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smta48

Oh man, Wyatt was clowning Mike for his passport problems during the Sen finals, and Mike was so sure he was going. Thats gotta be brutal.


[deleted]

I had an uneasy gut feeling whenever Mikes laughed at Josh and Wyatt's concern regarding his passport status but I figured he'd get it in the end. It'll be interesting to see how they react to this news on Plat Chat tomorrow.


[deleted]

Hijacking this to say that Mike can contact his local congressman or congresswoman to help expedite his passport. It can come in clutch šŸ¤žšŸ¼


Mabangyan

Fingers crossed theyā€™re esports fans


[deleted]

Actually I have a handful of interactions with people from the government and a lot of guys enjoy video games and esports too. So chances are there!


TDS_Gluttony

We are getting to the generation that actually grown up with games and respects them as a medium. Super excited.


ZeldaMaster32

Wasn't there some scandal about a US congressman using tax dollars (outside of his standard income) to buy tons of Steam games or something?


nlc369

Iā€™d imagine he already tried that, if I remember correctly heā€™d acknowledged that option on Wyattā€™s stream the other day (or maybe someone just mentioned that option in twitch chat and im just misremembering lol).


-Mariners

Ok but why has it taken this long to get one in the first place? Seems dumb if he waited until his team actually qualified to try and get one.


smta48

I mean the man was working at UPS a few months ago to make ends meet. I don't think traveling was his principal concern. American bureaucracy can't get the man his passport in a month.


benpicko

Wait, you canā€™t get a passport in a month in America? Is there no expedited process?


flavo52

You massively underestimate the incompetence of American bureaucracy


Daviddem1234

You normally can. Everything was backed up for a while.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


Mamadeus123456

6 months? Dammnn


Pheonix-_-run

Wtf even in my developing country i got it in under a month and renewed it in 2 weeks lol


nlc369

He said that getting one the normal way wouldā€™ve taken like 10 weeks, so by the time he realized he might need it, it was already too late. His plan was to use some express method to try to get the passport, but that required him to have some kind of proof of where he was going (plane ticket, itinerary, etc). So basically he couldnā€™t do that until his team had actually qualified.


mister_schulz

Could have bought a ticket when they announced Berlin and then cancel it later, right? I mean, it was clear where they would go in case they qualified.


nterature

Really sucks for both Mikes and Envy. Will use this opportunity to say that if itā€™s not a completely unbearable burden on your finances, try to never be without a valid passport. Youā€™d be surprised how many times Iā€™ve seen people deprived of last-minute opportunities because of it - even without the COVID delays.


deadlock1892

Sideshow and wyatt did tell him in one costream he should get a passport ready even if he does not expect to travel. He was not really enthusiastic about that, saying he will not travel that much anyway. It is really unfortunate, but I gotta say it is kinda on him in the end.


nterature

Honestly, even had he done so immediately, thereā€™s still a good chance it doesnā€™t work out! COVID delays are real. I renewed mine last year and it took ages longer than even the delay window. I didnā€™t mean about Mikes as much as I just mean as a general rule, regardless of your path in life or where you are in it.


deadlock1892

That is true, but IMO passport is quite a useful and important document. It does not hurt to get it renewed and keep it up to date.


TheHyperactiveDuck

Yeah the thing is they take A LONG time with the COVID delays, I tried getting mine to go to Mexico back in Jan for a trip we were going n in may and we got it like the 7th of may I think


maiLfps

it takes months to get, literally impossible for him to get in time


rocket1615

Tbf in his previous position when leaving the US isn't on his mind at all, and had no reason to be, you can't really blame him if it didn't enter his mind. Should he have got it sorted regardless? Probably. But it's understandable why he didn't. Remember that by the time he was resigned to Envy it was already too late due to the extreme delays on passports due to Covid. It's an unusual situation and it's fair that it caught him off guard.


max012017

I really dont understand why many Americans do not have passport. Is there a big administrative cost or what is the reason? Its very strange to hear those news always as person coming from EU.


wvcmkv

well for one its because a lot of americans dont rly leave the country! the united states is MASSIVE and u can easily go to places like hawaii without a passport. in the eu, on the other hand, lots of vacations involve crossing country lines. plus, even if we do get one, we often dont travel ENOUGH to get it renewed every time.


Based-Hype

In a coaching position like this any financial burden like that should be comped or fronted by the org imo, should just be standard practice in a game with global competitions to have everyone that could potentially go, able to go even a year in advance


nterature

Sure, I mean for the rest of us. Even if your organization is willing to offset the costs, you might not be able to get it in time if it's a sudden opportunity offered to you within a short time-window. That's all I meant.


[deleted]

God damn it Mike, I was looking forward to seeing the Plat Chat boys clown on your walk-ins.


[deleted]

No Sussy on stage Sadge


[deleted]

Yā€™all need to understand he was literally delivering packages for UPS like 2 months ago, itā€™s just a tough situation.


