Swim Away

For years now, Swansea fans have been goading Cardiff with the animated breast stroke action, and the "swim away" chant. As it happens, I was a participant in the scenes that inspired the taunt.

It was Christmas time in the early nineties I think. In another spontaneous decision, I had made my way to Cardiff station to catch the train to the Vetch. But, unbeknown to me and dozens of other Cardiff fans, the trains weren't running that day. Not to worry - I offered a lift to a couple of lads from Ely and off we drove.

I don't remember much about the game itself, but I do remember that for some reason, probably the lack of public transport, that the City following was very poor that day. It was a low key affair, and the police let us out immediately after the whistle, which was unusual in those days.

As we walked across to the Courts car park, I could see a large mob of Swansea had gathered and were deciding on their best course of action. I looked around, and the Cardiff fans consisted of kids and families with the odd group of spotty fanzine writers. Swansea charged.

I'm not ashamed to say that I ran. Shat myself in fact. There was a mob coming straight for me and I ran into the law courts. To my horror, I found myself up a blind alleyway with no way out. I turned around, fully expecting a nightmare scenario, only to find myself quite alone. I peered round the corner, and saw the Swansea lads chasing a group of 'Diff towards the sea.

The car park was mayhem now. The police were conspicuous by their absence, and pockets of fans were fighting all over the place. I made it to the car where my new friends from Ely were eagerly waiting my arrival.

I found out later that those City fans had been chased into the sea by the Jacks and stayed there until they were able to be rescued by the late arrival of the police. And that is the origin of the "swim away" chant.

The end of the spontaneous journey

Cardiff City are playing away at Sunderland this evening. The Stadium of Light is one of the grounds that I have yet to visit, and it I was tempted to go. But these days, being tempted isn't enough. The all-ticket statues of most matches at this level means that plans have to be made, tickets booked, and the decision made well in advance of the game. It was not always so.

Some years ago, I made a last minute decision to travel to Shrewsbury for Dai Thomas's debut. He scored a goal and ran about so effectively that we were convinced we had seen the new local hero. It was a 7.30pm kick off, and when I happened to finish work early, I just jumped in the car at 5 0'clock and made the game.

I woke up very early one Saturday morning to find a car full of the Gregarious Crew outside my front door. Apparently, a few hours earlier in Clwb Ifor Bach, I had decided that I wanted to travel with them to Brunton Park, Carlisle. Seven hours later I was regretting that decision when Carlisle scored a last minute equaliser.

A different sport, but I rose instinctively on one dark morning a couple of years ago, and knew I had to go somewhere. I got in the car and made the 5 hour drive to Murrayfield on impulse. The pull was too great. Logistically, financially and sensibly, it didn't make sense, but a sense of occasion drew me, and I packed my bags. That first feeling of exhilaration when you have made the snap decision to go is a thrill that compares to the event itself. Again, my instinct was correct, and I saw Welsh rugby's most brilliant performance for 30 years.

Off the top of the head, I can list a number of games that I shouldn't have gone to. But as the match drew nearer, my senses became blurred and I was drawn unthinkingly to the game like a loyal St Bernard searching out his Master in a deep, icy crevice. Chester about five years ago, for example. Terry and I left late after we could no longer combat the impulse to go, we arrived at half time and saw a nothing game. The worst one was Exeter away in the Leyland Daf. Nothing to play for - it was a dead rubber, but towards 5 o'clock, the gravity from St James' Park was too much, and off I went. There were thirty City fans in the away end.

This evening's game has the same potential. There is nothing stopping me jumping in the car and driving up to Sunderland. It isn't a sensible thing to do. It would be an expensive, long journey, and I don't have that sense of duty, loyalty and martyrdom that I used to have. But there is always the possibility that my newly discovered enthusiasm would throw me behind the wheel and send me to Carlisle before my faculties could argue otherwise.

This is no longer an option.. There is no pay-on-the-gate at The Stadium of Light. I would need a ticket. And to get a ticket I need a membership, a fan number. I can't legally even pick up a spare. No, to travel to this game, I would have had to have made my decision sometime last week. And sometimes that's not the way it works.

St Davids Cross

In the past, when a new terrace phenomenon came along, it would be submerged into the culture and its origins would be lost. Thankfully, we now have the internet to document the starting point of these things, and I was pleased to come across the birth of a recent initiative documented in some posts to the Cardiff City mailing list.

This is the history of the St Davids Cross being used as the background for Cardiff City's current badge. It was man called Mervyn Ham who made the first flag up. Emblazoned with the legend "Llancadle Blues", Muhz put together the original flag in about 1998. This is the first mention that I could find of the cross, dated January 25th 2000.

In a message dated 25/01/00 11:36:55 GMT Standard Time,
Did anyone ever see those those enamel badges that were knocked up for theEuro Summit in Cardiff? three flags,Welsh Dragon / St Davids Cross / Euro Union Flag. Really neat!Well along the same theme - hows this for a balaclava badge?St Davids Cross / Skull & Crossbones / Bluebird Or St Davids Cross / Skull & Crossbones / Football Rattle. With the words "theres a bluebird in my heart" underneath. Tee Hee.Muhz

Not many people know that there are two versions of the flag:

At 06:49 25/01/00 EST, Eric the Red wrote: I was researching Welsh heraldry today and came across mention of the St David's cross. Black, on a gold background !!

This is the first mention of the actual flag:

Tue Jan 25, 2000 7:10 pm
Hi Mark, yes I'll probably be going.I'm taking the Llancadle Flag, and possibly getting a couple of smaller St Davids flags to raise the profile a bit. Did Nigel Blues mention that his mum and dad were listening to the Cambridge Away game on Capital Gold when they heard Phil Suarez commenting on the Llancadle Flag. Whats a yellow and black cross doing among Cardiff City fans? he kept asking - what is this Flag? . Muhz

And if you need any more evidence, here's NigelBlues from Tue Oct 15, 2002
Nobody knew about the St Davids Cross until Muhz told us all about 2 or 3 years ago and introduced his Llancadle flag. I don't know whether this development makes Muhz a hero or means he should be driven out of Wales but how was he to know it would be hijacked and misused in this fashion?

