Bleacher Report - Articles by Baris Gerceker

Season Over in Turkey: What Next?

Baris Gerceker — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:24:28 -0400

Part one and two were long gone by, even the epilogue has come to an end; the 2008-09 season of Turkish Turkcell Super League is now over.

As expected nothing changed in a tight and exciting last week. Things looked bound to change—let's give the credit to that—but in the end it all stood still.

The leaders, Besiktas won the league championship five points ahead of its closest rival Sivasspor. Besiktas won 2-1 while Sivasspor lost with the same score to Galatasaray.

Trabzonspor who have not managed to protect their lead against Fenerbahçe which stopped them from qualifying for Champions League. With Sivasspor losing, if they managed to beat Fenerbahçe on their home ground they would have been the second team for the most glorious football competition on earth.

Instead, they lost, ironically, with the same score, 2-1, with Fenerbahçe's huge upset, former La Liga top scorer Daniel Güiza clinching the winner in the fourth minute of the injury time. The critical goal also kept Fenerbahçe above Galatasaray which meant one less elimination round in the next year's UEFA League.

In 1996, they lost with the same score, yet again, which caused them the championship that season.

Even the relegation table stood the same. Konyaspor thought they survived during their win against Ankaraspor, but Antalyaspor's late goal against Ankaragücü saved the Mediterranean side, pushing Konya down.

Besiktas returned from Denizli to Istanbul late same they and were cheerfully greeted. On Sunday they received the trophy in their home stadium, Inonu Stadium where they merged with their fans.

The end of the season saw Aykut Kocaman leave the management in Ankaraspor. One of this year's overachievers for the first half of the season dropped down hard in the second half. They were candidates for European competitions but at some point in the season it turned into relegation candidate. The club is said to merge with Ankaragücü, the older club of the capital city, therefore rumours say it was the financial cuts which caused players' unhappiness.

Kocaman was a legendary goal scorer of Fenerbahçe and his name is mentioned for the new position created in that club, as sportive director.

With him will work Christoph Daum. Fenerbahçe is still looking for a financially less harmful way to terminate their contract with "Grandpa" but the rumours from Germany already confirmed Daum's move to Fenerbahçe.

The name, though not announced officially, already stirred the fans forums and email groups. Some are glad that a once successful familiar name has turned back while some are really upset that the "new era" is beginning with an "old name."

Daum's management of Fenerbahçe football club ended rather dramatically back in 2006, when they lost the title at the last week of the season to their fierce rivals Galatasaray. The defeat and the loss of championship is still said to be the biggest trauma in Fenerbahçe football team's history—and Daum still reminds people of that day.

Galatasaray's Bulent Korkmaz also resigned. Gala are looking for a replacement. Adriaanse, Houllier, Le Guen, and Schuster are the supposed candidates. Co Adriaanse looks the strongest possibility but both sides are implying that the discussions are ongoing and there has not been any agreements yet.

Trabzonspor's Manager Ersun Yanal, who was an ex-manager of Turkish national team, resigned earlier in the season. The team finished the season with the assistant manager in control. They lost only the last game against Fenerbahçe but won six in a row. They have tried to sign Senol Günes but the Korean club that he is contracted to did not let him go. Their search is still in progress.

Transfer window just around the corner the summer is already heating up. Kayserispor's star Mehmet Topuz is the main focus of the rumours. He admitted he thinks his future lays elsewhere, that Fenerbahçe and Besiktas were serious to sign him but no agreements still.

Bursaspor's Mustafa Sarp left on Bosman ruling and agreed to sign with Galatasaray. With Mehmet Topal and Ayhan Akman in front, a strong in team rivalry is awaiting.

Ankaraspor's Özer Hurmaci, Bursaspor's Sercan Yildirim, and Volkan Sen are also drawing some attention.

