The slap from the Adana kebab chef

I am watching television. 

For a few days now, the word 'Ponzi' has been circulating heavily, and I cannot quite grasp it.

When I log onto social media, I encounter similar news again. 

When the comparison to Banker Kastelli is made, the penny drops instantly.

I start to laugh.

The names mentioned in the news are very familiar.

They are beloved, trusted figures who have enjoyed media support for years.

They are usually in the headlines alongside their 'sugar daddies'.

Sometimes, news about sons-in-law that bores us to death hits our eardrums and bounces right back like a tennis ball.

They are young men with no real job or purpose, whose only skill is being a 'golden apple' son-in-law, who haven't amounted to much, yet are sharp, cunning, and clean-faced.

Princes who have tied their careers not to 'sweat of the brow,' but to the more effective 'sweat of the groin' model. 

I don't know if these palace-bred boys have salaries, but I would bet they don't have social security.

Reading this news reminded me of a conversation I had a few years ago in Istanbul with a bank manager who was a friend of mine from university.

"What do these athletes and artists do with all that money?" I had asked. 

They pay neither worker salaries, nor taxes, nor withholding tax. 

There is no rent either.

It is all profit.

Despite this, they are not building a mosque, a bathhouse, or even a school. 

They have no soup kitchens, foundations, or charitable works that we are aware of. 

What will become of all that money? 

Are they saving it for their sons-in-law, I had asked.

It is not that we are having a fit of jealousy because we, as sons-in-law, are left empty-handed.

If they are doing it without letting anyone know, saying that the best charity is done in secret, then may God accept it and grant them even more. 

May the Almighty also reform and forgive us, the malicious sinners like us.

Anyway, my manager friend,

"They don't have such sensitivities. We sell their money at very, very high interest rates, especially to devilish businessmen with poor credit scores or full credit limits." he had said.

When I heard about Kastelli, I remembered what my bank manager friend had said.

I wondered why they have been attacking people like Şenol Güneş, Rıza Çalımbay, Aykut Kocaman, Oğuz, Ali Gültekin, Feyyaz Uçar, and Samet Aybaba for years.

Why were they trying to keep them away from Istanbul?

Oğuz Çetin, ITU, Civil Engineer

Aykut Kocaman, ITU, Civil Engineering

Metin Tekin, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics

Ali Gültiken, Marmara University, Business Administration

Feyyaz Uçar, Marmara, School of Physical Education and Sports

Samet Aybaba, Iskenderun Technical University, Finance

Şenol Güneş, KTU, Faculty of Education

These individuals showed the determination to study at universities when there were only a limited number of them in the country. 

Is higher education a must!

It is not, of course, but we can take it as a data point. 

There are also a great many of our ethical athletes who have had to cut their education short due to a lack of resources.

This is precisely where the rubber meets the road.

Those who are ethical and educated,

Those who have internalized the values of the Republic,

Those who did not pay 'himmet' (donations) to FETÖ, 

Those who no longer deigned to drink the tea of their godless 'hoca efendis' (master teachers), those who did not lick the sweaty undershirts of their 'hoca efendis', those who did not swarm like rats over the orange peels their 'hoca efendis' scattered on the carpet...

They were shredded by television and newspapers so that they would not get close to Istanbul and the financing.

Suppose they come to Istanbul; they were immediately bombarded by hired pens.

The media that becomes a tool for these espionage reports and perception operations should conduct a self-assessment.

Why did they support the wrong side?

If they did it unknowingly, it is a great shame. 

If they did it knowingly and willingly in exchange for kickbacks or under instructions from across the ocean, then the truly immoral party is the "Media" itself. 

While those they supported and constantly patted on the back turned out to be FETÖ members and loan sharks, why do those they constantly belittled continue their careers, pure and clean, away from the public eye? 

By the way, I have never seen these individuals up close in my life. Of course, I have seen some of them from a distance.

