Another debut today, as Eric Imhof makes his The Swansea Way bow...
A little more than 6,500 feet off the coast of Normandy, there sits an island fortress. Mont Saint Michel (an abbey or castle complex depending on who you ask) rises out of the very stone that juts up from either the sand or ocean at it's perimeter, depending on the tide. This earth and man-made monument is named after the archangel Michael; leader of heavenly armies, the avenger, the vanquisher of Satan himself.
The only non-aquatic way to visit the fortress is via a causeway that remains passable even when the ocean closes it in. Otherwise the “mountain” sits apart: a vessel moored to the coastline but seeming any minute as if it could float away through the fog with its inhabitants (mostly tourists) in tow, like a granite ship of fools. As Kenneth MacLeish pointed out in his National Geographic article about the ancient edifice, “It’s not distance that makes an island or an islander. It’s separation, isolation.”
To me (from afar), Swansea seems similar: neither separate nor distant, but still an island within the Premier League. I can’t quite place my finger on it, but the Swans, like the mountain abbey, have a quality about them that distinguishes them—not as better but as, well, different, if not unique. While many other top-flight teams are marred in cynicism, in mistrust, Swansea rises above the lugubrious fog.
When they win, which happens often enough, everyone appears satisfied and pats on the back are had all around, and when they lose, which happens just as often, everyone encourages each other and tries to apply lessons learned to the next match. Compare this attitude to that of, say, Manchester United or Chelsea and the differences are obvious..
I know it’s not as Brady Bunch as I've just described, since every team is essentially now a glorified talent factory, complete with indentured servants, but for now Swansea occupies a special place: a fortress, if you will, of what is redeemable in sport. What they guard is not treasure or stores of grain, but rather entertaining, sound football, camaraderie, and a sane humility.
Sure, there was talk of a mutiny last season (which was most likely mostly vacuous tabloid fodder), Ashley Williams’ public insults to Luis Suarez, and Chico Flores (everything about him, really). No team or player is innocent, but for now Swansea might just be the best ambassador of the league. They have certainly drawn me in from way across the water, enough so that I read online articles in Welsh papers about exactly where in mid-table we might end up. Considering the fact that I have never been to the UK, let alone Wales in particular, such a feat almost rivals the construction of the aforementioned French abbey.
Appropriately enough, the Swans play Southampton tomorrow. Let's hope Swansea's Mont Saint Michel is enough to see off the Saints this weekend.
Thanks to Eric for this piece - I actually adapted it from a piece he'd written last season so thanks to him for allowing me to reproduce it. He'll be doing a weekly feature for us so keep your eyes peeled, and he also runs @AustinJackArmy - make sure to give them a follow!