Hmmm…

Hhmmmmmmmmmm…

Hm…

So. Not sure who has been following things with AEK lately… not even sure who still follows this blog anymore considering its been so long since I posted (and for that I apologize, but I just never felt I had much to offer).

But things arent going too well. Things are terrible, really…

AEK, one of the most historic clubs from Greece (THE most historic in my opinion, but Im certainly bound to be a little biased), is at the bottom of the tables, with two points. Two points from six games (so that is two out of a total of eighteen possible points). We’re even lower in the standings than teams like Panthrakikos, Levadeiakos, and Veroia (AND Platanias, a team that just joined the league this year, yet are currently in fourth place with eleven points).

Now, Im sure everyone expected us to have a tough time this season, I know I certainly did. And I accepted it, accepted it as something that needed to be done. But I never expected us to have this hard a time. And we shouldn’t. We’re AEK. There was a time when this club was able to come from being down 2-0 against Madrid, in their own stadium, and even the score at 2-2. There was a time when this team was able to beat teams like Rangers away. There was a time we could beat teams like AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Porto at home, in front of some of the most impressive atmospheres ever created by European supporters. Sure, these wins weren’t that common, but there was still a time when AEK could go up against teams like these and know that, if they played the best they could, they’d always stand a chance.

Yet now, we face teams like Kavala, Panionios, and Ofi,hoping and praying for a win? Is that really what AEK has become? Is that what people have LET AEK become? Even supporters of Greek football in general, or supporters of our rivals, should not accept what has happened to AEK. Take away a strong AEK and its like taking away a strong Liverpool from England, or a strong Inter from Italy, or a strong Marseille from France. Greece NEEDS AEK.

I didn’t start this post with the intention of ranting. I didn’t have any sort of a plan when I started this post, I just felt the need to post something, to show that I’m still here. This team has changed since I first started posting on this blog. We went from pretty-much-winning-championships in 2008, to where were are now, four years later, in 2012. Things with AEK have changed, and not in a good way unfortunately. Everythings changed, really. I’ve changed, the situation in Greece has changed.

But regardless of what has happened to AEK, regardless of what will happen, AEK will always mean the same thing to me. AEK represents so much, to so many people. It represents our history, its a link to a past many of us never actually experienced. A past we could only read about, or hear about from our ancestors.

Yet again Ive taken this post in a certain direction, though I dont know if its really the direction I want to take this post.

Part of me wants to make those responsible for what has happened to AEK feel guilty. But really, I know they’ll never read this. And many live such busy lives, with their companies and ships, to ever care. Yet some probably do care, and I cant say I blame those who stuck with the team for a few years, continued some financial support even though they saw nothing in it for them.

I think its best I end the post here, before I continue on for too much longer. I apologize to everyone who read this expecting something worth while. A match report, or something along those lines. But really, I just felt like expressing how I felt. Because I know Im not the only one out there who feels this way. One thing I’d like to say though is, to everyone who supports AEK, though there might be little we can do in terms of financially supporting the club, we must never forget what AEK means. We can never become supporters who are there only when the club is winning, or when times are good. AEK wasn’t created to celebrate how great life is. AEK was created as a very real reminder of what people left behind, their homes, their lives, families, children, loved ones. AEK was a reminder of the hardships people had to go through and experience. And a reminder of the hardships people have to face everyday, people forced from their homes everyday because of war and conflict, because of natural disasters. Supporting AEK is supporting more than just a club, even if some people don’t see it that way. And I hope that if you support AEK, you’ll always remember that. And I hope the people and the government that have let this club down remember that as well.

Okay, I think Im done. I know I’ve said it before, but Im really sorry I haven’t been able to get any match reports up. The games are always on when I have to work, and I haven’t even found the time to watch a full match yet this entire season. But I think I’m gonna make an effort to post on here a little more often from now on.

88 Years

Its been months since Ive posted, many, many months. To be honest, because of having to work, and for other reasons, I havent been able to watch too many games lately. And Ive been far too upset with the current state of the team to follow it too much.

Its not that Ive given up on AEK, or ever will. And I certainly havent stopped supporting the club… but when I compare what we are now as a club compared to three seasons ago, four seasons ago, even ten or twenty seasons ago, it becomes quite depressing. And Ive given up following the press and what they have to say regarding our financial situation..

But with summer coming up soon and exams almost over (I have exactly a week from today ’till my last exam for this semester), I’ll still try to get some posts up. I remember how much this blog helped me back in the day when AEKBaltimore was running it, and how it was a place where I could discuss this club I love so much with other English speakers, so I hope it become that again eventually.

Now, the reason I decided to post today was the fact that, on this day 88 years ago, was born. Yep, 88 years old. Our club has seen a lot in those 88 years… many championships and cups, exciting games in Europe against some of the continent’s biggest clubs, legendary players, successful basketball teams (and our volleyball and handball teams have been doing great lately), we saw our team play a friendly in Belgrade while the city was being bombed to show our solidarity and opposition to the war. We’ve seen so many historic times throughout our club’s existence, and the club’s origins alone were such an important part in the history of modern Greece. 

Bearing all this in mind, its such a shame to see the club in the state that its in right now, and we can only hope things will get better. Those who left their homes in Asia Minor, who were forced to start new lives as refugees in cities like Athens and Thessaloniki, as well as all over the country deserve better, as this club honours and represents those refugees who lived much harder lives than many of us. The players who played for the club because they loved it deserve better, the fans who have gone to every game for years deserve better, and hopefully we will all see better times eventually.

Happy Birthday AEK!