You may have heard by now that I won three prizes at the Wales Blog Awards in Cardiff last night. Ffwtbol was named as ‘Best Sports Blog’, and thanks to your votes , it also picked up the ‘People’s Choice’ Award. Finally, it somehow also beat 200 entrants to win the ‘Best Overall Blog’.
It can be a bit dispiriting writing this blog. Sometimes I can spend more than 2 hours putting a factual piece together, and it isn’t unknown for that post to meet less than a hundred pairs of eyes. Conversely, when I experimented with a load of purposely controversial, poorly-researched nonsense about a famous English club, it generated over 6,000 hits. It makes you wonder whether it’s worth it. So the occasional piece of recognition that I receive , which has included recommendations from the 1989 nostalgia magazine, When Saturday Comes, and the admittedly poncy, London-centric Guardian, helps to provide the encitement to perservere.
I didn’t enter the Wales Blog Awards. The first I knew about the event was when I received an email telling me that Ffwtbol had been nominated and short-listed. I’ve never really thought of this as a blog, it’s just a convenient outlet for my spleen and occasional enthusiasm. I travelled to Cardiff in blissful ignorance of the ‘blogosphere’ and the apparent community of bloggers that exists. I don’t know what a blog is supposed to be and I don’t care. My success was a little embarrassing. I went up three times and felt like a bloke who was hogging the karaoke. To their credit, everybody I met at the event was generous in their praise, and a huge bouquet of flowers helped hide my blushing cheeks.
I took particular pleasure in the ‘Best Blog’ award as the lady judge admitted that she had absolutely no interest in football. It was great to hear that my blog is readable by somebody who doesn’t much like the game. Because for me, ffwtbol isn’t about football. It’s about everything else. It’s about glory, humour, sacrifice, loyalty, determination, friendship, pride, and most of all, community.
And it’s the Welsh football community that brought home the ‘People’s Choice’ award. I suspect that many of your votes were for the concept of ‘ffwtbol’ – a Utopian vision where the playing field is fair, and people don’t sell their support to the most successful club with no consideration for local affiliation. A nirvana where small countries are allowed the same respect as the giant countries whose populations attract the biggest viewing figures and advertising revenue. Whatever your reasons, I’m very grateful, and it was this award which gave the most pride to my Mother, which is the important thing.
The Manchester Guardian is London-cenric?
Well done Phil – totally deserved prizes
Yes it is London-centric. I finally stopped buying the Observer when they had a magazine cover titled “The Hippest florist in Camden”.
“A nirvana where small countries are allowed the same respect as the giant countries whose populations attract the biggest viewing figures and advertising revenue.”
quite a pertinent sentence given what has been happening today with GB and GB … If only, eh?
Well deserved Phil! Keep on a’bloggin
As someone who’s just got back into football of the British variety (was a big fan until 06 when the Premiership depressed me), and trying to do so in a big way, I found this website. I’m from the Bangor neck of the woods, and my Mum was brought up living next to Cae Seilo – as such, I’m loving the Felin connection!
Thank you for helping restore my faith in pel-droed,
Richard
Da iawn Phil- Keep on keepin on (from a Bangor City fan)
Gwych – da iawn. Ro’n i’n iawn i gynnig colofn i ti yn Golwg ta!!
I voted for you because you say everything the Welsh and British(London) mainstream media doesn’t about Welsh football. Basically, unlike them, you care. Keep up the good work.
Phil.
You have great enthusiasm for the game we all love. Not only that you have some great connections with the game and use it to your advantage without exploiting anyone.
Keep up the great work. Your blogs have been “infrequent” of late but when you have something to say true football fans take note. The same issues are happening across the world but you put across the Welsh viewpoint with such passion
Keep it up, it is very much appreciated.
Dilwyn
Congrats Phil. Well deserved!
A big diolch to all your hard work!! Dal ati from avid reader in Arizona , USofA!!!!
Llongyfarchiadau Phil. The recognition is well deserved. The article on Bangor’s title winning game deserved an award on its own!