Finding Fenerbahce: The Day I Realized Soccer Would Be The Bane To My Law School Existence

With my 9 AM Torts class canceled this morning, I found myself with two hours of unexpected free time. "Excellent," I thought to myself, "I can catch up on my outlining, perhaps even read ahead for later in the week." Instead, I used those two hours to watch multiple grainy feeds of Konyaspor v Fenerbahçe, skipping from window to window to watch the Süper Lig match. But why? I have plenty of studying that must happen if I want to pass my law school finals. Why spend two hours watching a match I didn't have to cover on a day when I was gifted the use of two free hours?

My path to Fenerbahçe is a complicated one. Thanks to the influence of my friend Chris Nee, I started following Serie A club Napoli last season. Midfielder Marek Hamšík had an outstanding year with the Partenopei and because he captains the Slovakian national team, I cheered on the repre during the World Cup. Slovakia's win over Italy and impressive performance against the Netherlands got me hooked, and so I've been following their Euro 2012 qualifying matches. Former Chelsea midfielder Miroslav Stoch scored the winner against Russia, and suddenly the world had one die-hard Miňo fan. Stoch joined Fenerbahçe this season after spell on loan with last year's Eredivisie winners, FC Twente. Today, Stoch scored the third goal in Fenerbahçe's resounding 4-1 victory. And so I have a new allegiance, a team in the Süper Lig to follow. *

All this to say that footy is addictive. There's so much of it to follow, and so much of it accessible via the magicalness of the internet, that there's barely a moment of the day that I wouldn't find a soccer match to watch. On Saturday, I seriously considered getting up at 3:30 am to watch a Serie A match. The next morning, it was a 6 AM wakeup that had me hitting the computer start button before even making the coffee. I watch mid-week football instead of attending lectures by famous legal minds. Soccer is an addiction that could very well be taking over my life.

Yet please don't send intervention. I kind of like it this way. May my behavior be a warning to you, though: once you get sucked in, you just might keep falling further and further.

*Please note the restraint exercised in not posting twelve photos inside this commentary. Thank you.