Judging by the amount of times i got stopped by the Spanish pool/bar staff at my Hotel when they saw the Swans logo on my shirt id say we are popular as fook over there nowadays!! One pool guy was a football coach in his spare time and we were talking about the Swans for ages, they really are everyones 2nd favourite team by the looks of things ! the Swan on your chest is like a Red rag to a Bull when meeting some of the local folk who seem to be very proud of the Spanish influence at the Swans, its a weird feeling to talk to a stranger who can pretty much name your team and talk about Laudrup like a demi god.. Followed by alot of spaniards who liked to talk swans i was in a restaurant in Gran Caneria when a Dutch semi-pro football team came in for their food(thankfully it was a pre-booking which meant food would be ok) so i got to talking footy with a few of them...yes they follow the Swans big time over there and think we play the best football in the Division(ok,they were maybe a bit pissed!) they had some very intresting views on some of our dutch boys past and present. Kemy- wasted talent by all accounts,could have been alot better Tiendelli - Nobody has a clue how the hell he is playing in the prem league!! not many rated him at all and thought he was a useless player! i did point out that he has done awesome for us since coming in though there are a few rough edges but alot of the boys just cant beleive he made the step up into prem football. Bodde - some of the boys heard of him,thought he finished after injury a while back..er,no he is at Wigan isnt he ?? JDG - Not thought of as being Dutch at all, and some of the guys didnt really see how he calls himself dutch or lines himself up with the dutch set-up, i thought that was a bit harsh myself, id love him to say he was Welsh .. In Norway they are most peoples 2nd favourite team as they like to witness the odd upset,which Swans have done quite a bit of. Liverpool fans over here are a bit envious of us and Laudrup and think they have got the thin end of the wedge getting Brenden and Allen while we have ML and Michu for a fraction of the price!! Any jacks seen a big diference to how we are now perceived in the world ?? it has snowballed the last year thats for sure and with the likes of Laudrup being manager and our style of play we are a very attractive option to support for football fans who like to see a team play the right way! Huw wanted somebody to increase the profile of the club,well, he certainly has got that, the only thing we need now is a shop that can sell the brand to the growing number of fans that we are attracting!! Any other stories of our new found fame taking you a bit by suprise ??
Last year I arrived at Faro Airport in Portugal and as I went through customs wearing my Swans shirt the Local customs officer said " Good result today against West Ham" He could have knocked me down with a feather!! Having followed the Jacks since 1976 this just showed me how far we have come as a club! I walked out of that airport feeling 10ft tall proud that 'little old Swansea' were being noted for their achievements in all parts of the world.
It gets a bit weird when someone from overseas talks about our club and i dont think i will ever get totally used to it !! i think we have spent too much time in our lives trying to tell people where swansea is and what league we play in !! it s a refreshing change to have somebody want to talk about our team rather than us telling people we are the best around!!..even when in league 2 ..
Went to Icmeler in may and in a shop the guy out front said "What is your football team" i said Swansea he said "Come back tomorrow for shirt" Following day perfect reproduction.Benidorm Alicante airport security guard actually said Swansea jack when he looked at my shirt and the taxi driver talked constantly about the Spanish influence over the last few years...Mind you i wore it in Splott and they told me to **** off...miserable ****ers
i dont think so dai,ive been 2 america lots of times 2 and tbh soccer is the last thing on the fat fkrs minds . ps>>>>>i cant wait 2 get in on the act lads>>>>infact i may even buy a club shirt for the first time since i was a kiddie just 2 show off abroad
Splott.. only in cardiff can they have a name like that...never fails to make me giggle when i see or hear the name....Cwmbwrla is another name that sounds like is belongs in Africa somewhere..
i take u uv never been 2 aberdare then dai [video=youtube;RsFUfTeGZB4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsFUfTeGZB4&feature=player_detailpage[/video]
I know we are rubber, there is a team in san Francisco that play with our old shirts. i took 10 shirts over there and donated them two years ago....some think we are part of england but i educated them on that...
u could have stretched for the extra one dave>>>>> so what ur saying is u gave a little bit of interest 2 ten kids>>>who have an intention span of about 5mins when it comes 2 having something for free. i`d say you were better off giving them shirts 2 local youngsters instead.
Thats still probably 10 more than cardiff have over there anyway.. I can beleive that USA soccer fans are well aware of us nowadays.We did also have our pre-season there in 2011 . The premier league is so big its quite unreal !! everywhere you go in europe people know about the prem league,same in asia . Has anyone seen that shopping mall in S.Korea where there is a mural of the Swans team about 12ft high and 30 ft wide !! with Ki standing in the middle ?? if only they had some shirts to sell over there !
Working for a Spanish company and having to do few trips per year to various countries Spain, Portugal, Germany etc. I have been spreading the gospel of Swansea to the workers for many a year. It is surprising when you have a manger from Spain, Portugal now Denmark how the football lovers take to a side managed by a fellow countryman. Every body in our Barcelona HQ, know about Swansea City they even more so now with us having Laudrup. Under Sousa the Portuguese lads always followed us, first time I visited Lisbon they were big Benfica followers, they asked me if I followed football and say that I supported the Swans, didn't have to say any more as they knew Paulo Sousa was our manager and followed the results. When I eventually go out on my own and left to my own devices in a Sabadell near Barcelona I often wear my Swans shirt, I get many comments especially as the next town is Terrassa where Rangel is from. We've been getting recognition from abroad for many a year and long my it continue.
Long may it continue indeed !! the longer we can stay in the premier league the better it will be for the whole local ecomomy which could well be even more ****ed without the knock on effect the premier league has brought. We may have known it would have an effect but i was not quite sure how much of an effect. Its all good stuff
Good news for you then Aber, think of all those people in Bellshill keeping an eye out for ya ....what with their 20,000 population!
Walking through Kalives village yesterday Demitrius,a Serbian who works in a restaurant during the summer but on the olive groves this time of year,shouted from his motorbike,"Swansea Champions".When I go to the local cafe on a Saurday to watch Premier league soccer I shout out "Who are we '' and the English people reply? Yes 'Jack Army'.Our fame is spreading!
When I was living in Sydney last year, every time I wore my Swans shirt out people would always comment on how well we were taking to the Premier League. I remember being in a bank, and the teller serving me said "ahh Swansea City - they are a fantastic team mate". So even in a state where football is way down the list and totally dominated Rugby League and Aussie Rules we are still making waves.
