| if Bob Bradley is a huge success, I won't gloat. 07:27 - Oct 5 with 6226 views | Tummer_from_Texas |
But if he's a spectacular failure, I'm also not going to apologize on his behalf.
What is up with these factions? This club isn't big enough to have factions. Even if we ever get huge, I hope we can still remain "small" enough at heart to remember we are all still on the same side.
Most of the rest of you I know from this website were there for everything I missed. I wasnt there for the magical rise in the late 70's and early 80's that culminated in the promotion on the road (was it at Reading?) that must have been the moment of a lifetime for the really old Jacks.
I wasnt there for the first magical months of rarefied 1st Division air, or the cruel fall back to Earth that followed.
I wasnt there for the 20 years of Purgatory that followed that experience.
Or the crazy Petty year. Although, I think my girlfriend might have taken a
a leadership role in the North Bank Alliance had we been present, but you'll have to take my word on that.
Or the Hull game. I did drive over to site of the old Vetch before we left Swansea last December. I just stood there for awhile like I was in a trance, imagining the smell of stale beer and the noise. That same girlfriend thought I'd found some weed to smoke and took my car keys away. Then she remembered that she'd have to drive on the left side over here and she gave them back, lol!
And so on with all these experiences I missed, but sincerely appreciate.
I've made it a point to get to know a few who were there and have told some great tales, but most of you reading this only know me as an Internet "friend." Whether you want to accept that I can "understand" you or not, hopefully you accept that I empathise with how so many of you are feeling in these times. And it breaks my heart to read that real Jacks I admire and respect like Lisa say that this no longer feels like "their club."
But you have to realize one thing. People now and in the near future aren't becoming supporters because this club is a sexy, big PL name. They aren't becoming Swansea fans because of Champions League success, or a Chevrolet sponsorship and commercials, or the household names this club will never get, except when we accidentally stumble upon them.
I got into all this a couple years before JTAK, and I know that film is a source of ridicule among all you "insiders," but freaking get over it! Who cares if they really went to a freaking ATM, or if some of the characters interviewed were the most deserving ones? It is still a piece of art that you have to embrace.
The Alamo (1960) starring and directed by John Wayne is one of the most hilariously inaccurate films ever made, but San Antonians love it anyway. Because for all it's laughable faults, it represents our true spirit.
Actually that's a terrible example. That movie really SUCKED. The remake with Billy Bob Thornton is much better.
But getting back to my point...I and those who follow because we learn your story through JTAK, or because now Swansea will get exposure due to Americans owning/managing the club, aren't like your regular bandwagoners. We don't get into this club for the reasons people jump on board with the big clubs. We don't even love this club because of Siggy, or Bony, or Michu, or Leon, or Trundle, or James Thomas.
We love it because of YOU. That will always be your legacy. This club is yours, to us if not you. And we will never pretend we were actually there, suffering with you; but we still would like to appreciate everything you have made it represent. [Post edited 5 Oct 2016 7:45]
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| if Bob Bradley is a huge success, I won't gloat. on 17:01 - Oct 5 with 876 views | Tummer_from_Texas |
| if Bob Bradley is a huge success, I won't gloat. on 15:39 - Oct 5 by BarrySwan |
The original poster seems to totally miss the point.
Many of us object when people are appointed to jobs within the club just because they are local and old buddies rather than having demonstrated any particular aptitude for the job they are appointed to.
Take for instance Gary Monk although not local he had been at the club for many years and I personally was apprehensive about his appointment not because he might or might not have been the best thing since sliced bread but because there was an air of inevitability of him being appointed just because he had been here for years and was a favourite of the board rather than having demonstrated any ability as a manager.
Take Kristian O'Leary a local boy who ended up helping direct operations at first team level not
because he had demonstrated any ability at coaching or management ( in fact exactly the opposite
) but because he had been at the Swans for years it was obvious that he was not up to the job but he got the gig through contacts and his local tag.
Take Ryan Giggs a Welsh legend not wanted here by many including myself because he's never demonstrated a scrap of managerial ability.
So here we are with a bunch of Americans in charge of our club and surprise surprise within a couple of weeks we are landed with an American nonentity with no decent pedigree of managerial success becoming the first manager from the USA to manage in the premier.
