Blog 16- Essay 3

Aydin Reyhan
Creative Non-Fiction
“Eye” Essay
The field

The crowd was absolutely thunderous when the players arrived on the green grass. Twenty-two men lined up alongside one another as the national anthems were played. The sky was a beautiful baby blue as the sun was bright and center doing its job perfectly; shedding light onto a field that held some of the world’s best talent.
Fifty-five thousand humans were present. They all wore the colors of their respective nations and chanted their name at the top of their lungs. Individually, they sounded obnoxious. Together, they sang in perfect harmony. It was only a friendly soccer match but the importance of national pride was on the line.
The players all put on brave faces prior to the opening whistle. However when it was time for kick-off, their looks all turned sour. Friendly or not, it was a soccer game in front of thousands of people. Both sides desired to win.
“Hey, I want some Turkey for lunch! We are going to have a barbecue before and after this match,” said a fan of the United States national soccer team.
“He buddy, don’t hate because we actually know how to play the sport. Why don’t you just stick to football?” I replied with a smirk.
As I was walking towards the stadium in the overly crowded parking lot, some of the US fans were barking out names.
“Gobble gobble birdy!”
“Haha look at the turkey wobble!”
Instead of responding, I just motioned for them to kiss my rear. I didn’t like what they were doing but I had to accept it because I was on their turf.
Turkey began strongly as they created the best chances. Tuncay Sanli had a golden opportunity when his shot just flashed past the far past from 15 yards out. However, their goal did come a few minutes later.
Arda Turan, the Turkish wonder kid scored the opening goal with two defenders and the goal keeper all around him as he slotted it home with ease. After scoring, he walked up to his fans and lifted his arms with the dimples on his face forming and allowing his teeth to shine in the light of the sun. It was a gorgeous goal and after he scored, the Turkish crowd including myself all roared into song silencing the US supporters and causing them to shake their heads in disbelief. Even as a Turkish-American, it is a moment that I will not soon forget.
“Shut your damn mouth you stupid foreigner!” An outraged American fan screamed.
“I am American just like you with different blood. Show some respect you frikin’ bald gorilla!” The Turkish woman responded.
The woman eventually ceased her arguing as the young man continued to scream with his bearded buddy tapping his head in encouragement. It was the only dialogue that could be heard even with screaming of other fans.
The first half would end 1-0 to the Turks. However in the second half, the US entered the field with a lot more determination.
Only minutes in, Jozy Altidore tapped home the equalizer raising his arms frequently; inviting the fans to chant, scream, and celebrate the goal with him. It was an easy tap in that was created by Landon Donovan who evaded the challenge of a Turkish defender and crossed the bal low straight across the face of goal to a wide open Jozy.
“There we go baby! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!”
“TURKIYE! TURKIYE! TURKIYE!”
Both sets of fans kept cheering on their nations with the hope that they would be inspired to push for the lead. I looked back at an opposing fan who was screaming “USA!” and I screamed “TURKIYE!” in return while squinting my eyes and flashing my teeth as if I were an animal. All sanity was lost within that moment. After they tied the game, it was a tense battle between the fans in addition to the men representing their countries on the field.
About fifteen to twenty minutes later, the USA would finally take the lead through Clint Dempsey who netted easily yet beautifully past keeper Volkan Demirel; the fans did not make it easy on him at all as very time he took a goal kick, the US fans would scream “You suck asshole!”
It was a tough blow for the Turks as this goal seemed to take the life out of them. From being up 1-0 to going down 2-1, the momentum completely shifted in the game. The US players kept pushing for the third and came dangerously close when a shot rocked the cross-bar.
Turkey would push for an equalizer but the US defense and keeper Tim Howard kept them at bay for the remainder of the game, giving the US a hard earned 2-1 victory in their World Cup send-off match-up. It was the perfect way to prepare for their trip to South Africa 2010.
“Hey Turk, how does it feel to lose to an American?” laughed a US fan while looking at his buddies hoping to impress them.
“Hey my friend, why don’t you come over her and leave your friends out of this. You want to fight me? Come at me you little bitch!” An irritated man with a huge moon and star covering his chest responded.
The American stumbled towards him and the Turk pushed him down. It was pretty quick but it could have gotten out of hand. Over a friendly international, a fight almost broke out. They took this game of soccer and made it into an international battle. It was almost like a mini-war.
“Sorry mama, you lost this game,” one of the fans mentioned to a cute milf that was on her phone.
“Hey look, it’s a fucking Turkey fan’s car,” a teen aged male informed is friend as they walked past my car. It was a tough loss and they just had to rub it in.
As I drove out of the parking lot, some of the US fans were waving flags and informing me of what I already knew; “You lost bro. U-S-A all the way!”
The stadium as well as parking lot was full of people and cars before the game for tail-gating and after for celebrating. The looks on both sets of fans faces were surprisingly similar; absolutely ecstatic. The eyes were wide with joy and teeth were shown proudly.
Even as a fan of the losing team, it’s a day I will never forget since my two countries went at it. I was born in the US but my blood is fully Turkish. I saw red white and blue.