I spent most of the Croatia-Turkey game with an annoying monologue running through my mind. "Of course you should cheer for Croatia, the Croats are 'ours.' They speak 'our' language, they have our names, and they used to be a part of 'our' nation of Yugoslavia," one voice kept telling me. Every time the Turks rushed to the Croats' goal, this voice was squashed by another one who kept shouting in my ear: "Oh, but Turkey is so beautiful. Remember those Istanbul summers? The friends you made? You are studying their language, and have lots of friends in Turkey. And Croatia is no longer your homeland." Every time I would tell my co-watchers that I was tempted to root for Turkey, I would follow the comment by a long list of justifications and a caveat that this was by no means a political choice and that I would be just as pleased if the Croats won.
Surprisingly (even to myself), when the Croats scored the goal in the very last minutes of the last extra half time, I felt my hands wrap around my head in a moment of sadness and agony, not happiness. Only seconds later, the Turks rammed the ball into the Croat net, equalizing the game and causing me to literally jump off my couch and shout as loud as I have shouted in a while. That same shout came back when the Turks won the game on penalty kicks. I did feel terrible for the Croats who honestly played a better game. I also found myself wishing to have watched the game either in Split, Zagreb, Mostar, or Istanbul. It doesn't matter. I just wanted to be surrounded by a mass of people who were emotionally invested in the game.
The overwhelming power of sports to enable people to become emotionally invested in their nation lies in the fact that it allows you to personify the nation through the faces, names, and destinies of individual players and coaches. You become one of them by the simple act of watching the game. This is why the defeat is so crushing. As a friend of mine remarked to me after the game, "The Croats will be depressed for days after today."
Only moments after the game, riots erupted in my hometown of Mostar. The Muslims celebrated on the East side, honking their horns and waving Turkish flags. On the West side, Croat fans attempted to penetrate the riot police lines and come over to the East side, but they were (thank God!) prevented by the police. So, the story of the intimate relationship between soccer and nationalism goes on.
I am still trying to analyze my own feelings (yes I am a self-involved man). Why did I cheer for Turkey, despite my Yugo-nostalgia and my oft-repeated aloofness from nationalism? Feel free to psychoanalyze me in the comments section...
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7 comments:
I have no idea why would you root for Turks. Living in Turkey for two years, and myself being from BIH, I realized that we have absolutely nothing in common with Turks. Nothing. I don't care if their country is beautiful. So was Germany 1939 but I wouldn't root for them.
Like you said, Croats and us ARE same people. Period. Croat players are young man who never seen war trough murderous eyes so there was nothing but sportsmanship on that field today. They even shown croat and turk fans waving their countries flags together. Which I couldn't say same about my city Mostar, even though Turkey or Croatia has nothing to do with Mostar.
I also gotta say that even if Croatia is not my country, I got goose bumps when whole fricking stadium sang "ljepa nasa domovino" (our beautiful home).
I didn't feel much when Turks hymn was played. In the next match I will root for Germany even though I respect Turks and they're my second team if Germany gets knocked out.
While I agree with you that harcore sports fandom is related to deeply felt connections to a city or country, sometimes our reasons for supporting teams can be ephemeral. For instance, I rooted for the French team in 1998 both because its make-up and success were repudiations of the National Front's definition of French-ness. While Le Marsaillaise stirs my soul with revolutionary longing, I've never been to France and feel no attachment to the place. I like some teams because of their players and style. Even though Brazil are the overdogs, I am always enchanted by samba soccer. On the other hand, the plodding mentality of the Italian side leaves me cold. While Germany has always been my second team, their recent switch to an attacking game under Klinsman has made my fandom more enthusiastic than grudging. Perhaps there is something about the Turkish team in and of itself that transcends geography and nationality.
Well, I was rooting for Turkey anyway because Turkiye is my academic focus area, but what WHB says is absolutley right. There is something a little bit transcendent about the Turkish team in this tournament (though maybe not in general) and that is its resilience and ability to overcome the odds. This especially appeals to Americans.
In this sense, Fedja's affinity for the Turkish team, oddly enough, might be further evidence of his American identity. We are conditioned from an early age with underdog narratives, especially when it comes to sports (Rocky, ect). Corny as it may seem, we all like to believe in it - unless one has a heart of a rock, who doesn't root for the Cinderella team in the NCAA tourney?
This is in no way a judgment, in fact, this is largely why I have grown more fond of Turkey during Euro '08 as well.
your posts bring me back to all our convos, it wasn't too long ago but feels like eons. going to miss not having you there this time, i always appreciate your introspection.
Thanks anonymous for your lovely words. I wish I knew who you were....
Ah I do know who u are....
hehe fedja, i'm blog useless and don't know how do it from me!
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