True Comitment

We hurried along Istiklal, the brightly lit main shopping street of Istanbul, in the pouring rain. It was about 8 in the evening but the downpour had not deterred the shoppers or the 'just lookers'.  Nor the football supporters. You could hear the chants from a distance, both ebullient and tribal. As an Englishman I expected trouble, maybe now an outdated view but damaged reputations take a long time to recover. The crowd swelled as the chanting came nearer but the shoppers appeared unconcerned.

And neither should they be for the fans were self-focused ,celebrating their team's victory in the Istanbul derby game: Fenerbache beat Galatarsari 1-0 in Galatasari's home ground for the first time in many years. So they jumped and sang in unison. Not threatening, just joyous. No alcohol to turn things nasty but by choice not restriction.

Yes those boys were happy. However, I was not so sure about the few bedraggled girlfriends hanging on to their bouncing partners' hands in the heavy rain. They must have wished for the repertoire to be exhausted. But still they stayed. That's comitment for you. Girl to Boy. Boy to Team