It's clearly not because he's any good that he's appeared out of the blue but because he's an American nonentity as are the new owners following Dineen and Jenkins sell out.
Surely that must be fairly obvious .
Many of us don't want a Welsh nonentity any more than we want a American one. |
And it breaks my heart to read that real Jacks I admire and respect like Lisa say that this no longer feels like "their club."
But you have to realize one thing. People now and in the near future aren't becoming supporters because this club is a sexy, big PL name. They aren't becoming Swansea fans because of Champions League success, or a Chevrolet sponsorship and commercials, or the household names this club will never get, except when we accidentally stumble upon them.
In a nutshell, that was really the point of my long post. Not sure why that means that I'm missing your point. Two completely separate subjects. | |
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| if Bob Bradley is a huge success, I won't gloat. on 17:06 - Oct 5 with 860 views | Uxbridge |
| if Bob Bradley is a huge success, I won't gloat. on 17:01 - Oct 5 by Tummer_from_Texas |
And it breaks my heart to read that real Jacks I admire and respect like Lisa say that this no longer feels like "their club."
But you have to realize one thing. People now and in the near future aren't becoming supporters because this club is a sexy, big PL name. They aren't becoming Swansea fans because of Champions League success, or a Chevrolet sponsorship and commercials, or the household names this club will never get, except when we accidentally stumble upon them.
In a nutshell, that was really the point of my long post. Not sure why that means that I'm missing your point. Two completely separate subjects. |
Part of the problem of course is that the rest of your post goes in a different direction.
I think you seem to think that JTAK in any way represents this football club, or represents what many fans think this club represents. That's a flawed interpretation IMO. |  |
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| if Bob Bradley is a huge success, I won't gloat. on 17:14 - Oct 5 with 849 views | snork44 |
| if Bob Bradley is a huge success, I won't gloat. on 17:01 - Oct 5 by Tummer_from_Texas |
And it breaks my heart to read that real Jacks I admire and respect like Lisa say that this no longer feels like "their club."
But you have to realize one thing. People now and in the near future aren't becoming supporters because this club is a sexy, big PL name. They aren't becoming Swansea fans because of Champions League success, or a Chevrolet sponsorship and commercials, or the household names this club will never get, except when we accidentally stumble upon them.
In a nutshell, that was really the point of my long post. Not sure why that means that I'm missing your point. Two completely separate subjects. |
Tummer, you have seen our clubs rise and you have come to Swansea and get our history and ethos. Unfortunately messrs Levien and Kaplen do not have a Scooby about us and that partly has let to this situation. The other situation is Jenkins and his inflated ego, again you can't blame Bradley and you wouldn't blame him from accepting this job and being a trailblazer for up and coming American coaches coming to take up positions in the Premier league. [Post edited 5 Oct 2016 18:20]
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| if Bob Bradley is a huge success, I won't gloat. on 17:19 - Oct 5 with 840 views | jack247 |
| if Bob Bradley is a huge success, I won't gloat. on 17:01 - Oct 5 by Tummer_from_Texas |
And it breaks my heart to read that real Jacks I admire and respect like Lisa say that this no longer feels like "their club."
But you have to realize one thing. People now and in the near future aren't becoming supporters because this club is a sexy, big PL name. They aren't becoming Swansea fans because of Champions League success, or a Chevrolet sponsorship and commercials, or the household names this club will never get, except when we accidentally stumble upon them.
In a nutshell, that was really the point of my long post. Not sure why that means that I'm missing your point. Two completely separate subjects. |
Being 'our club doesn't mean excluding people from Texas, or Denmark, or Korea, or anywhere else. Not to me anyway. I'm proud that people from all over the world follow us, whatever their reasons may be.
'Our club' means something that the community can be proud of and feel a part of and an affinity with. We haven't got that anymore and it hurts. I could empathise with whoever it was the other day that said he would prefer a few thousand of us back in league two. I don't agree, but I certainly get where he is coming from.
The issue isn't that our owners aren't local. It is that they are purely businessmen and see 'out club' as a vehicle to get richer. That honestly wouldn't be any different if they were local mercenaries. What they don't get, or care about, or both, is it's not just a football club to us, it's part of who we are.
