Play it again, Hedo!
For those wondering about that lustily-belted, catchy fight song the Turkish fans serenaded at Team France pretty much throughout the second half in the “Eighth Finals” game of the 2010 FIBA World Championship, BallinEurope’s got some answers.
The song is entitled “Oniki dev adam” (or “Twelve Giant Men”) and was originally written and performed by Turkish ska/punk band Athena, the brainchild of twin brothers and Fenerbahçe Ülker supporters Gökhan Özoğuz and Hakan Özoğuz. Formed in the early 1990s, by 1998 Athena appreciated a national audience in Turkey and their song “Holigan” became an anthem of sorts for certain soccer fans in the country.
Though Athena’s breakthrough performance internationally was probably at the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest in which the band’s ska tune “For Real” finished an incredible fourth in a competition known for rewarding cheesy pop tripe.
In terms of their Turkish fanbase, however, Athena had already won over the entire nation with “Oniki dev adam.” The song was released in time for Eurobasket 2001 tournament, Team Turkey’s best-ever finish in international play to that point. Wikipedia claims that “many European newspapers commented that the song, sang by the team’s supporters during the games, led the team play better.” (An advantage they didn’t necessarily need last night, let BiE tell ya.)
The lyrics are as follows:
Uh a dev adam oniki dev adam
Uh a dev adam hey hey hey hey
Her zaman yanındayız (We are always right beside you)
Yalnız bırakmayacağız (Never let you go alone)
Kalpler senle birkez daha (Our love is always there with you once again)
Şampiyon olacağız (We’re gonna be the champions)
Uh a dev adam oniki dev adam
Uh a dev adam hey hey hey hey…
Here’s an advert from a few years later, which includes Hedo Turkoglu getting a shot blocked by an earnest lady yuppie (It’s gotta be the shoes)…
All together now!
Uh a dev adam oniki dev adam…
