A Bee Hive Grows In Decatur

If you go into any major soccer town, I’m fairly sure you can find a Premier League fan following-slash-sports establishment-slash-bar-slash-pub where the faithful can congregate, watch matches, and yell at the top of their collective lungs over the highs and lows of a season...

Manchester (either blue or red), Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool... no brainers, right...?

Well, how about Brentford...???

Yep... Atlanta can claim Brentford and a gathering spot...

At the Marlay House in Decatur, owner Colin Comer is a Villa fan who owns an Irish pub. Some of those previously mentioned fan bases have their chances to watch their clubs downhill from the square.

But mentioning Brentford fans in town is neither a misprint nor a misquote... Colin gets to see them- all of them... under his roof...

Michel Cowdery has a fandom for the Bees that has its base back to his father’s time playing for the club in the reserves in the late 1940’s.

“Even up to about 2-3 years ago or so, I think I was the only Brentford supporter in Atlanta,” Michel admits. “Because when I was wearing a Brentford shirt, people come up and ask me ‘What was that?’ I got that comment all the time and, when they won promotion, I met a friend of mine at another pub here in Atlanta and there were 50 Swansea supporters. I was the only Brentford fan.

“I don't know how there were so many Swansea supporters in Atlanta, but there were. I was the only one and I got booed when I walked in. Which I think was great. That was, that was superb. I actually got booed by all of them and I was in tears. I couldn't help it. It was just all this emotion of years and years and years of supporting this club.”

So, now that your club is promoted into the Premier League, you need a place to watch, right...? Michel had known Colin for a long time and wanted a place to watch the first-ever Premier League match for the Bees a couple of years ago. Michel had a table in a corner and a television to watch on that Friday night and it has grown from there to where twenty to twenty-five people of varying ages and family sizes will watch a match in the back. He’s gone from having Liverpool fans asking for selfies looking at their first-ever Brentford jersey in the States to this past weekend with Fulham at Marlay House with his extended family.

It seemed like a natural fit at the beginning of the 24/25 season. The Brentford supporters still wanted to be respectful of the business coming in- knowing Marlay House is an independently owned local business that “you want to support as much as possible” Michel says. Marlay House hasn’t had a club and their supporters claim the space as their own. There are Liverpool supporters who come in, but the space has evolved into that Brentford hub.

“I think Brentford is a lot of people's favorite second team or you're certainly always cheering for them,” Colin says. “You know, I'm an Aston Villa fan, so I certainly have no beef with Brentford. So, it's good to have them here. But I think over the years the sport has grown here and it's impressive. I mean, the fact that we've got Brentford fans coming here is a good example of that.”

“I see it. I still don't quite believe it,” Michel admits looking at his Brentford club on the TV and fellow fans at all the back tables on a Sunday morning in Decatur. “This is not supposed to happen, not for little Brentford Football Club. You know, we're just a bus stop in Hounslow. So this is this is just great.”

But there is one question to ask Colin before we go: There are two dates on the calendar where the Villa fan and owner has Brentford fans come in to watch when the two teams play each other during the season...

What happens when the two play...?

“I like to be nice to my friends, so I'll make sure I hug Michel after Aston Villa win,” Colin tells us. “But no, I hate playing Brentford. They're always good. They're like that plucky team that, like playing Forest right now or a classic counterattacking team that they're great. As I support Brentford every other time, they’re on their own when they play Villa.”