As much as I despise our owners, it's hard to blame them. They are businessmen doing what they do. Our previous board used to be fans like us and were quite rightly lauded for what they did. They sold out and and are responsible for everything that is happening now. |  | | |
| if Bob Bradley is a huge success, I won't gloat. on 17:20 - Oct 5 with 839 views | Tummer_from_Texas |
| if Bob Bradley is a huge success, I won't gloat. on 17:06 - Oct 5 by Uxbridge |
Part of the problem of course is that the rest of your post goes in a different direction.
I think you seem to think that JTAK in any way represents this football club, or represents what many fans think this club represents. That's a flawed interpretation IMO. |
Fair enough then. I had thought that the problem was that they interviewed the wrong people and got certain facts wrong, not that they misrepresented the spirit of the club. | |
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| if Bob Bradley is a huge success, I won't gloat. on 17:56 - Oct 5 with 810 views | Uxbridge |
| if Bob Bradley is a huge success, I won't gloat. on 17:20 - Oct 5 by Tummer_from_Texas |
Fair enough then. I had thought that the problem was that they interviewed the wrong people and got certain facts wrong, not that they misrepresented the spirit of the club. |
I'm not sure how you differentiate. | |
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| if Bob Bradley is a huge success, I won't gloat. on 18:11 - Oct 5 with 791 views | waynekerr55 |
| if Bob Bradley is a huge success, I won't gloat. on 17:20 - Oct 5 by Tummer_from_Texas |
Fair enough then. I had thought that the problem was that they interviewed the wrong people and got certain facts wrong, not that they misrepresented the spirit of the club. |
Not sure that's the case Tummer. The club gave it's blessing, airbrushed Sousa out of the truth...much like many other things... |  |
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| if Bob Bradley is a huge success, I won't gloat. on 22:10 - Oct 5 with 716 views | nyc_swans |
it's a football club. appreciate/support them in the best way that you know how and blank out the comments that question your sincerity or commitment or your "understanding" of the situation. this is a place to share opinions about the swans. it's not a proving ground or what have you. it's a message board.
as an american who has supported the swans for a while now, i don't feel the need to apologize for not being there in the 90s or whatever. live in the moment and be the best swans fan that you can. who cares about how people here feel about jack to a king. if you like it and it resonates with you, great.
not speaking about the OP in particular, who seems as passionate a swans fan as you will find, but americans in particular have this authenticity complex when it comes to following football. shake it off. the club will appreciate anyone's support. we have to move forward together. |  | | |
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| if Bob Bradley is a huge success, I won't gloat. on 00:43 - Oct 6 with 680 views | RuDeMan1970 |
"(was it at Reading)?"
No sir, it was at Deepdale, home of Preston North End on 2/5/81.
You're welcome  |  |
| ..."who will guard the guards..?" |
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| if Bob Bradley is a huge success, I won't gloat. on 01:39 - Oct 6 with 661 views | SwansNZ |
| if Bob Bradley is a huge success, I won't gloat. on 17:19 - Oct 5 by jack247 |
Being 'our club doesn't mean excluding people from Texas, or Denmark, or Korea, or anywhere else. Not to me anyway. I'm proud that people from all over the world follow us, whatever their reasons may be.
'Our club' means something that the community can be proud of and feel a part of and an affinity with. We haven't got that anymore and it hurts. I could empathise with whoever it was the other day that said he would prefer a few thousand of us back in league two. I don't agree, but I certainly get where he is coming from.
The issue isn't that our owners aren't local. It is that they are purely businessmen and see 'out club' as a vehicle to get richer. That honestly wouldn't be any different if they were local mercenaries. What they don't get, or care about, or both, is it's not just a football club to us, it's part of who we are.
As much as I despise our owners, it's hard to blame them. They are businessmen doing what they do. Our previous board used to be fans like us and were quite rightly lauded for what they did. They sold out and and are responsible for everything that is happening now. |
"Our previous board used to be fans like us and were quite rightly lauded for what they did. They sold out and are responsible for everything that is happening now."
Been said many times, but this is exactly it, and I’m sure any sensible fan would put the blame at their door. They gave total control to a bunch of foreign investors, WTF did they think would happen? They didn’t and don’t care $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ |  |
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