Predictable

There are few things in life that are entertaining (though not necessarily on purpose) on a consistent basis. Greek sports newspapers definitely fall into that category.

A little flashback is needed in order to better understand the context of this story: Last March, on the 24th, the Greek team lost 4-1 to Turkey in our homecourt, the Olympic Stadium of Athens. This defeat was a huge deal, not only for purely sports-related reasons, but also for political ones, as Greeks and Turks haven't been the best of neighbors for oh, a few hundred years. The fact that this loss came on the eve of what is traditionally celebrated as the start of the Greek revolution against the Ottoman empire didn't really help, either.

The result of this disastrous defeat was a storm of public outrage against the coach of the Greek team, Otto Rehhagel, with the local press furiously calling for his resignation. This being the same coach that three years helped Greece win their first ever title, the Euro 2004. Even certain politicians expressed their disdain of coach Rehhagel in public, and called for his resignation.

Rehhagel though, being a cunning, calculative and just plain smart guy, said nothing but instead made a few subtle adjustements to the team, while retaining its chemistry. The result was that Greece became one of the first teams to pretty much secure qualifying a position in the Euro 2008 championship, even before last night's game in Turkey. The haters had to shut their mouths beforelong.

As for last night's game? Probably the best one this selection of Greek footballers has played yet, and an easy 1-0 victory over the Turks inside their homecourt. Not as emphatic a victory as the one the Turks got last March, but equally as important. With a little more luck, the Greeks could have easily scored a couple more goals, as well.

So how did the local press react to this victory today? Endless praise so exaggerated it's almost painful to read. First-page spreads speaking of a "Holy Victory", references to the concept of the Megali Idea and Byzantium, with pictures of the Hagia Sophia in the background... It's so ridiculous, it's enough to make you cry. With laughter. We only won a football game, guys, relax.

It's as stupid as those videos that circulated YouTube and other similar sites in March, with the Turks saying making a mockery of the 300 trailer and offering such colorful quotes as "the team that fucked the Spartans" and so on.

At least the Turks had the decency to applaud the better team last night, something I've still to see in this country (notable exception being the supporters of AEK, who have their moments.)

Going back to herr Otto Rehhagel, is there any mention of him in all the spreads about the Greek football "empire", that will retain its European champion's crown in Euro 2008*, in any of the 18(!) sport newspapers that circulate in this country? Just one, actually. The newspaper Gata (Greek for "cat") thanks Rehhagel for making them look like fools for telling him to resign in March. The rest seem to have completely forgotten about it, or they just don't care.

Of course, if the Greek team fails completely and utterly in Euro 2008, people will start calling him names and asking for his resignation again. I have to admit, there's some form of morbid entertainment to be had in witnessing such predictable reactions. Which is why I still follow them, after all.

I have decided, for a while now, to stop buying sports newspapers, though. Maybe if their financial gains started diminishing, they'd own up to their opinions a little more. This is my little puny form of protest, if you will. Their frontpages are usually more fun, anyway, and I can read those for free.

*Don't even get me started on that.