Nathan's 15 Minutes of Fame...

It's been said that everyone has 15 minutes of fame in their lifetime. I think I might be in the midst of mine, as my life has changed a bit in the last 48 hours....

It all started a year or so ago. As many of you know, I am a HUGE fan of the Turkish futbol (soccer) team Fenerbahce. If you didn't know that, it's a long story of how/why, but I am. Well, about a year ago, I started a blog about Fenerbahce because there was little content on the team in English. I am by no means fluent in Turkish yet, but I speak just enough to usually understand what the idea of the sentence is, etc. Fenerbahce is a huge club, boasting more than 25 million fans around the globe, but apparently, there aren't many American-born fans of the club. Laugh if you will, but Fener's fanbase makes the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Cowboys look like 2 or 3 people compared to Fenerbahce. Anyway, so I started this website last year in English for other non-Turkish-speaking fans of the club. I've met some fascinating people because of it, and lots of people from around the world found my site and sent me messages.

So....last week, I get a message from a guy named Emre Kizilkaya. He's a journalist for a Turkish newspaper and a Fenerbahce fan, and he told me he liked my website. A few days later, on Saturday (two days ago), I get an e-mail from Emre. His boss, the Chief News Editor, found my site and was writing an article about me, the American Fenerbahce fan. Ten minutes later, I start to get bombarded with e-mails and a link to the article. As it turns out, Emre doesn't just work for a paper - he works for Hurriyet - the "New York Times" of Istanbul. Hurriyet's readership throughout the world (including the website) is easily in the tens of millions. The article talks about me, the website, and how Fenerbahce has become a global club.

So, here we are 48 hours later. I cannot even begin to count how many messages, e-mails, etc. I have received from around the globe - people that read about me in Hurriyet. My blog has been inundated with messages from people saying "you are famous in Turkiye." A friend of mine in Istanbul e-mailed me to tell me that his family and friends told him about it, not knowing that he was a friend of mine! He went on to say "everyone in Istanbul knows you now; you are the talk of Turkiye."

It's been crazy, but it doesn't stop there. Message boards have been lighting up with this article, and I've received several messages requesting that I come to Fenerbahce's final home game, this Saturday, in Istanbul. One of them said "I believe we can provide financial assistance...." Today I learned that fans have prepared a statement to send to the club requesting they bring me to Istanbul.

A few hours ago, I received another e-mail from my friend Emre. He read one of the articles I had written on my site condemning violence in the game of futbol, and he has asked my permission to reprint it in Hurriyet. So now, not only has an article been written about me, but my work is supposedly being published in Hurriyet this week! As most of you know, I'm in graduate school studying sport management, and Kristen and I are planning to move to Turkiye eventually. My career goal is to work for a futbol club, and Fenerbahce would be my dream job. Who knows, it may be closer than I ever thought.....:)

Nathan and Kristen Endorse: Caffe Classico Louisville

Kristen and I love our neighborhood. In fact, it was one of the main reasons we chose to live in the Crescent Hill area of Louisville. As mentioned in previous posts, we are within walking distance to some of our favorite restaurants, shops, etc. Without question, one of those is Caffe Classico, just down the street a bit in the Clifton neighborhood.

Stepping into Caffe Classico is like a taking a trip to Europe or South America. You'll forget not only that you're in Louisville, but the U.S. Owned by our friends Tommie, an American who like us, does not think domestically :) and his wife Claudia, a native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Caffe Classico has become one of our most-frequented hangouts.

Caffe Classico began as an espresso shop of sorts, but then morphed into a full-fledged restaurant with dinner menu. They also have live entertainment on the weekends. In one weekend at Caffe Classico, you can see honestly one of the best Flamenco troups I've ever seen in Al-Sur Flamenco, Bellydancer Ruric Amari, and Arabic guitarist George Wakim. However, the most amazing thing about Caffe Classico is the other patrons. On any given night, it's very possible to hear 6 or 7 different languages spoken. On a recent trip there to see Al-Sur, we took our friends Khaled and Shima, who are from Palestine. There were several Uruguayans there that night, as well as some Argentinians. Another Palestinian man came in, as well as a group of young women speaking French. It was definitely a breath of fresh air for Kristen and I who sorely miss our European travels even though it's been less than four months since our last trip to Europe.

Tommie and Claudia are also world travelers, and it shows in their food, espresso, and presentations. If you've ever been to Europe, you know that if you order a glass of water (or soda), you'll get it without ice - the way it should be. Only Americans put ice in their beverages. We were happy to receive our glasses of water with no ice at Caffe Classico, just the way we like it.

