Philly Soccer Page Info

An update on supporting the Philly Soccer Page

Photo: Paul Rudderow

Believe it or not, Saturday starts the tenth season in Philadelphia Union history.

It also marks another milestone that we can’t quite believe is here. The Philly Soccer Page is entering its 10th MLS regular season since a group of Philly-based soccer players started the publication.

Over 9,000 posts and 110,000 comments after our first post in November 2009, we’re still going strong — even as things keep changing.

Two years ago, it was the departure of our irreplaceable longtime managing editor Ed Farnsworth.

Last year, it was the transfer of Adam Cann, our tactical genius, over to Philadelphia Union. (We’re still kicking ourselves for letting him leave on a free transfer.)

And yet we’re proud to say that the site continues to flourish. Every year, we’re so excited to bring new people on to the site — folks like Sara Griswold and Shayan Waseh, who have joined within the last year.

Our mission going into our tenth season is the same as it always has been: to provide the best coverage of soccer in Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Union available anywhere.

Thank you for your support

We’re proud to say, too, that — with your support — The Philly Soccer Page has become self-sustaining.

We’ve been collecting donations through Patreon over the last two years, and we’ve received thousands of dollars in donations from our incredible community.

Thank you. Seriously, thank you.

Your support confirmed what we already knew: that the Philadelphia soccer community craves local, independent, high-quality soccer journalism. It showed us that this community is willing to support that journalism financially.

What are we doing with that money?

Mostly, we’ve covered outstanding hosting costs for the website. As longtime readers probably know, PSP doesn’t chase advertising. We’re open to it and have run ads in the past, but nobody on staff has the time or inclination to focus on it. So Ed Farnsworth and Dan Walsh have been paying the bills out of their own pockets pretty much since PSP started. With community support, that doesn’t have to happen anymore.

PSP’s short-term financial future is stable, and we’re happy about that.

The future of PSP

The question we face today is an optimistic one: Where can we go from here?

We have some plans with what to do with our operating budget this year. (To be clear, this is the first time PSP has had an operating budget.)

Our primary goal, as always, will be to support our contributors so that creating great journalism doesn’t cost anything out of pocket. We want our writers and photographers to be able to cover important away games in person without prohibitive expense, and to have the equipment they need to bring you the .

Another goal is improving the stability of the site. We’re looking into ways to improve the back end of the site, and — possibly — to significantly redesign the site for the first time since that first season. (We’ll want your feedback before we do anything drastic.)

And we’re planning to host some really cool events, starting with a PSP-hosted tailgate for this summer in connection with a Union match, a chance to gather with the PSP community and celebrate our love of soccer. (Details to come on that.)

What we don’t intend is to collect money just to collect money.

We’re eager for your feedback as to what you’d like to see from PSP. What do you think is possible? What would you like to see? What do you think?

Post a comment below or contact Dan directly at dwalsh@phillysoccerpage.com.

With the season starting, we’re beginning our week-long pledge drive here at the Philly Soccer Page. You can become a patron of the site — donating as little as $1 per month — by pledging at our Patreon page.

We continue to believe in local, independent, high-quality soccer journalism.

That’s been our goal since we started PSP in 2009, and that’s our goal as we near a decade of publishing.

We hope you’ll continue to support us in fulfilling that mission. Thanks for reading and supporting us.

Support PSP on Patreon here.

12 Comments

  1. el Pachyderm says:

    if I come to the tailgate, it will be with the little kids’ Disney music box that plays songs from The Jungle Book… Colonel Hatha’s March.

  2. Love everybody who writes, reads, and comments. Endless thanks to Ed and the longtime guys. I wonder if we’d have all come this far if the team performed well from day one. We’ve had a decade to piss and moan and hone our love/hate. I can’t imagine there’s an ATL blog that burns with the same intensity.
    .
    A website redesign makes me shiver. Simplicity is best! PSP tailgate sounds fun, wear your regular username(s) on a nametag if you dare.
    .
    I know we’re not all spring chickens anymore but I’d like to play a PSP pickup game sometime. I wonder if the ole Elephant can move like he can speaks.

    • “wear your regular username(s) on a nametag if you dare.”
      .
      Hi! My name is… Slim Shady!
      .
      .
      “I’d like to play a PSP pickup game sometime.”
      .
      I’d tentatively be down for this. I’ll almost certainly be the worst player there, and I’m OK with that.

  3. Referees sometimes say that all matches actually consist of three teams: the two XIs, of course, but also their crew.
    *
    I would like to extend that same logic to our favorite ten year-old soccer experiment, and say that Union matches really, fundamentally, entail four teams: the U, the opposition XI, the referees, and PSP.
    *
    Not unlike refereeing, regular blogging can feel thankless. When we commenters put our money where our mouses click, we keep the PSP team and site humming, and now (witness that parenthetical about operating budget) maybe even thriving.
    *
    Delighted to continue pledging (and occasionally plugging).
    *
    THANK YOU, TEAM PSP.

  4. OneManWolfpack says:

    A million thank you’s to everyone involved with this site… from Dan and Ed, to all the people who comment. I have been thoroughly educated on soccer and I’m grateful for it. As a contributor myself – I urge anyone who can contribute to do so – it’s well worth it. And I am all for a tailgate meetup – do it in Lot A!!

  5. looking forward to the tailgate!

  6. Tailgate should be on a double header day with a Steel game in the mix.

    • For whatever it’s worth, there are only two of those DHs and on the basis of absolutely no evidence whatsoever, I suspect the second one — Oct 6th — that has gotten no hyoe from the club might be a candidate for one of the games played in the lehigh valley. [Why else are they not hyoping a doubleheader on the Union’s last game of the regul;ar season?]
      .
      And yes, USL season ends later than the Union’s.

  7. Big thanks to everyone involved with the site. As a mostly fan and sometimes contributor, PSP has enhanced my enjoyment of the Union immeasurably.

    I’m in for everything – tailgate, pick-up, etc. I would have to agree with THE TRUTH – a redesign makes me shiver as well, but I know the site has had some issues in the past, so if it makes sense and we can keep the interface simple and design uncluttered…I wouldn’t hate the idea. I’d be happy to help if needed.

    Cheers to everyone!

  8. Dan Walsh says:

    Thanks, everyone, for the kind words and support. Your generosity keeps the site going.

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