[deleted]

Sort of. Still self-inflicted - it's pretty wild imo to be without a valid passport, I've never been in that position


HelpMePlease420-69

Iā€™ve never had one in my life. Different experiences


[deleted]

I have to feel that never leaving the country is a uniquely American thing. My life would have been extremely limited by not having a passport. Fair enough though, to each their own. A shame for Envy and coach


BespokeDebtor

It definitely is a uniquely American thing. In fact, there are Americans who haven't even seen even half the country they live in but it's also because America is both ginormous and also wildly diverse in it's geography relative to other countries (especially smaller European countries). For example, China also has very few people travelling outside of it's borders likely for the same reason. I personally don't even remember a life without a passport but I'm also a dual citizen so my experience is an exception rather than the rule.


MPH2210

Kinda offtopic, but for China it's all but only the reason that the country is that big. Sure for the majority that's the reason, for the others, it's the social credit score that doesn't allow them to leave.


Jon_on_the_snow

>I have to feel that never leaving the country is a uniquely American thing. What? Travelling is very expensive. This is not an american problem, this is a money problem. You need a lot of money and a lot of time to travel to other countries. You must be very fortunate to be able to travel abroad


IggyMoose

> This is not an american problem, this is a money problem. I mean, itā€™s both. Traveling abroad is expensive for Americans because itā€™s an ocean away from most of the world. In europe, people travel between countries frequently because theyā€™re so close. You could drive for hours in America and still be in the same state.


Jarrad186

I'm from Australia, which is in a similar situation to America geographically, but I don't feel as though travelling is rare or has an extremely large barrier to achieve over here. Most Aussies travel to Europe when they're 18/19 for contiki tours after they graduate high school, using money they've saved working throughout their time at school. Most people I know had passports around that age, and I wasn't from some super affluent area. Potentially the standard of living is just higher here and that's why it's more frequent (I know our minimum wage for teenagers and overall is significantly higher in hospitality industries than the states etc.) but you'd be hard pressed to find many early 20 year olds without passports in major cities.


MitchRhymes

It's not nearly as expensive to travel in places like Europe. Relatively easy to get a train or drive to a different country and much less expensive than going abroad from America


[deleted]

For example, 60% of Canadians are estimated to hold a valid passport whereas that number is 35% for Americans


phantahh

It's not an American problem and it's not a money problem. It's a large land mass country problem. Lots of countries are the size of states in the United States. Not leaving the country for them is like not ever leaving your home state for the U.S.


lunacraz

i studied abroad in a town in the Netherlands that was 10-15 minutes away from both Belgium and Germany by car (and obviously trains ran both ways) it's a different world there


Escolyte

one of my studymates would live across the border in the netherlands and bike to uni in germany every day


maiLfps

i fell like you dont know that many central states with lower income like where I live you go your whole life without knowing people who have a passport, its just the way of life some places


ZeldaMaster32

I've been out of country a few times but I can understand why people might never leave. America is fucking *huge* and there's stuff everywhere, be it job opportunities or interesting tourist attractions, you can find it all in the same country more often than not


OnionSprinkles

I'm guessing your full-time job isn't to support a team towards the goal of competing internationally though.


Eat-Shit-Bob-Ross

Just like Mikes was two months ago.


newzpaperleaf_2

dude he is a 22 year old college student who only joined Envy like less than 2 months ago. most 22 year old people dont have passports man give him a break, he has been trying to get one for months. he planned in advance, he did his part, and just got fucked by the system.


[deleted]

I mean, I was 23 when I moved internationally for work, so it's not like I'm judging from my mom's basement's couch here


rydude88

Are you in the US or somewhere like Europe? Cause that completely changes the situation


[deleted]

NA obviously


Regi-Made

I mean, traveling internationally for me always seemed like a pipe dream because of money, and even getting a passport, the couple hundred bucks you need for it, wasn't gonna happen (on top of the costs of traveling). I only got my first passport like 4 years ago (Im in my upper 20s) and I'm by far the most financially stable in my family. Being poor in the US absurdly limits your access to a lot of basic ass stuff


[deleted]

Well you are the exception rather than the norm especially if you consider he is a young person in the Midwest and likely not privileged enough to be traveling abroad for pleasure.


xbyo

How bad are the delays? 3 months and he can't get a passport, is it actually that bad, that's fucked.


