BY MURAT MOLDOBAEV (CHEM/I)
I never really understood why American football enjoys such huge popularity in the US and at least a decent level of support in certain other countries. That’s probably because I never really wondered about it. But recently, in one of those moments of sheer curiosity, I decided to get a superficial sense of its rules and its most representative organization, the National Football League. In the beginning it was just a dry collection of facts and statistics to me, but I tried to hang in there, digesting all the rules and player positions. Like an exemplary learner, after watching some short introductory videos on YouTube, I decided to follow this up by talking to the coaches of Bilkent’s American football team.
I was greeted by a big physical guy and one of the coaches, Kürşat Doğan. Later, two other coaches, Oğuzcan Karataş and Demirhan Öztürk, joined us. We talked about the establishment of an American football team at Bilkent and the sport’s current status in Turkey. Coach Öztürk then commented on how American football can get the attention of someone unfamiliar with the game. “It’s one of the few contact sports where you can legally let off steam by hitting somebody on the field. However, unlike rugby, in American football you have some protection against direct impact. Therefore, you can hit your opponent harder. This roughness in American football is one of the main features that fans find exciting.” As a complete outsider, I couldn’t agree more that it’s testosterone-raising to see big guys crashing into each other on the field.
Since I don’t have the muscular build to be good at the sport, I would prefer to watch games from the stands and be involved in related social events. Coach Öztürk had good news for me in this respect, too: “There’s a Bilkent American football team fan club. They organize various events such as parties and other fun activities. These events are open to all students. Announcements can found on their Facebook page, Bilkent Judges Amerikan Futbol Takımı Taraftar Kulübü.”
Coach Öztürk also voiced his concern over the relative lack of support from the Bilkent community. “Besides participating in non-match events, we need our fans to actually come to our games and support us,” he declared. “However, we understand that some people might be reluctant to attend games because they don’t know the rules. For this purpose, we’re planning to host a mini-lecture on American football rules.”
I would like to encourage all members of the Bilkent community to come together to support the Judges. Let’s go out and cheer for them, because sometimes the crowd can be the deciding factor between winning and losing a game. Let’s take this as another opportunity to show our passion and unity as Bilkenters.
Follow the sports page of Bilkent News to learn more about the introductory lecture on American Football rules.