Besiktas will go to the Champions League. Tough rounds of elimination await Sivasspor to qualify for group stage—almost impossible. Trabzonspor and cup finalist Fenerbahçe qualified for the new UEFA Cup. Galatasaray also will take place in the competition if they qualify through the elimination rounds.

Do Comparisons Count?

Baris Gerceker — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:08:19 -0400

Even BleacherReport asks us, Ruth or Mays, Unitas or Montana, etc. This or that, which one?

Last night's Championship Final game between Barcelona and Manchester United was brought up to the discussion of "Messi or Ronaldo?"

This at least is a comparison of the same era, which makes a slight bit of sense. The question also extends to "Messi or Maradona" or let's head out to other branches of sports and ask—Senna or Schumacher, LeBron or Kobe, Nadal or Becker?

These are simple and fun brainstorming issues, which would only come to a conclusion after the judgement day. After that we will have a long hard look on all of those issues for eternity. We may even get bored—oh another LeBron-Kobe one-on-one in the central arena?

Who cares, I have seen it a zillion times already.

But some definitely take it too seriously. You can see it in forums or websites' reader comments pages. Really ridiculous. It starts to take the fun away.

The question of last night should rather have been "Barça or Man U," rather than "Messi or Ronaldo."

But it is too late now.

Cristiano Ronaldo's responses to the questions about the game is taking it onto him, even more. While he is humble enough to admit Barça's midfield display was a joy to behold, Cristiano still protests to admit Barça was the better side. One should not expect more from a player who previously said, "I should be winning the player of the year."

Modesty doesn't always hurt, does it?

Legends or big name players are often compared. Which one is better?

Times are changing, games and sports are changing continuously also.

It should always be taken into consideration. The finances, the media, the public attention, the technology, they are all at different places right now. Nothing is the same when compared to five years ago, how can one sensibly compare sportsmen in such a manner than?

While F1 cars were all filled with fuel and were driven around like loose cannons in the past, when almost all technology was manual or mechanic was the driver's job harder?

Or is it harder now that the cars are advancing beyond them and all the public attention is getting more and more?

Ten years ago, were NBA players able to be trained as expertly as it is now? Were the shoes and jerseys better?

How about their travelling conditions, would they be compared to the ones of our day?

What would Maradona or Pele turn out to be if they were recruited by an European club's almost perfect youth academy? Would they have become better? Or worse perhaps?

Do these changes always favor the new? Isn't it really possible that the wonder kids of today would have overtaken the legends of the past if they were to be born 30-40 years ago?

Is it all because of modern advancements or talent?

One can never tell.

One should always seize the opportunity to squeeze fun out of it, whatever it is. Discussions are of course a part of the big games and speculations sell. That's a fact. But it should not steal from the core, the fun and entertainment.

In the last night's game, one little guy's game sealing goal celebration of kissing his blue shoes is something and the other guy's constant search for a fight with the opponent's captain is another.

But overall, it was a good game.

The better team played better and justice rewarded them with the most prestigious cup of the year.

Thank God.

What's Going on in Turkish Football: Epilogue

Baris Gerceker — Wed, 27 May 2009 02:56:11 -0400

Like the cute kitty in the picture (which was taken in the UEFA Cup final in Sükrü Saracoglu, Istanbul), the Turkish League season is going up the stairs as it is the last game-week next Saturday.

In the previous two articles that I have written upon this topic, I have summarized the overall view of the league (#1) and updated the situation (#2) later on.

With only nine games to be played in two days, there are still three candidates for the championship, Besiktas being the strongest favorites, Sivasspor trailing, and Trabzonspor looking for those two to fall off. This definitely adds excitement to the closing days of an extraordinary season.

The extraordinary-ness is caused by the lack of presence of Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray in this fight for the top spot.

Sivasspor being the fire cracker of this season and the previous one, Trabzonspor, too are hanging in the top spots which they have failed to appear for around 20 years. Besiktas is the team with most number of titles after Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray but they have failed to keep up with the challenge in the previous years.

