An article in this week’s New York Times discussed the amazing turn-around at Sporting KC. Before the current ownership bought the team in 2006, author Joel Petterson writes that the then-Wizards ”ranked last in the league in almost every popularity category, from average attendance to merchandise revenue.” And, according to then former player and current assistant coach Kerry …
Read Full ArticleMonthly Archives:: April 2012
Help Ensure XI Is Ad-Free – Drive to $15,000
XI has hit the $11,000 needed to launch the quarterly, and we’ve outlined how that money will be spent. One question that remains up in the air is whether XI should include advertising in the publication, especially during the difficult first year of operation financially. Quite frankly, the XI team does not want to do this. …
Read Full ArticleWhat’s all the money for?
When the pledges to the XI Kickstarter campaign hit the goal of $11,000 on Monday, we breathed a collective sigh of relief. There was a back-up plan for publishing XI in print without these funds but it was always just that: a back-up plan, not the plan we wanted to use. It involved severely limiting costs, using a print-on-demand …
Read Full Article“XI Says Soccer. CMYK Says Print.” – XI Designs
XI did not just want to release yet another run-of-the-mill scarf or shirt. Instead, XI Art Director Liam Murtaugh worked to create a distinctive look and feel that reflects the values of XI. Here’s what he has come up with:
Read Full ArticleXI Quarterly Hits Fundraising Goal (What Next?)
You did it. XI Quarterly will be publishing in print this summer, having successfully reached the $11,000 fundraising goal on Kickstarter. This has truly been a grassroots effort, and demonstrates the broad desire of a North American soccer public keen to have serious content to digest about the game they love: this project was not …
Read Full ArticleBeyond the Blog? The Future of American Soccer Journalism
Yesterday, the ubiquitous (and I mean that in a genuinely nice way) American soccer blogger/podcaster/twitterati Jason Davis tweeted “Randomly came across another old @TIAS post. Are we finally taking steps with @xiquarterly and @whatahowler?” The post in question at This Is American Soccer (TIAS), one of the oldest and most thoughtful American soccer blogs out there, was …
Read Full ArticleGood soccer reads #2
There has always been a tension in North American soccer between maintaining traditions and trying new things. In some ways, this tension has to do with the type of fans pro soccer on these shores seeks to attract. Fans more familiar with soccer in other countries may find innovations such as hockey-style shootouts to break …
Read Full ArticleNow, what should XI look like?
“[The contradiction of the localized and the internationalized] is exemplified by the discursive frame, with its displays of the local to the international (and vice versa) within the context of globalized cultural journeys. The discursive offers the potential… to operate within smallish groupings out of sync with contemporary circumstances, yet deeply embedded within such circumstances’ …
Read Full ArticleXI Pledge Party
If you’re in Chicago – home of XI co-founder Tom Dunmore – you’re invited to the XI pledge party next Friday! If you’re on Facebook, RSVP and help spread the word.
Read Full ArticleXI Fundraising Progress – All or Nothing
When one places a project on Kickstarter, the toughest psychological part is selecting the target fundraising total. Kickstarter works on a simple premise: if you hit your goal, you get all the money (well, after a few processing fees); if you don’t, you don’t receive a penny and you do get a ton of disappointment for …
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