Fenerbahce Fans Giving Kezman The Much Needed Morale Boost

Fenerbahce Fans Giving Kezman The Much Needed Morale Boost
By Ozgur R. Nazilli

After being disappointed by how short-sighted our fans have acted a few months ago by booing the players while the match was still going on, I have been very pleased to see a very positive initiative being started by our fans.

Antu.com, the most well-known Fenerbahce fan forum, has begun a campaign a few days ago, in which the fans could post short messages for Kezman, which would in turn be delivered to him. The fans have proven me wrong in losing faith in them by flooding the forum and sending 32 pages of support messages in just 5 days. The thread can be seen here: http://forum.antu.com/KonuOku.aspx?gID=4&fID=9&kID=18985

This initiative, started by one of the moderators in the Antu forum, followed the support that was shown to Edu after the infamous mistakes he made in the CSKA Moscow game. These two show of supports are more important to me than winning or losing a few games. How an athlete performs in a sport is affected a lot by his morale and how concentrated he is on his "art". Due to this, making a player feel supported and believed in is one of the most important things a fan base can do to help their team, at least as important as supporting the club financially. This is especially important in mass crowd supports like futbol, where the reactions of the fans reach the players immediately and can play a massive role in their performance.

Everyone knows that Kezman has not been his usual self for the past few weeks, but that does not mean that he is a bad, or even a mediocre player. If initiatives like the one Antu.com started continue to be supported by the fans, this will most definitely affect the players' performances in a positive way. This was especially important for Kezman, because as Captain Alex has said, Kezman has been suffering from a major loss of self confidence.

When this show of support is combined with the 2 week red card punishment, I am sure that Kezman will have time to rest and pick himself up, and come back as the Kezman we loved and missed.

One final note: There is an "unofficial" insider information circulating in the media nowadays. It is not confirmed by the officials, but it is said that Kezman received a fan letter that was delivered to the club, which hugely affected him and brought him to the verge of tears. The letter read "I am not a Christian, but after I saw you leave the field in tears (In reference to the Manisa game), I went to a church and prayed and lit a candle for you. Even though I am a Muslim, I did this for you and Fenerbahce. That is how much I love you."

Hopefully this positive atmosphere amongst the fans will continue and reflect upon the performance of the team. We will see the results of this after the international break is over this weekend.