Wycombe CFO Pete Couhig: The Voodoo Works!

Wycombe CFO Pete Couhig was understandably exuberant after watching his side reach Wembley for the League One Play Off final. His side succumbed 1-0 at Buckinghamshire rivals Milton Keynes in a pulsating second leg but they progress 2-1 on aggregate having won the home leg 2-0.

Along with the exuberance, there would have been relief. Like 2000 Chairboys fans, he had watched as his side repel attack after attack.

Intelligence and grit take Wycombe to final as kitchen sinks are headed clear

Couhig is a Louisiana native and of course, Mardi Gras and Voodoo are part of the Pelican State’s cultural heritage. Clutching his Mardi Gras necklace, Couhig jokingly (one hopes) gave voodoo credit for the win, exclaiming “the voodoo works!”

Louisiana is unique among southern states due to the large influence of Cajun culture that arrived with historical waves of immigration of French-speaking settlers. Until 1803, Louisiana was a French colony.

Additionally, due to the increasing persecution of the French-speaking community in Quebec by the UK, many Arcadians emigrated south to Louisiana as word spread of another francophone colony on the continent.

Those original Arcadian settlers, (from which the word Cajun survives), mixed with residents of African heritage and Native Americans combined to give Louisiana a cultural mix not seen in other states.

Magic is not the only superstition for the outgoing Couhig.

His seemingly unkempt look is not an attempt to mimic manager Gareth Ainsworth, equally famed and ridiculed for his flowing locks.

Prost asked Couhig if he intended to indulge in a very English cultural tradition, the Wembley haircut:

“I haven’t cut my hair since about November (2020) when we had ten points in the Championship and decided to trade something up. We’ve gotten 120 something points since then.

“No. Absolutely not!”

On a more thoughtful note, Couhig reflected on what differences he had experienced between the US sporting culture and what he had seen in Wycombe.

He said the Wanderers changing room atmosphere resembled that you would find in college football where almost all the players actually attend the college and have a loyalty that goes beyond their contracts.

Using the word ‘professional’ to describe franchises inside organisations like the NFL, NBA and MLB, Couhig noted how Wycombe Wanderers was different:

“It’s very much like what happens at our college or uni level.

“It’s a very highly competitive atmosphere but there’s a brotherly love that comes from members of the same school. It’s a little bit different from a professional environment.

“When you go on a 12-13 game run when the guys don’t change the team up very much, there’s some guys that are trying to play (but can’t) that are just as good as the other guys.

“Those guys have to be the kind of quality individuals that allows you to build a team of 20 to 25 to 30 people, because only eleven people can play.

“If you don’t have the supporting characters around that, that can fill in when somebody’s injured, when somebody has to come out; but not cause problems when you’re not playing. That’s critical to a proper changing room.”

Two years ago when Wycombe beat Oxford United 2-1 at Wembley to win promotion to the Championship, the fans were sadly absent. Pete Couhig’s support could be heard from 50 yards away.

With Sunderland now joining them in the final, the noise of about 60,000 fans may well drown him out.

That won’t bother the footballing gods of Louisiana. Only they will decide if les bons temps are allowed to rouler for Wycombe Wanderers and against the once considered equally unlucky Black Cats of Sunderland.