Bangor City's Special Relationship (photoblog)

I’ve taken thousands of photographs at football matches over the past few years, but for all the sucessful occasions where I have captured the ball crossing the line for a goal, or I’ve frozen an instant which combines several elements needed for a successful sports photo, the images which stay with me, and which hold the most appeal for those who view it on my website are images of the event which rarely include on the pitch action.

This is one of my favourites. Take a look.

What you have here is the unbeatable ecstasy that is released after a win on penalties against your closest rivals. Bangor City have just beaten Rhyl to progress in the 2009 Welsh Cup and are charging to celebrate with their goalkeeper Paul Smith in front of the fans at the Farrar Road End. The Rhyl players are slumped in the background while local lads Sion Edwards and Les Davies show what it means to win for your local side.

We can all relate to that image. That’s what we want from our football – for once, the players are behaving like fans behave – it means as much to Les and Sion as it does to the Bangor faithful. That’s rare these days. After Cardiff City beat Leeds 4-0 at Elland Road recently, the players wandered about 5 yards towards the 1200 fans who had travelled for 5 hours on a Monday night and half-heartedly applauded.

But Bangor City are good at this. In fact, I can’t think of a club that has a closer relationship between team and its supporters.In this image below, the man in the brown coat is Bangor City Chairman Dilwyn Jones, a long-time fan himself. A moment before I had overheard the manager Nev Powell telling his team to go over to the fans “Go on – get over there, get right in amongst them”, he said.

This next image demonstrates that relationship between team and it’s fans in a suprisingly touching way. After beating Bridgend Town in the 2009 Welsh Cup Semi Final at Aberystwyth, the Bangor team didn’t want to leave the pitch. After the intitial celebrations, they just slumped in front of their fans while manager Nev Powell gave his post-match team talk. This wasn’t a Phil Brown style PR routine, this was genuine. I’ve never seen anything like it. Those of you who watch professional clubs will never have this opportunity. This is not a team that operates in isolation. They share their victories.

Time after time, when Bangor score a goal, they run to their fans. And they don’t just stand in front of them posing, they really get in there amongst them. They let the fans swallow them up. And it’s great to see.

Some people mock the League of Wales (I don’t call it the Premier), but football at this level offers the same emotion, excitement and drama that we all want from our sport, whatever the salary of the players. Clubs like Bangor City understand the importance of their fans, and the supporter experience is second to none for those who appreciate it.