Click on the link below to see a quick video of Caffe Classico, although the video does not do it justice. And ofcourse, if you're in Louisville, stop by and say hi. Chances are, you'll see Kristen and I there as well.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid507904905

Buon Natale!

Kristen and I are leaving tomorrow for Italy, where we'll be spending Christmas this year. We'll be there for approximately 10 days, staying in Tuscany, just outside of Florence. We'll be in that region for most of our trip, but we're also taking some day trips to nearby towns, including Venice.

One of the highlights (for me, at least) is that we will be attending the ACF Fiorentina vs. Messina calcio (soccer/football) match on Saturday, 23 December. This is our first Italian Serie A game and I can't wait. Luca Toni (pictured above in purple), one of the stars for the World Cup Italian champions, plays for Fiorentina.

I hope that everyone has a great Christmas and New Year! Buon Natale and Iyi Noeller!

Mustafa's Carpets

Kristen and I have a close friend in Istanbul named Mustafa Yigit, and he has recently created a blog. Mustafa sells BEAUTIFUL Turkish carpets and Kristen and I have purchased from him multiple times. We met Mustafa through Kristen's aunt and uncle who are very close to him. Since our meeting, Mustafa has become a great friend of ours. Additionally, he has some of the most beautiful carpets we've ever seen and is an extremely trustworthy businessman. Last Christmas we purchased a new, large Turkish carpet for our living room and he insisted that we have it by Christmas, so he expedited our shipping for free (we received it in 4 days!). He is truly one of the nicest people I've ever met and extremely honest. Every time we see his new carpets, we wish we could buy them all!

If you get a moment, please check out Mustafa's website - www.mustafascarpets.blogspot.com. Mustafa gladly ships to America (it isn't as expensive as you think) and stands by each one of his hand-made carpets. Kristen and I HIGHLY recommend his carpets and his business!!!

Louisville's Christmas Weather

Kristen and I awoke on Thursday morning to a wonderful Christmas surprise - our second snowfall of the season, and the biggest one of this early winter. Accompanying the snow was a cloudy, windy day with temperature highs only in the low 20's.

While some crazy people loathe this weather, this is my idea of paradise. I'm slowly convincing Kristen to enjoy this crazy Midwest/Northern weather rather than the always-balmy Southern weather that she grew up with. Being in the Midwest here in Louisville, we get a little of everything. Early August 2005 brought temperatures in the 60's. I remember trick-or-treating as a kid with six inches of snow in October. And ofcourse, temperatures were nearly 65 degrees on Thanksgiving here just a few weeks ago. However, there is nothing better than a cloudy, snowy, cold winter day - especially right before Christmas.

This snow probably won't stick around, and hopefully it won't affect our upcoming flights in a couple of weeks. But it sure made today a much better day...

HoundTown

As you probably know, Kristen and I have two wonderful greyhounds that we rescued, Spartacus and Waldo. We also had another previously, our little Ella. We always heard from other owners before we adopted greyhounds that they are addictive, which we have indeed found to be the case. As a result, we've fostered several more, resulting in a revolving door of greyhounds at our house.

Next in line is Russell, who is with us now. He's a 2.5 year-old boy and despite the appearance in the picture above, he's nearly solid black with a little white trim. He's a handful....he will steal your food whether you are looking or not, and has a LOT more energy than any of our hounds have had. Despite this, he's gorgeous and a very sweet boy. We got him on Monday and are only fostering him temporarily; for a week or so. He'll probably leave our house sometime this weekend or early next week.

We've affectionately re-named our estate "HoundTown" because of the number of greyhounds that come through. We expect to foster another one after we return from Italy in a month or so. We love doing it, and we've certainly realized how addictive these incredible dogs can be.

Meeting the President

I consider it my good fortune to have met former United States President Jimmy Carter on Thursday night in Louisville. As you probably know, since leaving office President Carter has devoted much of his time and effort to resolving conflict in the Middle East. He has written several books on Middle Eastern relations and during his tenure as President, was credited with negotiating peace between Israel and Egypt. He has recently written a book called "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid."

Those of you that know me know that I have a deep-rooted interest in Middle Eastern and Islamic affairs. I'm not sure where this came from exactly, but the relationships I've developed with friends from various Middle Eastern countries have only caused me to nurture a deeper interest and defense of Islam as a religion of peace. One of my close friends, Shima, who is studying with me in my graduate program at the University of Louisville, is from Palestine and is currently there visiting family. Growing up in America, I've been rather ignorant of the conflict between Palestine and Israel because as you know in America, if it doesn't happen in our country or involve our country, you won't see it on the news. However, I've gained a new and differing perspective on this conflict recently from conversations with Shima and from some non-American passages that I've read. It seems that there are in fact two sides to this conflict, rather than the one side many Americans want to believe.