They have not managed to win the league since their centennial year, which was in 2003. Since then they failed to keep it up.

Besiktas started the league in an acceptable form but their elimination in the UEFA Cup caused a change in managerial position. Ertugrul Saglam was replaced with Mustafa Denizli, who had won the league title in Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe in the past.

If next week's games come up with no surprise, he will be the first manager to lift the league trophy with the top three fliers of Turkish football. Him being a native manager adds to that.

Ertugrul Saglam, who has been sacked after Metalist Kharkiv knocked his team out, is now in control of Besiktas' fierce rivals, Bursaspor, and he is still fighting for the last spot for European Cups next season.

Galatasaray who also chose to sack their manager after a heavy loss in a league game against Kocaeli, replaced Skibbe with their loyal and beloved ex-captain, Bülent Korkmaz. He was lucky to knock out Bordeaux just as soon as he took the throne but was eliminated by Hamburg in the next round, rather dramatically at home ground.

Bülent Korkmaz's place is under threat right now following a bad streak of results in the league who put them in fifth position, Paul Le Guen rumoured to be his replacement next season.

Fenerbahçe meanwhile struggled to beat the low profile teams in the league while almost dominating his games they played with the top-six teams in the league. They failed to fight on the pitch, both home and away and lost unbelievable number of points in the last minutes of their games.

Aragones is the name discussed more than anyone else. Fenerbahçe board resisted sacking him despite the common pressure, it is rumoured that the huge financial compensation in Luis' contract is the main reason behind that. Fenerbahçe went on to board election last weekend and the recent board is re-elected, they are rumoured to find a solution to the managerial dilemma.

Aragones is said to be leaving while his replacement is still to be decided. Newspapers are repeatedly suggesting Spaletti, Scolari, Mancini or Luxemburgo as his reigns.

Sivasspor, a true success story is what I left for the end of this article. They have spent a significantly less amount of money for building a team which really have almost dominated the league for the past two years. Their being inexperienced is causing them to struggle in the final stretch.

Not many people admire the football they play, some even suggest the minions of the league do not fight that much against Sivas as they are said to consider Sivas as "one of them". In a tri-polar league an outsider's presence in the top spot, an Anatolian team fighting for the title really is earning much sympathy.

They have snapped up free players, both local and foreign and managed to squeeze the best out of them. Their January transfer window catch, Yannick Kamanan is really drawing much attention. Their strong center back Bilica is on the watch list of many teams both in and out of country, Fenerbahçe is said to be close to signing him in.

Herve Tum, Mehmet Yildiz, and Pini Felix Ballili are also present in their attacking line. Their goal is safe with Michael Petkovic, who was the former goalie of Trabzonspor. Tum was similarly a unwanted from Bursaspor. They keep on buying players from inside the country so they reduce the chance of failures and also overcome the adaptation problems.

They have a strong enough team that right now, many of their players are wanted by bigger clubs. But definitely, they find it hard to keep up with the mental toughness required to overcome the pressure which gets going near the end. It happened almost exactly the same last year too.

Bülent Uygun, the manager is doing his best to take the pressure off of the team as much as he can. His behavioral style is often compared to the one of Fatih Terim and is talked down, naturally. He takes the blame when things get nasty and praises his players more often than anyone else but those tactics simply do not work in the end; they are still fragile.

Next Saturday's games bring them and Galatasaray face to face. Galatasaray's fifth spot is under threat in case they lose. If Fenerbahçe, who travels to another top spot candidates Trabzonspor, loses too, and Bursaspor wins, Galatasaray finishes in 6th spot which leaves them out of European competitions next year. Besiktas meanwhile travels to Denizli, who has just guaranteed to stay clear of relegation last week.

Besiktas is two points ahead of Sivas, who is one point ahead of Trabzonspor. The last week's last minutes are really bound to be packed up with excitement. Even the goal differences may get into calculations, not only in championship race, but also in relegation line down below.

