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=