Swansea Mascot Day

Football is a recurring theme in this house.  The boys love it.  They play for a local team, they play at school.  They play in the garden and the living room.  They watch it.  They both have different clubs that they support but because of their father’s heritage, they also support Swansea City.  Back in September, the boys were lucky enough to be mascots for Swansea City Football Club and what an experience it was.

The whole mascot experience had passed me by until last year when my nephew was a mascot for Swansea.  He loved it and the boys saw him on Match of the Day and asked if they could do it.  This September it was their turn for the Swansea versus Southampton match and to say that they were excited was an understatement.

The Mascot Day package is not cheap but they get a kit, signed football, a mention in the program, four tickets to watch the match and the whole experience included in the price.  Swansea also gave us a large discount as the two boys were doing it together.

When we arrived, we were ushered into  a lovely room where they were serving lunch and drinks.  We sat down to read the programs and the boys were taken off by their usher for the day to go and meet some of the Swansea players in the changing rooms.

The boys absolutely loved this and came back excitedly telling us who they had met and how they all prepare for the match.  They were also clutching a signed football each which they were keen to examine and is now proudly on display in their bedrooms as a reminder of their fantastic day.

No visit to Swansea City would be complete without a hug from the official mascots of the club; Cyril and Cybil the swans.  They came and presented the boys with a cuddly Cyril to the home.

After a spot of lunch, it was time for them to have a tour of the Liberty Stadium and they walked around the pitch while the two teams were training and they got to hang out in the dug out, before heading off into the tunnel to get ready for walking out at the beginning of the match.  The boys were asked who their favourite player was and luckily they both got their first choice; R had chosen Ashley Williams and L chose his favourite striker, Wilfried Bony.  Watching them walk out onto the pitch hand in hand with their heroes was incredible and even though they were both nervous, there were no signs as they shook hands with the opposition and stood in front of a filled stadium.

The boys joined us in the stand in time to see their names on the big screen and the match kicked off.  I was surprised by the atmosphere in the stadium.  I have never been to a ‘proper’ football match before and it was not at all how I imagined.  It was noisy as each team voiced their support, but the atmosphere was calm and pleasant.  At half time, the boys went back onto the pitch to take a shot against Cyril the Swan and then sat back down for the second half.  Sadly, Swansea lost the match but that didn’t dampen the boys spirits at all.  It was the most wonderful experience and something that they will always remember.