With Hacettepe and Kocaelispor already gone, there are still three candidates for the last team to say goodbye to Turkcell Super Lig. They are Konyaspor, Antalyaspor and Gençlerbirligi.

What's Going On in Turkish Football: Part Deux

Baris Gerceker — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 04:37:45 -0400

On Oct. 20, 2008 I wrote an article, this is the sequel.

The past article started with the introduction upon Turkish Football League history, focusing on the three horsemen, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Beşiktaş, along with the only other champion outside Istanbul, which is Trabzonspor, and wrapping up with why the nation's league is so impotent.

Only seven game weeks had past then, now it is the 26th game week this weekend, after the short break for international call-ups. Beşiktaş was leading the league when I wrote that article, Trabzonspor was trailing. Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe were a little dropped back.

Now, with nine weeks to go Sivasspor, last year's surprise pack is back on top again with 50 points. Beşiktaş, who sacked their manager Ertuğrul Sağlam (he is now the manager of Bursaspor) in between the two articles is one point behind Sivas.

Trabzon is still hanging up on the top three with 46 points while Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray are fourth and fifth respectively with 44 points each.

Last year's end of season league table showed Galatasaray ahead of Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş and Sivasspor with six points each. The reigning champion has lost only three games and a total of 23 points out of 102 possible. Today the league leader Sivasspor has already lost 3 games and a total of 25 points.

Even if they win all their remaining games they will not be able to beat last year's score, and their winning all their games is almost miraculous.

When Fenerbahçe won the league in 2006-07 season with only 70 points, it was a record low for the last 13 years, the manager Zico was heavily criticised.

Since the league switched to three-points-for-a-win system on '87-'88 season only four time has this happened. 66, 69 and 70 were the points that was enough for the championship by Galatasaray, Beşiktaş and again Galatasaray, on seasons '92-'93, '90-'91 and '93-'94 seasons respectively.

The two of three horsemen sacked their managers mid-season. Galatasaray sacked Skibbe after a 5-2 home defeat by a relegation candidate, while Beşiktaş was much less patient that, Ertuğrul Sağlam was shown the way out after being knocked out by Metalist Kharkiv on the UEFA Cup qualification games.

Galatasaray hired their legendary captain, Bülent Korkmaz who does not have a bright managerial past while Beşiktaş chose Mustafa Denizli, who led Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe to the championship in the past and is the only local manager to achieve this at Fenerbahçe.

Fenerbahçe is still going on with Luis Aragones even though rumours of his job security are always on the headlines.

The rumours about the Grandpa goes on saying that he has a huge compensation clause if he is to be fired before contract expiry and that clause it what's keeping him in. Already the media are looking for replacements, even the Italian media are suggesting Mancini may take his place if he is to be fired.

The club, as usual, denies those rumours.

Last two seasons showed that the three horsemen are dropping back. Even though they somehow finish on the top spots they struggle more and more as the days pass by. This leads to questions of course.

Fenerbahçe, by hiring Aragones, pushed aside what Daum built and Zico built even more upon. The two managers from two distinctly different mentalities had found a tasteful recipe at the end of a five-year period.

When Zico lost the league last season almost everyone knew he wouldn't last long and it was the end of his contract anyway. The board (chairman Aziz Yıldırım to be precise!) did not do much to keep him.

Instead they lost almost all the summer waiting for Aragones' Spain to be knocked out of Euro 2008. As you know, Spain won the trophy, which means they stayed in the competition 'til the end!

With the arrival of Aragones things change dramatically. Along with Zico, Mehmet Aurelio, who now plays for Betis in La Liga left the club and the absence of his stealing abilities are heavily missed in the midfield. Emre Belözoğlu, a Galatasaray icon, was signed from Newcastle United.

His arrival too caused a bit of a shock since Fenerbahçe fans do not like him at all, in person. Some still tried to settle him in their conscious for usefulness. He still lacks the overall approval of fans.

