Friday, February 3, 2012

Enes Kanter: Turkey, Wrestling and Basketball

I was reading the November issue of uber-cool Turkish Mag 'XOXO' and spotted an interesting Enes Kanter interview. In Turkey, Oil wrestling (yağlı güreş) is a traditional sport but the rookie Power Forward has aspirations for another type of wrestling.

VIDEO: Enes Kanter and Pro-Wrestling

ENES KANTER: After my basketball career I want to be a professional wrestler... I watched it 4 or 5 years ago and right now I feel like [The Undertaker) him on the court.
The 'Deadman' I love it. People started calling me 'UnderKanter' 3 months ago. Right now my nickname is 'UnderKanter'.
People in Turkey have expressed how modernisation has meant the loss of their traditional culture. This is by no means an accurate illustration of that as Enes was born in Switzerland and was schooled in America but it does speak to the muddling and assimilation of global influences for the Internet generation.

VIDEO: Enes Kanter aka "The UnderKanter" - Utah/Kentucky/Turkey

Enes Kanter likes two of my favourite things - Basketball and Wrestling. Cool!

I had the pleasure of observing Young Turks training at the İstanbul Güreş İhtisas Kulübü by Aksaray in Istanbul. I was accompanying a French running mate who was photographing a story for a magazine. After the session, kids started shooting hoops but unfortunately I had left the scene.



Photo Credit: Fabrice Tan Boul

- Seeking Pro-wrestling is on my to-do list of NBA Destinations

No comments:

Post a Comment