Most Brentford fans support the Club because they live in West London, their family support them, or they go with their friends.

But Shawn Danhouser’s story is slightly different.

The American came over to work in West London for a short period of time 12 years ago, and a strange turn of events led to him becoming a fully-fledged Bees supporter.

Shawn said: “I work in insurance and my company has a syndicate in London. Myself and a co-worker, he was a big Chelsea fan, had tickets to Stamford Bridge in 2010 and we watched Chelsea v Arsenal.

“The game was on a Sunday, we arrived on Friday so, on Saturday, we wanted to see if we could find another match to watch.

“There were only two teams in London playing that Saturday - one was Brentford and the other was Leyton Orient.

“A co-worker of ours knew a big Brentford fan and he said he'd take us to the game if we wanted.

“Thank God I had seen that game because heaven forbid I had become a Leyton Orient fan!

“I knew a tiny bit about Brentford because I had seen them play an FA Cup game that had been televised in the US, I think when Andy Scott was the manager.

“So we went to Griffin Park and I fell in love immediately because that, to me, was what a proper football ground should be.

“It was everything I wanted to experience - the terraces, standing for a game, meat pies. Griffin Park itself was so magical too, with it being older and also the pub on each corner.

“The game was against Gillingham, we were League One at the time, we won 4-0, and three of the goals were in our end, so there was a lot to be excited about.

“Everyone made us feel so welcome and I just felt like I wanted to experience that again and again.”

Since then, Shawn visited Griffin Park multiple times, as well as getting the opportunity to attend a few away games, including our 4-1 win at Craven Cottage in 2015.

He made his first trip to the Gtech Community Stadium earlier this season (which would have been sooner if it wasn’t for the coronavirus pandemic), where he had a tour of the stadium, before watching Thomas Frank’s side beat Brighton 2-0.

Shawn explained: “It was funny because, initially, the game was going to be played on a Saturday and then they moved it to the Friday. I had already bought my plane tickets to arrive late morning on Friday - it was going to be a little challenging, but we knew we could make it work.

“And then, maybe like the day before we left, Megan from the club reached out to me and said, ‘We don't normally do tours of the stadium on the day of a game, but if you can get here by 3pm, we can do a little tour’.

“We literally just threw our bags in our room, hopped on a train and got there with five minutes to spare!

“We got a true behind-the-scenes look at the new stadium. My youngest son has autism, so it was great to see the sensory room. That was fantastic.

"I know that it’s something that's becoming quite common, but there are a lot of clubs that do not offer that for their fan base.

“I like to take my son to matches with me and he’s generally pretty good, but the sensory rooms are a real comfort to know that, if I needed that space and he needed some calm because it can get quite loud, that's available. I was super pumped about that.

“I also really liked that, around the concourse, a couple of things were kept from Griffin Park. The turnstiles paid homage to the past, as well as the murals and photos on the wall.”

Shawn has taken his love for Brentford back over to America with him, where he has helped set up the Chicago Bees, which has seen them have numerous watch parties - including one for our recent 2-1 win over Manchester City, despite the early start!

“We had quite a few people there, and the only bad part was the kick-off time - if we had a later game we would have had more fans,” said Shawn.

"There were local ordinances that prevented us from having any alcohol before around the 70-minute mark, so there was a lot of coffee!

“But I couldn’t argue with the result, 2-1 against Man City, the atmosphere was very good. We want people to bring their friends next time and show them about Brentford.

“I think it's kind of cool to be a Bees fan. It seems like every American I meet is a Man United fan!

“It's easy to be a fan of a big team, but it takes a little work to support a mid-table team and I like that.”

When asked about why he is so passionate about the club, he added: “Supporting a team like Brentford, you experience the highs and lows. I wanted more of a traditional experience, and slowly, over time, I just fell more and more in love with the team.

“It was the family values that the club has, every time I came over I felt welcome, I met new people and they were excited to have fans from across the pond over to watch a game.

“I love the ambition of the club too. I love that they have aspiration and they're doing it in the right way, in a financially stable way.

“I try to go to a game every other year and my friend usually comes along with me. We've had such fun watching the rise.

“I feel like I was there when it started - I wasn't all the way there - but I’ve watched them do extremely well over the 12 years. I love how exciting the trajectory has been and the rise of the club.

“And I don't think we're done by any stretch. It may take a generation or two, but I think this is a club that’s going to be playing fairly regularly in Europe, whether that’s the Champions League or the Europa League.

“We’re doing things the right way and we're sustainable and I love that. I feel like, right now, we’re the best-kept secret, at least in America, a lot of people don't know who the Bees are, and I get to turn them on to that and hopefully convert a few!”

Shawn’s football fixation didn’t start and doesn’t stop at Brentford, having played football at a young age and, now, he coaches a special needs football team in America - as well as watching the Bees at every opportunity he gets.

“I've been a football player my whole life. I played youth football in high school football and I did play a little bit in college as well, but that was kind of about the extent of my ability - I was never going to go professional or anything!

“I've been coaching youth soccer for about 20 years, I helped start my own clubs, and I’m currently involved with a special needs soccer team for the last 12 years, which is similar to the Brentford Penguins.

“So it’s safe to say I'm a pretty avid football fan!

“Now that the Bees are in the Premier League, I get to watch every game on TV which is great.”