Ok, so enough about politics. Truth be told, I had heard about this book recently and was interested in picking it up when I learned that President Carter himself would be in Louisville signing copies. I've met a sitting Vice-President, but never a President, so I thought I'd stop in. I'm glad that I did. The crowd was long and it took a while to reach the front, but I was able to meet him. As you can imagine, Secret Service was everywhere and instructing everyone "no conversation, no asking him to sign anything personal, etc. He'll sign his name only and that's it. No photos or even taking one's camera out until you go through the line, then you may stand behind the rope 20 feet away and take one photo, then you must move on. He'll shake your hand once, but don't ask for anything else." For a former leader of the world's biggest democracy, the set-up was a dictatorship at its finest.

President Carter seemed to be enjoying the event, contrary to what Secret Service preferred. I think the rules were in place more for him, because he seemed to want to greet and talk with each individual personally. He signed my book, shook my hand, and smiled and said "hello" sincerely. He seemed genuinely happy to be there and meet everyone. Fifteen seconds later, I was rushed through the line abruptly by Secret Service and told to be on my way.

It's not every day that one gets to meet a former President, and I'm glad that I did. He was elected to his only term when I was five months old, so his tenure had a great influence on me....:). His legacy has certainly improved tremendously with time, due to his work in the Middle East. I'm looking forward to one day giving this book to my daughter, and showing her the signature inside of a former US President. I only hope that her response to the book will be "You mean Israel and Palestine once did not get along?!?"

Futbol Bu Hafta!

In the world of sport, there are football games....and there are wars. This weekend marks another battle in arguably the greatest of football wars. Galatasaray Istanbul crosses the Bosphorous Strait and comes to Sukra Saracoglu Stadium in Kadikoy to face my beloved Fenerbahce Istanbul this weekend. The English magazine FourFourTwo proclaimed this Derby the world's biggest in 2005. Families and cities are divided this weekend when Fenerbahce plays Galatasaray. The Derby is so heated, so passionate that banners touting "Welcome to Hell" usually hang from the rafters at this game.

There are 18 teams in the TurkCell Super Lig of football. However, since 1959, only four teams have won the Championship. Of those four, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray have both won 16 championships each. This year, Fenerbahce sits in first place currently......four points behind them in second place is Galatasaray.

This weekend, Kristen and I will be at the Louisville vs. Connecticut football game. Afterwards, I'll be buried in my graduate studies finishing my research project and paper. However, despite where my head is, my heart will be in Kadikoy this weekend cheering on Fenerbahce. Sampiyon Fenerbahce!

Incidentally, here are some great examples of why I am a Fenerbahce fan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx6aFFitxe0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V15LeMkw6-M&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hIMc1LLT8k&mode=related&search=

Here is an example of what the atmosphere is like at a Fenerbahce vs. Galatasaray Derby:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAguKc9p-ww&mode=related&search=

Erdogan's Willingness to Meet pope Shows Character of Turks

This week marks the long-awaited visit by the Catholic religious leader known as the pope to the predominantly Islamic nation of Turkiye. The visit, which wouldn't be terribly controversial on its own, has become a firestorm of criticism due to the pope's anti-Islamic and insulting remarks made a few months ago. The world leader of a religion known for violence associated with religious crusades over generations made insensitive and insulting comments toward Muslims and Turks several months ago when his visit was announced.

I must make the clarification here that the pope is a leader of Catholicism and is in no way affiliated with Christianity. I am a Christian and proud of being so, but Catholicism is no more similar to Christianity than Buddhism. It is important to make that distinction. I don't make a habit of criticizing other religions and Christ instructed his followers to respect people of other faiths. However, despite the claims of many Catholics, Christianity and Catholicism are not related.

Prior to announcing his visit to Turkiye a few months ago, the pope cited passages that described Islam as being a violent, evil, and unhuman religion. He followed up those remarks by speaking out against Turkiye's efforts to join the European Union. Ofcourse, anyone who has any true knowledge of Islam knows that it is a peaceful religion based on traditional values of non-violence. The pope obviously knows little about Islam from his remarks and lack of remorse for making them. After angering an entire religion and the nation of Turkiye, he said he was "sorry if anyone was offended by his comments." He wasn't sorry that he made the comments or sorry for his ignorance of Islam; he was sorry if anyone didn't like what he said. Does that sound like remorse?

No, I'm not Muslim and I'm not Turkish. But I know enough about Islam to know that its reputation is not accurate in the Western world. Islam is a misunderstood religion to most non-Muslims. I also know that Turkiye would be a tremendous asset to the EU, which is obvious to nearly everyone but the pope.

