A Swan in Seattle

In bed, through one bloodshot eye - that's how Seattle-based Swansea City fan JACOB CRISTOBAL watches his newly-adopted team. In his debut ForzaSwansea blog post, he explains how he fell in love with a club that play the beautiful game over 4,500 miles away.


There's something special about watching Swansea City, and the overall narrative of who they are and what they're trying to accomplish.

Most fans of the game here in the US tend to start off with finding a favourite in England's top flight before branching out to finding favourites in other places, including our own domestic league, Major League Soccer.

I was going through the motions of picking a Premier League side. Most of my friends already had their allegiances with someone of the "Big Four" and, while I was close to following suit, I wanted to expand my horizons.

My personal preference is to go for the new and in Swansea City's case they were the newest of new. Their first time ever being in the Premier League as well as being the first Welsh club to do so definitely struck a chord with my way of thinking and throughout the 2011/12 season I kept an eye on what they were doing.

The confirmation of picking and following them didn't really come until the summer of 2012. No, this wasn't like LeBron James' The Decision, though one of my friends tried to make a campaign for me to swear allegiance to Chelsea.

Looking at where Swansea City finished in their maiden voyage was very impressive and truth be told there are a couple aspects about Swansea City that I just like and, most likely, only by my logic make sense. They are:

• The Swanselona nickname - having been dazzled over the years by FC Barcelona, this is a no-brainer.
• Their crest is a beautiful design of simplicity and echoes something you'd see out of the DHARMA Initiative (yes, that's a reference to the series LOST).
• Their nickname, the Swans - where sports typically go for aggressive nicknames, you have the swan. How can you not like that?
 

Living on the west coast of the US, I'm in the unique position of catching Swansea City matches from the comforts of bed, through an Internet stream and with one bloodshot eye. When kick-off happens over in the Premier League, most of the time it's 7am here in Seattle. So you can already imagine the process when those lunch time kick-offs happen and it's 4am here.

Sometimes the Swans are on TV and in those cases I have to endure Steve McManaman's attempts to use words to form sentences to make a point about who knows what! Then again, this is how it is following practically any European league match live. I would never complain about it because without the marvels of technology, discovering Swansea City and getting to know some of the fans would not be possible.

Chris asked me where Swansea City lie in terms of how American fans view them - I would say they are of two outlooks.

First they could be seen as a mid-table team who will make a little bit of noise, but ultimately lie in the middle of the pack. Something akin to your Stoke City and Fulhams of the world. Not competing for the Premier League title, but not trying to pull off a great escape from relegation.

The other outlook is that with their immediate success and feel good story of winning the League Cup and possible advancements in European competition, Swansea City could become an alternative for those looking for a Premier League team to root for that aren't part of the old, established giants.

I'm not saying the Swans themselves are going to be Premier League giants any time soon, but they are building a great case to attract more people to not just how they play and the stars they have, but how the club is managed and most importantly the fair and good people that support the club.

And that is one of the biggest aspects about Swansea City that I've come to like over the journey so far - the people. Those that I've interacted with over social media have welcomed me with virtual open arms and I've noticed that not one of them has ever felt the club was entitled to any of the success. Yes, the want is a great burning desire, but those that I've talked to know what's happening before them is special and they are just enjoying and appreciating the ride.

As the saying goes, the rest is history.

No one is going to be able to say where Swansea City will go next but the ride they're taking fans on, both old and new, has been a blast. It's roughly 4,600 miles between Seattle and Swansea and while I hope to one day close that distance and attend a match at the Liberty Stadium, near or far this guy says thank you and let the good times roll.

Rodgers out!

Get him out! Bring back Sousa! What's Rodgers ever done for this club? While we're at it, lets get rid of Sinclair too!

I am, of course, being ironic. Or am I...? (Yes I am.)

The loud thud at the end of the loss to Sunderland was the sound of Swansea falling back to Earth after the euphoric victory against Arsenal.

I was a little surprised – I expected no less than a draw, especially with high team confidence and a decent run of recent away form. However, two classy goals from Stephane Sessegnon and Craig Gardner ensured Swansea were not even picking up one point, in a match where they actually deserved to.