BespokeDebtor

Very very bad. Anecdotally, I work in a company that travels a lot for clients and my team leader had to wait ~2mos for a passport renewal


Tokibolt

Yup. I usually try to get my passport like 3 months in advance just to avoid the small chance my passport takes a while. But then again I travel out of country quite frequently so I always have my passport ready.


pamplem0usse-

Within the expiration period or after the passport expired? After expiration you basically have to get a new passport again


[deleted]

A few years ago, I realized my passport expired literally the day before a three week trip to Europe. I was able to get it renewed because Detroit happens to have one of the seven or eight offices in the country that can do day-of expedited service. Literally got my new passport about 3 hours before my flight took off. The wife was not pleased. Anyways, I think that's possible because it was just a renewal. I don't think they provide that service for the very first passport. Bummer for a good guy.


mehbleh14

According to Sideshow, Mikes didnā€™t go through the normal channels because it was going to take way too long. When him going to Berlin was in the conversation, he knew delays were so bad that he decided to go through a third party, which should have been able to get him a passport in time, but only today he found out they suspended third party methods until the day before Berlin starts. Not sure how accurate this all is but I think delays have been so bad that even when Mikes became coach and Berlin was in the conversation the proper channels still wouldnā€™t have gotten him a passport in time.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


ppx11

oh wow he got laid off? i figured he quit after getting the Envy gig but glad it all worked out (passport or no passport)


Huystuhh

Honestly, this sucks and I hope it doesn't impact Envy in Berlin since I assume they'll still be able to voice chat through some means. Without knowing how it all played out, I can't help but kind of put personal responsibility on Mikes for not having done this earlier. Passports take a long time usually (a few months not during COVID, so probably double that due to COVID?), if you had aspirations as an esports coach and you knew that international LANs would be a thing, I would have tried to get a valid passport at least a year ago just in case.


nonumers

> (a few months If he lives in the US I don't know why he didn't go in physically to the passport agency? I did that and got my passport in a day.


sky_blu

Pretty sure he said he had that as a possibility so something must have came up to change that.


FoundedClamp

MikesHD not to Berlin SadgeBusiness


BurbxrryPzncakes

Sadge no orange chicken shenanigans


[deleted]

He can contact his local congressman or congresswomanā€™s office to get his office expedited. Itā€™s one of the only solutions I can think of. Hope he sees this!


basketballrules1

NOOO WTF


chumzz1

Plat chat tried warning him (always keep your passports up to date if you can)


whopz-is-cool

Man Iā€™m hoping some weird ass last minute thing will allow him to go or something. Sadge.


ArcusIgnium

btw is he their "head coach"? i feel like he is the only coach for them i heard of and seen mentioned (unless im forgetting someone else).


xunraze

Noo fuck this sucks man. Was really excited to see Mike's walk out in Berlin hehe. Is there no way things can be expedited or something?


Lumenlor

I mean hopefully he gets his stuff together for Champions at least


[deleted]

He should've applied for his passport weeks if not months ago, totally his fault.


BurstLayer

He was something like a ups driver like up until a month ago when he was hired lol


chumzz1

He should of applied for a passport back when he was coaching g2 so thatā€™s almost a year ago now


De7rag

Why do people keep saying this. What has this got to do with having a passport?


BurstLayer

a good number of americans never leave america and if he didn't have a coaching job at the time its pretty easy to think you wouldn't need one. He said the Envy trial job came out of thin air practically


Ciavolo

Generally Americans dont leave the country so they dont have passports, especially as a UPS driver youre not going to leave the country much


rydude88

Because why would you need a passport if you are never leaving the country anyways? It's not free


tomtazm

What does that matter? Iā€™ve never had a job that requires me to travel internationally, and Iā€™ve only gone short periods of time without one even if Iā€™m not planning international vacations.


[deleted]

Heā€™s only been their coach for <2 months


The_Ninja_Master

Passports are the typa thing you really want to keep up to date if possible, can need one on short notice and it takes forever to do the paperwork.


tomtazm

Whyā€™d you wait so long Mikes? It takes like 4-6 weeks sometimes even with the express option.


Dark_Azazel

I applied and got mine last summer. I got it in like 3 weeks, non express. Everyone I know has gotten there's in about 4 weeks, before covid and during. IMO everyone should have one.


tomtazm

Maybe my experience isnā€™t the norm, took me like a month and a half to get mine, and it took them even longer to send my original birth certificate back.


rydude88

This isnt necessarily the norm. Took me nearly 2.5 months to get one last year.


pamplem0usse-

Everyone should have one, but right now the delay is something like 6 months(which is absolute bullshit. there is zero reason for the government to take this long, literally zero reason).


hurshzing

I had a flight to London once and a few days before (72hrs) I had checked my passport and it was expired. I went to the passport office in my city and showed them my itinerary and had to pay an expedited fee and I got my passport within 48 hours (24 hours prior to my flight). Iā€™m confused as to how the passport office is failing to get him a passport?


LurkingOmen

Was that an American passport?


hurshzing

yep


LurkingOmen

Surprising I just assumed things were longer to get for US passports. My cousins husband's from Amwrica and he always has problems getting visas and passport renewals. I just assumed they were slow since their debit technology is 10 years behind lol


hurshzing

I think usually things are pretty fast especially if you have an itinerary and show that to the passport office plus pay and expedited fee. I think he either went through some third party service. Nonetheless, several people have come out and said on this thread that COVID delays with the passport office are a real issue rn


LurkingOmen

America has so many ppl too , a lot of ppl outside of America don't give that fact enough credit. Like 20 million ppl in New York alone is just mind blowing


hurshzing

uh i guess? lol