Indy writer, Rhys Clayton pens an impeccable feature for your consumption on the day Snoop Dogg fights for his own personal space which just gets more exciting by the minute.

Dear Snoop,

I hope you don't mind me calling you that. Mr Dogg or Mr Broadus sounds too formal for a man as laid back as yourself.

Anyway, Croeso i Abertawe, or Welcome to Swansea. I don't need to tell you how excited the fans are to see you, just look at the ticket sales. The last time we sold out a mid-week league game was during our Premier League glory years.

So firstly, thank you for giving us Jacks something to be genuinely excited about, because it's been a while. Perhaps you didn't know Swansea, the club or the city, before very recently. And that's okay. We don't need a football expert as an investor or global spokesman. We just need someone who understands sport. When I was in America a couple of years ago, I visited six different states in New England and the ultimate highlight was going to a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park. Not because I love baseball, actually I know very little. But I know sport, and love its traditions, history, its power to bring people together, the fandom, the hope, the tragedy. And you feel that too. That's why you enjoy all the big American sports, appear at Wrestlemania, or pop up as the USA's first-ever honorary (sic) coach at the Winter Olympics.

Our shared love of sport is not the only connection. Our nicknames are both from dogs. You loved Snoopy from Peanuts, we are the Swansea Jacks, named after a black retriever, who reportedly saved the lives of 27 drowning sailors in the 30s. Time for another dog to rescue the people of Swansea? Dogg included.

I can't say I'm a big hip-hop fan, but some people transcend their genre, and you are one such crossover star. I've read up a bit about your life story, and what a life. You've fitted in more in your 54-years than most would in several lifetimes. Our club has been through a fair bit in that time as well. Since 1971 (which was two years after Swansea was granted city status), we have been relegated seven times, promoted seven times, topped the highest league, and propped up the fourth division.

One major highlight was winning the League Cup in 2013, which by divine intervention occurred in our centenary season. Yes, we were founded all the way back in 1912. I think British football fans in general don't appreciate how wonderful our football heritage is. It was a long, long time ago. You can count on two hands the number of countries whose borders have stayed the same since 1912. In the same year your country added New Mexico and Arizona to bring it up to 48 states. Fenway Park was completed. The Titanic sunk. And on September 7th Swansea Town played their first game at The Vetch.

But that uninterrupted history has been perilously close to being extinguished on several occasions. The fans and the people of Swansea have fought for our club in the hard times to keep our story going. This is the beauty of the one-club city. Our club represents our city and region in a way that a Birmingham or London-based club cannot. Our nearest club is about an hour down the road, and even at that distance they annoy us greatly. Everyone in the city wants our club to do well, even if they don't care about football, because it gives you things money can't buy - respect, joy, recognition, and pride, locally and internationally. We were the first Welsh team to reach the Premier League, and the first team to do the league double over our biggest rivals, Cardiff. Nothing will ever change that.

Unfortunately, you won't get to experience much of our ugly, lovely town. You would create attention in any circumstances, never mind when 20,000 Jacks are anticipating your arrival every moment. But you will get to meet the people, and that's the most important part. It was our most famous son, Dylan Thomas (below) who called Swansea an ugly, lovely town. Being a wordsmith yourself, you would appreciate Thomas' wonderful poems and essays. I'm sure a private tour of his home on 5 Cwmdonkin Drive is possible to arrange. Your 39th President, Jimmy Carter, was a life-long fan of his works. He personally opened the Dylan Thomas Centre in 1995, and visited Wales a total of five times. Taylor Swift mentioned Dylan in the lyrics of The Tortured Poets Department, bringing a host of new fans to his work. As you can see, Swansea and America have a strong history, and you can help write the next chapter.

Cwmdonkin Drive is in an area of Swansea called the Uplands, which has some beautiful views over Swansea Bay, all the way down to Mumbles to the right. I don't need to tell you about how charming Mumbles is, your son Cordell Broadus was there in August after the Watford game. He stopped by the Gin & Juice bar, which shares the name with your Gin and Juice song, one of your earliest hits. Our star Slovenian striker Zan Vipotnik scored a late equaliser in that game. That was his first of the season. Now he is the league's top scorer with 16 goals, as he tries to fire us back to the Premier League for the first time since 2018.

Our seven years in the Premier League did more to advertise Swansea to the world than a high-budget marketing campaign or small army of politicians ever could. I've been lucky enough to travel to dozens of countries, and even casual football fans know the name. Heck, if they are avid, knowledgeable fans, sometimes they start singing the Wilfried Bony song to me. And what a seven years they were. We had wonderful players like Michu, Llorente, Sigurdsson. At the beginning we had this fantastic Dutch keeper called Michel Vorm, with whom you share a birthday. Dutch brownies all round.

You've spoken about getting us back to the top league, and we are all behind you. Snoop Dogg, Luka Modric, and Martha Stewart invest in a football club. It sounds like the start of a joke, but I don't think you are here for a laugh. You will notice how much the people want Swansea to succeed. We are not a rich region. Our GDP per capita is about 25% lower than the UK average. Our city centre is looking a bit tawdry and the local professional rugby club is probably soon ceasing to exist. Which makes our football club all the more important.

20,000 plus fans will be there tonight, and each will have their own story. Some will come alone, some will come with friends, and some won't come at all, as they look down from the North Bank in the sky. Some will come with three generations together. My grandparents have lived in the same house for 70 years, it is a short walk to the stadium. They follow the results closely. My late grandma on the other side of the family didn't care for football, but she still wanted the Swans to do well, because it made her family happy. Whether the Swans win or lose is what makes my parent's weekend a good or bad one. My football club is what I identify with more than my nationality, race, sex, or political views. Thousands will tell you a similar story. Just like your country, the UK is going through a tumultuous political period. There are many divisions in our society. But for two hours tomorrow, every fan there will be united in the same cause, rich or poor, young or old, left or right, East Coast or West Coast.

You watched the Wrexham game on a big screen in LA. It was a thrilling 2-1 win. I can't promise another dramatic victory today, but I can promise we are behind you. Enjoy the game, and enjoy your visit. I am sure it will not be your last. Come on the Swans.

It could save your life.

Photograph James Lang / Reuters : Dylan Thomas open source and public record