So, Istanbulspor versus Fenerbahçe. That fixture always has a certain… tension, doesn’t it? Even when you think you know how it’s gonna go, there’s always that buzz in the air. People get properly invested.
It’s wild how much passion goes into these games. Folks pick their sides, wear the colours, the whole nine yards. Reminds me of this old job I had, nothing to do with football, of course, but man, the rivalries there were just as fierce, maybe even a bit nastier if I’m honest.
I was working at this marketing firm back then. Sounds a bit fancy, but most days it was a real grind. The whole place was split into these ‘project teams’. They called them teams, but they were more like little kingdoms, always at each other’s throats for the best projects, the biggest budgets, you name it. Our team, we were supposed to be the ‘innovators’. Always trying to come up with new stuff, push the envelope a bit. Then there was this other main team, let’s just call them the ‘Classics’. They stuck to the old ways, the tried-and-tested methods. And boy, did they look down on us. The boss, funny enough, he sort of encouraged it! Said it ‘fostered healthy competition’. What a load of bull, if you ask me.
I remember this one pitch we were both gunning for. It was a huge client, a real game-changer for whoever landed it. Our team, we pulled out all the stops. We worked nights, weekends, the lot. We had this brilliant idea, something really fresh and exciting. The ‘Classics’, on the other hand, went with their usual safe, pretty boring stuff. Or so we thought.
Comes presentation day. We go in, do our thing, and honestly, we nailed it. You could feel it in the room. We walked out of there feeling pretty amazing. Then the ‘Classics’ went in to present. And somehow, somehow, they’d gotten wind of our core concept. They’d twisted it just enough to make it seem like their own idea, but ‘safer’, more ‘reliable’. I still don’t know how they did it to this day. Was it an inside leak from someone on our side? Just a crazy coincidence? It felt like a proper stab in the back, I tell you.
Naturally, we lost the pitch. Our team was absolutely gutted. And the finger-pointing started almost immediately. That’s the thing with those kinds of environments, you know? Loyalty goes out the window pretty fast when things go south. It became less about doing good work and more about not being the one to blame, or making sure someone else looked worse.
It wasn’t about being the best for the company; it was about your little tribe winning against the other tribe. Like some football fans, you know? The ones who seem happier when their big rival loses than when their own team actually wins a trophy. It’s a strange mindset.
I got out of there not too long after that whole mess. I just couldn’t stand the politics anymore. It just drains you, that constant ‘us vs them’ feeling day in and day out. I clearly remember walking out on my last day, and it felt like a ten-ton weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It was like the final whistle in a really tense, awful match you were desperate to see end.
So yeah, when I see a big match like Istanbulspor trying to take on a giant like Fenerbahçe, and all that intense energy pouring from the fans in the stands and in the cafes, I get it. Passion’s a powerful, amazing thing. But a part of me also thinks, ‘Hope it stays on the pitch, lads.’ Because when that kind of intense, cut-throat rivalry spills into everyday life, or your workplace, it just turns everything sour. You need a team that actually plays together, supports each other, not one that’s constantly trying to trip each other up, if you really want to win at anything meaningful in the long run.