I am not their guarantor; I am writing based on what I have seen in the press.

As we delved deeper into the algorithm, it became clear that these names should have been outside the system. 

Because the story goes like this;

FETÖ was demanding 'himmet' (donations),

The bank was expecting money,

A bankrupt businessman with a credit score below zero was begging for a loan,

The media was putting on the pressure, expenses were heavy, and a bottle of Petrus cost 10 thousand dollars.

The riff-raff of freeloading media jackals were heading toward the restaurant.

They were giving orders, saying 'highlight this' or 'destroy that'.

Those with morals were being pushed out of the system.

And the end.

During this period, one of the names most subjected to humiliation was coach Şenol Güneş.

He was being torn apart on television and in newspapers.

Because he did not provide 'himmet' (donations) and did not pledge allegiance to their fake 'hoca efendi' in Pennsylvania,

He was subjected to unbelievable criticism regarding his hair, his head, and his attire.

Even though he communicated quite comfortably with his players, they claimed that what he said could not be understood.

He was not a man of allegorical matters.

He knew what was forbidden and what was permissible.

He was content with what was rightfully his.

He was the Sun of the North.

In our childhood, we were warmed by the sun of the north.

We were following the Sun of the North. 

Perhaps the trace of this solar orbit was present at every step of our careers.

Just as Fenerbahçe had its Cemil and Selçuk Yula, and Beşiktaş had its Metin, Samet, and Rıza, Trabzon had its Şenol Güneş and Ali Kemal.

We were quite lucky that our childhood coincided with the consecutive championships of the Black Sea Storm, Trabzonspor. 

The generation after us had to wait exactly 38 years to reach the nirvana of a championship.

One of the most important building blocks of these championships is the teacher from İskefiye, Şenol Güneş.

He worked as a teacher at the Trabzon Central Karakaya Primary School.

A third-place finish in the World Cup behind Brazil while leading the National Team, 

The championships won while at the helm of Trabzonspor, 

Back-to-back championships at Beşiktaş, 

Becoming a legend in South Korea.

I don't know anyone else in the world who has a career like this. 

Forgive my ignorance. 

If anyone knows, write to me so I can learn too. 

In a 50-year career, there isn't a single annoying incident or one that makes you wish it hadn't happened.

Does Aykut Kocaman have one?

Does Oğuz Çetin have one?

Does Metin Tekin have one?

Does Rıza Çalımbay have one?

Does Feyyaz Uçar have one?

Is there one for Ali Gültiken?

As far as I know, there isn't one for these names or anyone similar.

The country has never witnessed them or their families being associated with any absurd tabloid scandals. 

The successes achieved by Coach Şenol were attributed to his predecessors rather than to him, 

He didn't even respond.

The names mentioned above did not associate themselves with media attention-seekers.

They have always stayed away from political environments.

Since they didn't occupy the national agenda with anything other than their work, no one even knew their families. 

Didn't these people have sons-in-law to haul away the sacks of money just to collect some exorbitant, unfair interest!

When I say these things,

My friends who support Fenerbahçe at Saracoğlu say, “He wore a claret and blue tie.”

Let him have at least that many flaws, man! 

Those thick-headed media vultures who steer their ship toward whoever pays for their dinner and drinks in the evening or slips a little pocket money into their pockets.

While Şenol Güneş, as a teacher of the Republic, was raising generations with free thoughts, free consciences, and free wisdom, 

While names like Aykut Kocaman, Oğuz Çetin, Feyyaz Uçar, Abdullah Ercan, and Hami Mandıralı are written in golden letters in the history of Turkish football,

Others have raised FETÖ-affiliated and loan-shark types.

As I write this, the news is playing on the television that is on. Samet Aybaba, Feyyaz Uçar, and Ali Gültekin are standing beside Hasan Arat, who is a presidential candidate for Beşiktaş.

Perhaps, following recent events, "morality" and "technical capacity" will now come to the forefront.