Despite his remarks, the pope will arrive in Ankara on Tuesday, which is rather ironic considering it is the final resting place of Ataturk, the father of the nation that the pope insulted. He has tried to mend fences, but never fully apologized for his remarks. Turks have protested, for obvious reasons, but the true show of character came on Monday when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to meet with the pope this week. This comes in addition to the meeting offered by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Ali Bardakoğlu, the head of Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate. Turkiye does not need the pope, nor do they need his visit. The pope, however, does need Turkiye. Despite his insensitive remarks, Turkiye's heads of state have all agree to meet with him. This is truly indicative of the character of the Turks. Despite being insulted by a religious leader, they have agreed to meet to assist him.

My heart goes out to the millions of Catholics worldwide who were put at risk by the comments made by their leader. As a Christian, I know what it is like to be insulted and embarrassed by leaders claiming to represent my faith. I know that the Turks, while incredibly insulted, will forgive and exhibit peace and understanding, something they are known for. I hope that this visit will showcase peace and understanding from Muslims and Turks, and I sincerely hope the pope will learn something from them.

Another Football Season Has Begun

In an effort to cling to my rapidly-fading youth, I've recently started another athletic endeavor - playing organized, competitive soccer at the University of Louisville. First the good news - my team is 3-0 and appear to be the best team in our very competitive league so far. The bad news is.....I probably don't belong on a team this good. It's been a tremendous lesson in humility and a learning experience for me. Every player on my team has lengthy experience playing competitive soccer. At least 1/3 of my team played soccer in college. As in....varsity soccer. One of our guys played for one of the top teams in the ACC conference. Another starred on the #8-ranked high school team in America. To my knowledge, everyone on my team played either in high school or in the Asian or European club system and has 15+ years of experience playing the game at a competitive level.

And then there is me......I kicked a football for the first time in May 2006. Yes, I call it football because that's what it is to 99.9% of the world. Americans play soccer - I play football. Anyhow, my high school girlfriend of four years played soccer for years. Her sisters all played soccer. Her father was (and I believe still is) a high school soccer coach. Despite being around this, I HATED the game. I mean, despised it. I didn't really understand it and I was naive and ignorant. However, a few years ago I started to become more interested. I was traveling a little internationally and making lots of non-American friends. I became friends with an English guy who played club football for Watford; a team now playing in the highest level of English Premier League football. I also began working on a Master's degree in Sport Management, studying under an extremely well-traveled professor and learning a ton about the game. I also fell in love with Fenerbahce Istanbul......the greatest club in Turkish Football.

So now, I am hooked. I can't get enough of football. At age 30, I'm 25 years behind where I should be., but I am desperate to improve. I have become a football sponge, trying to absorb as much as I can to improve my game. There are very few things that I honestly find as enjoyable as playing and watching football. The problem is.......I stink. Ok, To be honest, for a guy that has been playing football for five months, I'm probably pretty darn good. But compared to the players I am playing against, I stink. My footwork is a bit slow. My tackles can be sloppy. My chip passes are a bit flat. I'm too reliant on my right foot. But I feel like a kid when I am playing. No 30-year-old man should feel this way about a sport that he is just learning to play, but I do.

This past summer, desperate to learn to play, I organized some pick-up games around Louisville. Thinking I would be lucky to field one decent team, I had to turn people away. We had an international buffet of players coming to play each week. We had every level of talent from former college stars to.....well, me. But it worked. I was getting my tail kicked at times, but I improved. A lot. There is more of a discrepancy from where I can go as opposed to where I've come from, but I'm working on it.

So this brings me to my current plight. Several weeks ago, I was contacted about playing organized, competitive soccer at Louisville. I decided to do it. Three games into the season, we're 3-0 and playing at world-class facilities. Wednesday night we played at Segell Stadium, the brand new Louisville lacrosse stadium on campus. The FieldTurf surface of the pitch cost more than my house and two cars combined. Last night we played at Trager Stadium, pictured above. Trager Stadium is arguably the best field hockey stadium in America. It's been open only a few years, and has already played host to two NCAA National Championship games on National TV. And there I was, playing football on the same field. It was 35 degrees, windy, and a nice mix of rain/snow in the air when we took the pitch. Did I score a goal last night? No. Did I make a game-saving tackle? No. The goal-scoring was left to the guys who played for top-ranked college and high school teams. But I was there, a guy who hated football for most of his life and my team is 3-0 despite my weaknesses on the pitch. Not bad for a guy who first kicked a football five months ago...