Rivals

Have you ever been so irate (or drunk) after your team lost that you...I don't know...formed a mob and chased thirty opposing fans into the sea?  Yeah me neither, but that's exactly what happened to some visiting Cardiff City fans after the Bluebirds defeated the Swansea City Jacks in 1988.

This week on Dragon and Bluebird we're going to dip one toe into the insanity that is the intersection of civic pride, soccer obsession, anger issues, and binge drinking.  Welcome to the South Wales Derby.

I don't want to make this a history lesson on the Cardiff City/Swansea City rivalry.  All you really need to know to get caught up is the following:

• Swansea is Wales' second most populated city, after Cardiff, and is located about one hour to its west
• The rivalry was civil for the most part until Cardiff was chosen over Swansea to be the capital of Wales in 1955
• The most recent meetings of these two clubs are almost always defined by the batshit crazy antics of the fans, not so much...well...actual soccer  

You might think that Cardiff City and Swansea City would share some level of camaraderie.  After all, both are Welsh clubs that have only ever participated in the English Football Association.  Along with four other lower tier clubs (i.e. Wrexham, Newport County, Colwyn Bay, and Merthyr Town) they are currently the only non-English members of the Football Association.  And they're both equally disliked by the non-Welsh.  The English fans use #sheepshaggers when referring to the Bluebirds and the Jacks on Twitter (the Welsh fans reply using #weshagthemyoueatthem).  

But no, there is no special bond between these two clubs.  In fact, it's very common to see Jacks fans tweet using #oneteaminwales to insult their newly-promoted Bluebird brethren.  During my research for this blog, I've actually come across a lot of banter that would make even the most seasoned prostitute blush.  I've also come across a lot of British insults that I didn't even understand (thank you Urban Dictionary for explaining what a "bellend" is).

I think I've digressed, let's rein things in.  At the beginning of the modern (i.e. Premier League) era, both Cardiff City and Swansea City were lower tier clubs.  But if you look closely, they've both experienced a resurgence in the past decade.  Well, Swansea City actually had a rocket-fueled ride to the top, while Cardiff City had a somewhat leisurely ascent.  The graph below captures the league performance history of both clubs, during the Premier League era. 

The 2010/11 season was the last time the Bluebirds and Jacks met and it was a particularly important year in their rivalry.  While the two Tier 2 clubs split their regular season matches, it was Swansea City who would go on to secure the third promotion ticket into Premier League via playoffs.  This meant that Swansea City would be the first Welsh club ever to enter the Premier League, and Cardiff City had to wait another two years before earning their own promotion.  

Usually, the Tier 2 playoff winner is the Vegas favorite to get demoted in the next season.  But if you had bet against Swansea City in 2011/12 you'd have lost big time.  The Jacks didn't just survive in their debut season, they kicked a whole bunch of asses.  They finished 11th of 20 that year and 9th of 20 in 2012/13.  

That catches us up to the 2013/14 season, in which Cardiff City and Swansea City will meet each other for the first time at the highest tier of the Football Association.  Traditionally, a league match between notable soccer rivals is often referred to as a "derby".  The "North London Derby" is Arsenal vs. Tottenham Hotspur.  The "Merseyside Derby" is Everton vs. Liverpool.  And the "South Wales Derby" is Cardiff City vs. Swansea City.

There have been 105 South Wales Derbies over the past one hundred years.  Cardiff City has won 43, Swansea City has won 35, and there have been 27 draws.  Neither side has "done the double" winning both the home and away league matches in same year.

I opened this entry by telling you about one particularly violent episode in these clubs' meeting history, but unfortunately it wasn't isolated.   You can read a surprisingly unbiased Swansea City fan's history of the Derby here, but throwing seats, fighting cops, assaulting referees, and vandalizing stadiums is somewhat of a common theme.  It got so bad at one point that away fans were actually banned from the Derby for a few years.

I dont know if among the fans level heads will prevail when the Bluebirds and Jacks meet this year.  But considering that these will be the first two South Wales Derbies that most of Britain and the world will have ever seen, both clubs will be looking to make their case for being the best team in Wales. 

While I don't support it, soccer obsession to the point of violence is one of the aspects of the game I've never understood but hope to over the course of this season.  I chose to follow Cardiff City in part because of their great rivalry storyline.  After all, "everybody needs a nemesis.  Sherlock Holmes had his Dr. Moriarty, Mountain Dew has its Mellow Yellow, even Maggie has that baby with the one eyebrow."  

Is there any situation that can't be addressed by a quote from 1990s era Simpsons?  I think not.

Thank you for reading and we'll see each other next week on Dragon and Bluebird.