The shock of conceding the Turkish Super Lig to Bursaspor, not exactly a powerhouse proved too much for Fenerbahce supporters. This is a week old but the message never gets old.
We have passion but in Turkey, football is life and death.
For the record Bursaspor won the Lig for the first time. In all, it was the first time in 26 years that a club outside of Istanbul had won the title. The last club to do so was Trabzonspor.
The current champions were a point above Bursaspor when they went into the final week. Ironically, it was Trabzonspor holding Fenerbahce to a 1-1 draw while Bursaspor won against Besiktas 2-1 to make history.
For 5 minutes Fener fans erroneously believed that they had won the title as the stadium announcer reported that Besiktas had equalized sending the stadium into a delirium of joy. But once the correction was made, the five stages of grief emerged quickly.
For Bursaspor’s manager Ertugul Salam, it was dream debut and a club living on a fraction of a budget of the big three had defied the odds like they had done throughout the season before faltering. Leaving the last week for their true heroics. We leave also with a thought for Trabzonspor. They too have a big share in this historical season.