Daniel Güiza, the top goalscorer of La Liga last season was brought in with a record signing fee from Mallorca, but the "sad man" has scored less than the central defender Diego Lugano so far! Fenerbahçe managed to play "well" in difficult games but lost many unexpected points in many games in which they were the favorites.

The team, clearly lacks the motivation for those games and are far away from showing what they're capable of. The remaining nine weeks certainly are full of many things, but a belief and hope in their championship is not one of those by the fans.

Their performance in the Champions League is another thing they wish to forget after last year's quarter finals in the same competition. The team failed to win a single game in six group matches.

Last year's champion Galatasaray hired Skibbe at the beginning. His Leverkusen knocked out Galatasaray in the UEFA Cup. His ability and capability was always the main focus of criticisms.

Galatasaray squad, one of the most expensive in club's history is struggling in the league, knocked out by Steau Bucharesti in Champions Leage qualifications, hardly managed to qualify from group stage in UEFA cup, knocked out Bordeaux in a miraculous manner but Hamburg ended their dreams.

Right before second leg game against Bordeaux Skibbe was fired and Bülent Korkmaz was hired. The knocking out of Bordeaux gave him some credit, which was soon to be taken away after the Hamburg game and the league games. His quarrel with the team's naughty boy play maker Cassio Lincoln is another point of discussion.

Beşiktaş, who had difficult times in the early season sacked their manager too. Mustafa Denizli's league sheet in Beşiktaş was not much brighter when the seaon's first half came to a close.

But as soon as the second half began Beşiktaş reached a top form and climbed back on top. They are now the strongest championship candidates by many. The arrival of Fabian Ernst in the January transfer window definitely gave them the solidness in the midfield which they were lacking.

The consistent goal scoring performance by Nobre and Bobo, accompanied by Holosko is keeping them up and coming.

Trabzonspor also began the season with high expectations. They hired Ersun Yanal, a former national team manager, who is a tactical genius. They refined their squad with new transfers and set their sights on the championship.

Even though they had a strong starting line up, they are lacking squad depth which causes an up and down performance from week to week, depending on injuries or bans.

Sivasspor, the last two years championship chaser are once again on the top while approaching the end of season. Last year manager Bülent Uygun's effort to push away the championship pressure to protect his players did not succeed. They lost it near the finish line.

This year, with last year's experience they look stronger. They preserved their squad, even strengthen it with some more and they have a fixture advantage on their side.

Their championship would be a first in league history but would not surprise much as it would last year if they managed. Now they are mostly respected by the other teams and nation's football media.

Whoever wins the league, it will be considered normal, as long as one of the five above does it. Sivasspor doing it will still be different from the rest. And it will mean more than just an outsider winning the league. It will cause a long hard look at the mirror for the three horsemen.

They are the most popular clubs in Turkey, they have the hardcore fans all over the country which makes the away games like home games, their games are always live on TV, the football programmes, the newspaper, the Web sites are all about them, they spent the most money and still they fail to win the championship, yet succeed in European competitions.

Sivasspor winning the league may cause a serious stir up. Or they spoil themselves, sell and buy players without further planning and get lost and the infamous three get back up, without much further effort. Everyone is still curious...See you nine weeks later, in part three.

A Nations Image; Hospitality Vs Implacability

Baris Gerceker — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 02:17:20 -0400

Turkish national team failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup after they were knocked out by Switzerland. It became more than a football match, which often happens. When Turkey was 1-0 behind in the away game of the playoffs for the finals, Terim switched to an old fashioned 3-5-2 which caused a late second goal by the Swiss. If that had not happened the 4-2 win at home would have helped.