So there we have it. Documented proof of the first use of the St Davids Cross as a football flag.
It is prominent now throughout Wales, and not just within football. And we all know who started it - Mervyn Ham.

Eric the Dinosaur

It appears that this blog has finally reached the masses of Hammamistes on the Cardiff City Mad messageboard. To be fair, their criticisms of me and my blog are difficult to defend.

Firstly, the complaint that I didn't properly accredit the piece on Ridsdale's meeting. I'm not sure what more I can do. The problem is that if you post a link directly to Mike Morris's messageboard, the thread disapears after a few days and the link becomes dead. The piece was written by somebody called "The Lone Gunman", an old skool fan who I know and respect from way back . He likes Hammam, I don't. He wants to see the club playing in front of 40,000 in the Premiership. So do I.

The Lone Gunman points out the hypocrisy in my blog. I talk about dignity when I used to run around the terraces like a buffoon, making an arse of myself. He has a point. Guilty as charged.

Generally, elsewhere, the feeling is that I'm a dinosaur who likes his football "grim". That's partially true, though I might phrase it differently. I get just as much pleasure from small time football as I do from the big occasion. For me football is about companionship, laughter, competition, the shared sense of community, and the opportunity it gives the underdog to succeed. you can get that at any level. I support City because historically they have been the underdog.

The connection began in 1976. Even though we were top of the Third Division, the other clubs were bigger. Crystal Palace away was my first game, and from then on I always felt that City needed me as much as I needed them. It was a partnership more than anything. The Lone Gunman understands that well enough. I still struggle to support the favourite, even when Cardiff are involved. If that means liking your football to be grim, then mea culpa. For a football fan, the bigger the martyrdom, the higher the rewards.

But you talk to anyone who was around in the 1990s. Ask them about Halifax away when Pikey scored the winner, ask them about the Ayatollah procession after Blakey's overhead kick at Hereford. Ask them about the Ayatollah races at Peterborough. Find one of the several hundred people who witnessed our first ever penalty shootout at home to Exeter in the Leyland Daf trophy. And when you ask them to remember, they will beam. They were great times, and they suited some of us more than a sanitised £40 experience in an all seater stadium. I won't apologise for wanting something different from my football.

Cardiff City 2-2 Derby County

It was dark when I left at 7.30am. But the early start gave me a record journey time of 3 hours 36 minutes on the A470. Nothing much on the road, and there is still no sign that anybody lives in Commins Coch. I now look forward to Christmas, and to finding out whether the good citizens of Clatter will once again totally disregard the traditional display of festive decorations. Is Clatter a Satanic enclave ? It certainly feels like it sometimes.

By mid-day I had spent a fortune in the club shop. This was the first time in 6 years that I have been able to buy anything with Hammam's badge on it. Until now, it has been the old skool Bluebird, Dragon and Daffodils for me.

I felt liberated. Hammam is gone, and I'm proud to be a City fan once again.Hammam's vulgarity turned my club into a circus sideshow for "crazy bastards". Dignity's in short supply in football, but Ninian Park's boardroom has been bereft recently, of humility, propriety, and class. Let's hope that Peter Ridsdale keeps his head down, stays off the pitch, and doesn't do the Ayatollah.

Some City fans think that it's a case of out of the frying pan..., but we've had bad Chairman before. It goes with the deal. Tony Clemo, Jim Cadman, and even the mad Ukranian, Stefan Terlezki were all targets for campaigns and protests. But generally, you could ignore them. That's how it should be with Chairmen.

As for Saturday, credit goes to Ali for ignoring the Directors Box, and the ovation was fair enough. Plenty of people liked the old goat, and they're welcome to applaud. But to say that it was emotional is over-egging it. In my part of the ground, the Canton Stand, people weren't even sure what it was all about. We thought that Lewin Nyatanga had been spotted.

It has been a criticism recently on the battle ground of the messageboards that some of us were happy with 2,000 crowds and a rubbish team. Well I think that's obvious, otherwise we wouldn't have gone. It doesn't mean we don't enjoy the big occasion, but believe me, there is just as much satisfaction to be gained out of beating Plymouth 5-4 in front of a few thousand as there is at The Emirates for a 1-1 draw with Everton.

There have been comments in the media recently that Cardiff is a "proper" club with a "proper" ground. I know what they mean. Liverpool's second goal against Villa on Saturday was celebrated with a "yayyy". Not a "Waarggh, or a Yaarrggh", but a "Yayyy". That is not a proper celebration. That is a lazy, overfed, gout suffering, souffle of a cheer. If that's what a new stadium will bring, you can keep it.

Derby fans celebrated properly on Saturday. They jumped around, made crazy unplanned dashes across the terracing and generally went mental. Fair play to them. If you watch the highlights, Cardiff fans are already streaming out of the ground. Top of the League, 2-1 up, and under pressure deep into injury time. And thousands were leaving the ground. Comment is unnecessary.

This is the best City team I have ever seen. The result is just a statistic caused by the ball being round and happening to cross a white line a couple of times. Derby should already have been withdrawn to their corner. I don't mind drawing games like that. We are magnificent.

I was in my local by 10pm, and did that thing that all fans do when they arrive back at their pub after an away game. I took the match programme in and laid it out casually on the bar, face up, so that everyone would know that I'd just travelled 8 hours to watch a football match. But I make no apologies for that. I am proud again to be a City fan.