During the Las Vegas leg of the itinerary, after a few back-to-back Olympic-related incidents, I decided to write about it.
When we landed in Las Vegas and got into a cab, I started chatting with the driver, and here’s how our conversation went:
Serhan: Are you Serbian?
Driver (turning around to look at me): How did you know?
Serhan: Your look gives it away (in fact, you can usually tell from the name whether someone is of Serbian or Croatian origin).
Driver: That’s interesting. I could’ve been Bulgarian.
Serhan: Doesn’t matter. We’re all neighbors anyway.
Driver: Where are you from?
Serhan: We’re Turkish (my colleague sitting next to me was listening to our exchange).
Driver: How are the Olympics going for you guys? How many medals have you won so far?
Serhan: Terribly. We haven’t won a single medal yet.
Driver: That’s surprising. Normally, you Turks are strong in combat or strength-based sports.
Serhan: True. We usually win medals in wrestling, weightlifting, or boxing. But not this time, at least not yet. (One day after this conversation, we finally won our first bronze medal in wrestling.)
After getting out of the cab and settling into the hotel, I walked through the lobby on my way to lunch. That’s when I noticed the women’s volleyball match between Türkiye and the U.S. playing on a screen above a blackjack table (see the note at the end of this piece). The score was 25–24 in our favor, and we were serving for the set. After two set points, unfortunately, we lost the first set, and eventually the match, to the U.S. While watching the game standing up, I must have gotten caught up in the excitement—cheering out loud, reacting with joy or frustration after every point. At some point, I realized a crowd had gathered around me. I told the Americans nearby, “I’m Turkish, so of course I’m rooting for Türkiye.” One of them joked, “You’ve got some good-looking girls on your team.” I replied, “Yes, our girls are beautiful.” I must have given him a stern look because he didn’t follow up with a second comment. After we lost the first set, I moved on with my day and later found out we lost the whole match. It was another disappointment in a sport where we had real medal hopes.
Then I remembered a news article I’d read earlier. In it, Youth and Sports Minister Suat Kılıç was being blamed for Türkiye’s Olympic failures. Critics said he lacked the experience to handle the job. In my opinion, it’s unfair to pin the blame on Suat Kılıç. I’ve met him in person, and I consider him one of the most capable ministers in the cabinet. He’s also new to the post. If we’re looking to assign responsibility, we should examine the sports bureaucrats and federation heads who have been steering Turkish sports over the past decade.
My views on what it takes to succeed are clear. I previously wrote an article about Turkish football:
http://serhansuzer.com/turk-futbolunda-surdurebilir-basari-nasil-elde-edilir/.
The recommendations I made there apply to all sports. If we want success in sports, we need a complete shift in mentality. In short: we need long-term planning with allocated budgets, nationwide talent scouting and training programs, work with the best coaches and trainers, a total restructuring of sports federations, a change in the overall mindset in sports, a shift in media focus to include sports other than football, and the training of referees in these other disciplines.
In other words, if we want to avoid yet another Olympic disappointment, we need to start with long-term planning right away.
Note: In Las Vegas, to get from one part of a hotel to another, you always have to pass through the casino. For those wondering, I’ve never gambled out of principle, and I have no intention of starting. I came to Las Vegas strictly for solar energy business.
Tag: sports