Possession and passing were high as usual (64% possession for the travelling Swans), but they seemed flat near goal and were unable to put away any chances. Swansea had four attempts on target - Sunderland had just two and both went in.

During the match, I tweeted on Twitter (where else?):

Swansea frustrating in the final third as usual. Creating all the chances, but can't get anything from them.

I had a little stick from this, saying I was negative and my use of 'as usual' was way out of line, but I stand by it.

Swansea are usually frustrating in the final third. Think of all the possession and passing close to the box, but the opportunities that go wide, go over or don't actually go near the goal at all. Recently we've seen a little more cutting-edge from the players, but I think I'm right in saying they are frustrating to watch at times!

I'm not a negative person when writing about the Swans – a shameless plug for my recent article on the Sabotage Times will prove I am sometimes over optimistic when it comes to the future of the club.

However true you believe or don't believe the "frustrating in the final third" statement to be, there is no reason to vent your feelings against the players via social networking (yeah, it's happened again).

I'm not really listening to what's been happening – I don't follow any of the Swansea players on Twitter (or any footballers or "celebrities" for that matter), so I am not “in” on the conversation, but have noticed a number of mentions that someone or other is abusing some player about something he did in the match.

No need. Yes, Scott Sinclair is not putting them away like he was last season. He knows that. It's a different game in the Premier League so that affects things. Maybe he's just having a dip in form. But abusing players? Save it for the bigger celebrities who feed off the abuse, or other fans who have a go.

This ends a short blog. See you next week for a build up to the Chelsea match – another “big one” I am confident the Swans will win!

Something different: Swans on film!

I'm taking a little break from the ordinary text-based blog to bring you some of the best Swansea City related videos on the net. Most of my weekend was spent drinking wine and sifting through YouTube.com, where I eventually narrowed down my favourites to the five you are about to watch. These are in no particular order (though, in my opinion, I have saved the best for last), so take a break from your day and enjoy!

(NB: I didn't film, edit or upload any of these videos and am not the owner, neither do I own any of the music - no copyright infringement intended!)

1) The South Wales derby - "A Tale of Two Cities"
I remembered this as soon as I decided to do a video based blog: the montage that started the BBC's coverage of the South Wales derby last November (you all remember that game surely). Sometimes these promo films can be a little cringe-worthy, but this really captures the rivalry between these two cities. Gives you goosebumps if you are in the right mood!




2) Last game at the Vetch
A tribute to the Vetch field couldn't be left out! There were, to my surprise, hundreds of Vetch videos, all with different themes, but I've decided to include this one: the final league game against Shrewsbury town in April 2005. Clear blue sky, everyone singing, football about to kick off - perfect! Not much happens in the video, but should evoke some feelings of nostalgia!




3) Lee Trundle: Magic Man
If I didn't include a Lee Trundle video in this blog, I'd be missing out on some entertaining stuff. Swansea's answer to Ronaldo (the Portuguese one, not the fat Brazilian), Trundle's trickery and show-boating made him a fan favourite. Fair enough, Trundle didn't have the greatest final season with the Swans - almost a shadow of his former self - but he will always be remembered for the kind of skill this video collates.




4) Swansea's first season back in the Championship
This is a selection of moments from Swansea's first season back in the Championship after being promoted from League One in 2008 and contains goals from Ferrie Bodde and Jason Scotland, as well as the Darren Pratley "Swim Away" celebration vs. Cardiff, all set to epic battle music. It's recent history and foundations to where we are now - on the brink of Premier League football once again: the only way is up!




5) Swans fan scores at Anfield
I've used this video in a previous blog, but still can't watch it without laughing. Taken during the 8-0 loss to Liverpool in 1990, a Swans fan, "Ciro", jumps over the barrier and proceeds to score a goal (I absolutely love the fans reaction as hammers the ball in). "Ciro" then runs around the pitch, avoiding pouncing stewards, much to the joy of travelling Jacks and Liverpool fans alike! A perfect video to show that, even when the Swans are 8-0 down, Jacks can still have a good time!




Naturally there are other videos out there that didn't make the top five, but if you have any suggestions for those that I may have missed, leave links below in the comments box (you no longer have to sign in - anonymous comments welcome) and I'll check them out. If I get enough I'll make another video based blog later in the year!