Instead, ugly things took place on the pitch, during and after that game. Terim propagated his usual arrogance and aggressiveness to his players on the pitch, during the game and right after the match ended. He was seen giving numbers to his players on the pitch, showing who to kick! When the match ended the Swiss players had to flee the pitch, in the dressing room corridor even more was to come. Mehmet Özdilek, who is known as one of the most decent players of his times (named "Scifo Mehmet" because of similarity of style with Belgium's Enzo Scifo), a true gentleman even tried to trip a Swiss player trying to run into the tunnel to save himself. He surely was fined, as well as Alpay Özalan, who was the part of the fighting in the corridors.

But Terim wasn't. Senes Erzik, a former Turkish Football Assocication chairman, who is now on a respectable position in UEFA fought to hard to avoid a ban for the national team for the upcoming tournaments. We survived with neutral venue fine and some games without fans. Even those disadvantages did not stop Turkish national team to qualify for Euro 2008 which they finished 3rd (or 4th since no 3rd place playoff was played).

Fatih Terim's career as a professional football player and a manager can become a topic of another huge article. The main thing is, his style is mainly aggressiveness. His players love him, even though he is a Galatasaray icon, the national team players who play their professional football in Galatasaray's fierce rivals, like Fenerbahçe or Beşiktaş, like him, admire him. Which is a little weird.

Just before the Spain game which was held on March 28th, 2009, the Turkish national team's official sponsor Nike put up a commercial. Its slogan is "be implacable". It deflects the meaning of the word "implacable" into something "softer" but still the image it gives, the images used in the commercial is rather repulsive. Roaring tigers, scorpions.

Just a little over 3 years have passed since that incident which almost put us out of international tournaments. Turkey and Turkish people are known for their hospitality. The slogan of Turkey in tourism is "Turkey welcomes you". But the truth on the shoulders of Fatih Terim is "implacable". His repulsive attitudes, excess of facial expressions, frowning eyebrows and aggressive gestures are the image of Turkish team for quite some time. Today, Turkey will host the second leg of the Spain match-up. I hope the team and his manager would digest a possible defeat, which would put them out of qualification for World Cup 2010. I really do feel and fear otherwise.

Do Youngsters Have To Bear So Much?

Baris Gerceker — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:43:36 -0500

When Pele capped Brazil national team's jersey at a very young age, he definitely was not the first shining youngster that football ever seen. He became one of the most shining, perhaps, and still a milestone when it comes to compare the newbies, but they kept on coming.

Then, everyone was looking for their Peles, which were not growing on trees of course. Now is the time of Messi and any promising player is compared to him; will he become the next Messi? Why? Is Messi over already?

As the football market gets more and more aggressive, despite the financial difficulties that the world currently undergoes, the expectations from promising youngsters pile up. They sometimes pile up so high that the weight of it all is unbearable, even unbearable for an experienced player.

Talents like Pele or Messi are not easy to find as mentioned above; they do not grow on trees. It is a matter of education and training from very young ages, but that's not all. You cannot insert flair to a kid who doesn't have it at all. Train him all you want, teach him the game but if he doesn't have the God-given talent, all you will get is a hard-working lad, running his ass off in the field but rarely managing as much a wonder-kid would do.

And the fact is, they should not be expected to, since it is not fair. If you are Messi then you are discovered at the age of 14 and are brought to Spain all the way from Argentina as an investment. You are a project. But if you only are a juggler of the ball with soft ankles and a decent view of the game you can still succeed, you do not need to become a top star playing in Barça, do you?

Players such as Messi do a very bad thing to their coevals. Since finding quality players get more and more difficult, and top-class teams are making a collection of any, everyone is looking at their youngsters. Someone from those racks will come up and save them all! Either by playing until old age in the club, becoming an icon, and running the team from success to success; or just financially, signing one of those majors and bringing a nice revenue to their home team.

Whichever the case is, teenagers are really on the spot lately and thanks to managers like Wenger who build whole Premiership contending team upon them!

Do I say it cynically or honestly, believe me, even I don't know!

Where Do Fans Belong?

Baris Gerceker — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 02:12:58 -0400

It was just a game but that was a long long time ago. It really is a totally different question to ask: why did people watch the game as spectators for the first time?

