Turkey's microcosm

Let us start by saying that their enthusiasm was severely dampened.

You do not really need to ask whose.

Is it not obvious?

You can easily find the answer on television screens, in the headlines of pro-government newspapers, and in the social media posts of trolls.

Still, let us name it clearly from an Ankara perspective; it is, of course, the government and the political Islamist mentality that has descended upon this country like a nightmare for exactly 23 years...

Those who try to avoid saying "Turkish National Team" and instead use the rhetoric of "Our Boys" to send coded messages to their own ideological base with their limited intellects—if a goal or two had come from across the ocean, from America, how would they have turned that into a political epic at home?

Considering the shows of strength they put on before the tournament with TOGGs, UAVs, and armed drones, and that massive propaganda campaign carried out with state resources, it should not be hard to guess what they would have done.

Because we have seen this movie many times before.

Unfortunately, in this country, every small success, from foreign policy to sports, is immediately credited to the government as if it were a great global victory.

Conversely, every major failure or dramatic defeat is blamed on fate, destiny, or similar concepts. They quickly hide behind phrases like "God did not will it" or "an operation by foreign powers" so that they can be completely absolved of political responsibility and criticism.

Let us now put on our reading glasses and focus on the reality behind those glittering screens.

The defeat experienced by the Turkish National Team is by no means just a sporting collapse; let us underline this several times with a thick pen. This picture is the direct reflection on the green field of that great social degeneration and decay, which is the result of the incompetence, cronyism, shallowness, and mediocrity that the political mind in power has permeated into institutions.

Because this team is literally a microcosm of the country, that is, a small universe.

What kind of a microcosm?

Uneducated but insolent, ignorant but overconfident, unplanned, unprepared but ambitious enough to challenge the world, structurally a mess but outwardly as ostentatious as possible, lacking discipline but burdened with demagoguery and slogans.

Most importantly, it is overly prone to writing historical tales of victory in its own fantasy world before producing any concrete results or success.

Actually, the coming of Thursday was evident from Wednesday. From the styles given to hair and mustaches, to the prayers said in front of cameras, to the images crafted on social media, this collapse was already saying "I am coming."

Those who look at the issue from the reality of reason, science, and diplomatic discipline could easily predict how this would end in disaster when they saw the importance given to that empty form and appearance outside the field rather than the tactical game on the field.

However, because the government has turned football into a propaganda apparatus just like other areas, all rational criticisms with feet on the ground were ignored, and those who voiced them were even accused of treason.

In short, football in Turkey is no longer just a sport.

It is a mechanism for lulling the masses, a distraction, and a tool for fictional emotional management. Let us write it more clearly and plainly: It is a system for venting social pressure. The AKP has learned to use this very, very effectively over the past 23 years.

There is only one rule the government has mastered in the past period: If you cannot manage reality, manage the perception. If you cannot fix the economy, you have the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) anyway; tell whatever rosy story you want. If you are losing at the table in diplomacy, activate the fed news channels and funded pens, and extract a global victory even from that defeat.

If you are eliminated in football, roll out the fairy tale of "But our boys fought with their hearts."

This exact theater has been playing in politics and state administration for years.

If they asked in this country, "What is the greatest success of failure?", the answer is clear: Being able to market failure to the masses as a tremendous success.

This is perhaps the government's strongest muscle, or its only real area of expertise. Look at football; the same refrains before every tournament: "We are ready this time," "This generation is very different," "We will make history." Then what happens? We get slapped by reality on the field and return home with early reservations. But let no one worry; the same old routine will continue. After all, the people of my country can be easily convinced with a bit of demagoguery and a religious-nationalist sauce. Do not mind people raging and storming on social media for a moment; everything will be forgotten in three days, and those illusion centers will produce a new fairy tale.

Domestic and foreign policy in Turkey is also entirely based on this packaging technique. The economy collapses, the Turkish lira becomes worthless, but it is presented as a product of genius under the name "Turkey Economic Model." Inflation explodes, the public is condemned to bread queues; but this destruction is described as the "sweet pain of growth and rising." As we get stuck in foreign policy, we take steps back and compromise on sovereign rights; this is called "strategic normalization" or something similar.

The government's codes are always the same:

First, create a crisis with ideological blindness, fight with neighbors; for example, cut ties with Egypt, call Sisi a "murderer, putschist" in the squares for years. Then, swallow what you spat out and sit at the table; explain this to the domestic public as "Ankara's regional leadership and diplomatic success." Declare the United Arab Emirates the financier of the July 15 coup attempt, put them in the crosshairs. Then go to their feet for a few pennies of hot money and investment; present this as "diplomatic genius." Say whatever comes to your mouth to Israel in front of cameras, engage in demagoguery in the squares; break trade records through the back door, let ships continue to depart from ports, and then market this as a "national stance."

The model is always the same: First create a crisis, then pivot, and sell this U-turn as a victory. The result is obvious; the political mind that performs this perception engineering manages to stay in power for exactly 23 years by distracting society with these stories.

What about the institutional opposition? Are they independent of this pathology? Absolutely not. For years, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu almost competed with the government in his ability to present even chronic defeats at the ballot box as success stories. They rightly told him, "You lost 13 elections, step down now." What did he do? With great shamelessness and the air of a political sage, he went on screens and made that famous correction:

"No, I did not lose 13, I lost 11 elections."

It sounds like a joke, but this country lived through this tragic reality itself. In a normal country that functions rationally and has democratic traditions and a culture of accountability, this sentence would be the tombstone of that politician's career. In our country, it became a defense and legitimacy sentence produced by the institutional opposition to protect its seat.

Because in this country, even defeat can be stripped of its essence and reduced to a meaningless mathematical debate.

We find ourselves every time not talking about the essence of the matter, merit, or strategy; but debating the illusion of numbers and perceptions. Just like in football; it is not discussed why the team is falling apart, why the infrastructure is rotting, or why there is no tactic; but secondary issues like how many goals we conceded or how many positions we entered are discussed.

Because in this order, performance died, the showcase won. Merit lost, unconditional loyalty won. Reality lost, professionally constructed perception operations won.

In short; when a society gets used to and normalizes failure to this extent, it completely loses its belief in and hunger for real success. That is when losing ceases to be a coincidence or bad luck; it becomes an institutional identity, an established culture, and takes over every area of life.

Perhaps we are looking for the real source of the problems of Turkish football and Turkish politics in the wrong places!

Perhaps the common and real problem is the refusal to look in the mirror honestly and courageously. For years, after every fiasco, we have been saying with an institutional rote, "We will look ahead."

No, gentlemen! Perhaps it is long past time to stop looking at fake goals and upcoming matches, and instead look in the mirror to face the naked truth, and with that, let us put a period to our article.