12:13:02Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > There are two kinds of people I can’t stand; those who are intolerant of others’ pants, and the Dutch. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/39 "2006-06-24T12:16:26Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > I point out that, if privately sponcered, the sponcers have a right to protect their investment. And I accept that, to some extent, and have merely pointed out that it’s fucking insulting and counter-productive to do so to this ludicrous extent. They have simultaneously maximised exposure for the “ambush marketer”, while tainting themselves and their official sponsor by their actions. What a great move. > [@](#): > > They were not forced to wear nothing but their underwear, as another poster has pointed out. A direct quote from one of the fans, posted earlier, suggests that several were. > [@](#): > > I also point out that the de-pantsed fans were not so humiliated that they chose not to attend. :dubious: Well gosh, that amazes me; who would have thought that after shelling out on tickets to a once-every-four-years event, possibly paying in the hundreds of euros for said tickets, the fans would choose to actually attend. Incredible. That proves … er … It is not in dispute that, as the holders of a private tournament whose popularity is possibly the greatest of any sporting event in the world, FIFA have both the right and leverage to be absolute cunts to every single attendee in any of a veritable myriad variations. It is my contention that this still does not make it a Good Idea. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859/40 "2006-06-24T15:49:21Z")
Does this happen in any other sport? Has anyone been forced to get rid of their ESPN t-shirt when going to a World Series game televised by FOX? Etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-fans-stripped-fuck-the-greedy-sleazy-and-corrupt-fifa/361859.md?page=3)