One may guess and type in this scenario for that question; they were probably not able to participate but they wanted the team they sympathised to win, so they took their places in the stands. Then, probably, came the chants and possibly boos and jeers. We kind of know the rest of the story.

The feeling and instinct of possession from the fans side is indescribable. You cannot rationalize it in any simple way. When you try to rationalize this and create similarities with other affinities a human being can carry, there is always a flick where the example does not fit in. Some associate it with mother-child relationship, some with husband-wife, some even with God-creature.

Being a fan is not like any of those. Maybe in some aspects it is, and in some aspects it contains some of each, but never the total sum. It is a unique kind of affection, affinity or love, however you may name it.

Industrial football is a cold phrase. All it reminds me of are tall chimneys, giving out black smokes to a dark sky over football pitches. Choking. But it is as cold a truth as the phrase itself. The fans evolving into customers is a part of that very same cold phrase.

Fans can be subdivided into branches, hard-core, soft-core etc. Then there are spectators. And then come the customers lately. None like each other but they often have to sit side-by-side.

Stadiums are the only venue where they meet and interact, in real. You can see the looks on their faces while looking at each other, not even friendly to those who support the same colors. Sad but it ultimately came to this point.

Money started to mean a lot more than chants in the stands. And since this immaterial support lost the importance fans turned onto themselves. They isolated themselves if they survived, formed groups, produced their own focus of power, they made a stand against the money. Their so-called love cannot be bought by money.

It sure looks good on paper or walls or signs but the reality is much more different. Club boards desire regular season ticket holders who buy expensive merchandise from official stores. Buy their drinks from the over-priced stands in the stadiums rather than the sleazy bar near the venue.

The game was the fun of the poor in the old days, it was popular among the heavy duty workers and labourers. Of course it took place in universities and colleges and I know enough that the rules were set in those "educational surroundings." But still it was not the game of the rich like golf or polo or whatever.

Poverty goes hand to hand with closer and deeper feelings against colors of a jersey, because they need more to hold onto in their casual lives other than their jobs and homes. And as tickets price go higher and higher along with senseless boards managing clubs in other ways, the real and true core fans feel more and more estranged as days go by.

Club purchases by rich campaigns is the fashionable trend lately. Chelsea, then Manchester United, West Ham, Portsmouth then came the City. The Russian league is also considered to use a similar approach, where rich companies see football clubs as "investments" and some even suggest they are used for laundering money. The color of the game gets greener but not because of the grass it is played on.

The fans may protest, arrange meetings and chant their slogans against such actions but does it really matter that much? Unfortunately not. What fans think and want does not really matter much. The boards can decide and go sign a player that the fans despise, sell their mostly beloved figure in the team, or sack a manager who the people in the stands stand behind.

The game started as a fun pass-time for the players on the pitch at first, people did not definitely intend to entertain anyone other then themselves. Then it all changed and it became a game for the spectators. What's being done was all for the supporting fans in the stadiums, who travel after their teams regardless of the distance traveled. Then came the TV and live coverages, commercials, big signings which came along with their sponsorship agreements, and it all became about the money.

The fans of course are not supposed to be in charge of managing a club because the separation between fans, boards and players is the sane way. But these should be aligned. The boards are definitely there to improve things, or at least to not worsen the situation. And to do that actions required may contain some conflicts but all has to be well calculated. It is a gentle balance that need to be kept.

Lately supporters you can call the customers, or consumers do not really care about a club's past, its traditions etc. All they care about is the success, glory and the reputation, having pure fun on game days, regardless of who brings that fun to them and how. So a conflict between those and real fans is inevitable.

Internet provides these virtual arena's, or forums to be precise, where the sides of those conflict can confront each other and there is no winner. Other than that they yell at the same referee in the home ground and while customers/consumers stay in their warm homes, the fans are stuck in the away stands at the hostile away venue.

There is no winner. As the game gets bigger boards' concerns upon issues keep on changing while fans still remain conservative and customer/consumers follow and approve almost all that the boards do, not really considering what may be the pros and cons. The ties that bond them together vary but the love for the game itself is ascending.

Whether this trend will slow down or even head back in the reverse direction is an important issue. Right now no one is absolutely right because customer/consumer's invasion in the stadiums are yet to prove that fans are right, or otherwise.

Michael Jordan, The Number 23...

Baris Gerceker — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:45:51 -0400

My NBA memories start with the end of Celtics-Lakers rivalry, the last days of Kareem and some more from Magic, and the Bulls taking the lead from the Bad-Boys of Detroit.

Yes, I loved that Pistons team too, but don't blame me, I was just a kid.

I was stunned by Laimbeer's laserlike three-pointers, Isiah's rapid dribbles, John Sally, Joe Dumars, Johnson etc. I may be confused with the names and time era actually—those are blurred basketball memories, back from the days when the "shorts were really short".

Then came the man with No. 23.

When you are a kid it is always about "who is better". And by "who," you always mean the individuals, not the teams. Jordan or Magic, Jordan or Drexler, Jordan or Russell, Jordan or Chamberlain?

It is quite funny that these comparisons occur regardless of the players' positions when it comes to Jordan. The funnier thing is that these comparisons continue regardless of age and still the comparison is done against His Majesty.

Nowadays it is Kobe, Wade, LeBron, etc. All are "the next Jordan." (Jordan was "the next Dr.J," by the way.)

Jordan was many things—I even cannot bear saying "was", I still want to say "is." He played marvellously, he made his team play marvellously, he defended well, attacked incredibly, shot perfectly, jumped unbelievably, lead his team, and always took the responsibility.

It was a great franchise, and the pack was in just the right place at the right time. Scottie, Horace. He even made Bill Wellington and Luc Longley look good. And the white shorties like Steve Kerr and John Paxon. Of course, who could forget the Big Chief Phil Jackson and his triangle offense. They were all there, all you ever needed to see.

Amongst the many programs shot about Jordan, one in particular is Air to the Max produced for IMAX movie theaters. It begins with the thing which I think makes him the best, something he says:

When I go out on court for a game, there can be a guy with his kid in the stands that day. And they are there to see the Michael Jordan that they have heard of or seen on TV. That game would be their only chance to see me play live on court. I have to show them that Michael Jordan.

(w.n: Those are not the exact same words that he says but I am writing without the footage with me right now, so, my apologies for any misinterpretations, but I guess I made my point.)

(w.n2: Legendary Manchester United captain, Roy Keane has a similar quote where he says "A game on the pitch may be my last game. I may have a heart attack right after or die in a traffic accident before making it to the next game. So I play all my games as if they were my last.")

Also his Nike commercials, and the lesson to have to teach about failing, has always been ringing in my ears at all times. The lines on the commercial may have been created by Nike's agency, but they fit in, and would have sounded weird if the commercial was for someone else. In a team where the stats of last minutes of the game are recorded in different colors of pens, he was always there, always taking the responsibility for his team, failing at times but never giving up.

After his first three-peat he retired—what happened to his father hurt him so much. Acted, played baseball, golfed. But he returned eventually, with number 45, for another three-peat. He took back his 23 and he was back.

I was heavily disappointed when he signed for Wizards though. And I remember the block he made in a game against his "real" team—that was when I thought "this man is invincible".

There are many legends based upon Michael Jordan—such as that he used to jump down from a two-meter concrete block down to sand, which made his calves stronger than anyone and that was what made him jump amazingly. Or, that there is a section of muscles in his knees for his jumping ability. That he has donated his body to be examined once he dies. Some may be real, some may be urban legends.

But he himself is the greatest sports legend that ever will be. Whoever rises to overtake him will always have a "...but Jordan was better" challenge, from my point of view.