A Newsletter Update and Look Ahead at the Soccer Weekend

Hey there! I wanted to take some time to update you on what I’m working on here for the newsletter and what I’ll be experimenting with in the weeks ahead to see what works and what doesn’t. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you signing up to get my posts in your inbox, whether it’s free posts only or all my posts with a paid subscription. It’s my job to give you quality worth paying for, and I promise I’ll do everything I can to earn that paid subscription.

First off, some transparency: Exactly one month after our launch, we’re at 514 paid subscribers and 3,840 free sign-ups on our email list. That’s a great start (thank you!), but we’ll need a lot more by the one-year mark to make this newsletter sustainable. So if you do like what you’re getting, I’d really appreciate it if you’d consider recommending our newsletter to your friends. 

If you have any thoughts on things you like and don’t like in the current newsletter, or suggestions for things you’d like to see, please post them in the comments below. I really do want to hear what you have to say. Should we add a Discord channel for paid subscribers? Any other bells and whistles?

Moving forward, a few things will remain free. That includes the audio version of my twice-weekly podcast, which features instant-reaction episodes to every single USMNT World Cup qualifier with Landon Donovan and Chris Wittyngham; a weekly breakdown of the soccer weekend with Chris and me; and a 156-episode catalog of interviews with a wide range of the sport’s most intriguing figures. (We just announced a podcast partnership with Meadowlark Media, run by former ESPN president John Skipper and Dan Le Batard, which instantly increases our audience by about 400%, so let me know if any of you are advertisers interested in getting your word out!)

Another thing that will remain free are my “3 Thoughts” posts immediately after big games. We’ve already been doing that for USMNT World Cup qualifiers, and starting Saturday with Chelsea-Man City we’re going to try picking one Game of the Weekend and give it the 3 Thoughts treatment while asking for your takes as well. 

Other things are going to start moving behind the paywall. That includes ambitious magazine-style feature stories like the one where I visited Jesse Marsch in Leipzig and the big stories I’m writing on-location for every USMNT World Cup qualifier that get sent to your inbox at 9 am ET the next morning. For those stories, I promise there will be content that you don’t see in any other outlet covering those World Cup qualifiers.

All my magazine-style stories so far have featured special artwork by the uber-talented Dan Leydon. And if you really like Dan’s work, you can order your own prints here.

This newsletter is all about providing quality worth paying for, and the whole point is for me not to be on the hamster wheel churning out quantity and filler and looking for clicks. So I’m going to be devoting a lot of my time to writing quality magazine-style stories that people will remember. I’m spending time with some fascinating people this weekend for one of those stories, which I’m planning to publish before the next World Cup qualifiers. Stay tune

What else will you get from the newsletter? The written versions of the podcast interviews will be available to paid subscribers. I’ll also have occasional “You Tell Me” discussion threads, Audio Dispatches from the USMNT World Cup qualifiers, Mailbag columns and old-fashioned one-subject writerly columns (especially at times when I’m not working on a magazine-style feature). 

A lot of times those writerly columns will appear on Fridays, like this piece, and I’ll include some other elements, so keep reading below!

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BEST GAMES OF THE WEEKEND

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that every Tuesday and Friday I have posts with my best weekend and mid-week games from around the world and include a link that allows you to import the games on my radar to your Google calendar. The blocks are color-coded by country, and women’s games are in orange. It’s the same calendar I use to plan my soccer trips months and even years out, since it has all the World Cups, major events and FIFA windows way down the road as well.

Here are the best games on tap for me this weekend:

CHELSEA-MANCHESTER CITY

Saturday, 7:30 am ET, NBCSN, Universo

Time to get up early for the showdown between the defending Champions League winner and the defending Premier League champion.

AMÉRICA-CHIVAS

Saturday, 10 pm ET, Univision, TUDN

Mexico’s most storied rivalry is worth seeing even if you don’t follow Liga MX, and Santiago Solari’s América is the best team in CONCACAF. Plus this is the only big soccer game on free over-the-air TV all weekend.

LAZIO-ROMA

Sunday, noon ET, CBSSN, Paramount+

Another great rivalry game involving two teams with big aspirations in Serie A this season.

ARSENAL-SPURS

Sunday, 11:30 am ET, NBCSN, Telemundo

It’s the North London Derby. Enough said.

KANSAS CITY-SEATTLE

Sunday, 7 pm ET, FS1

The two leading teams in the MLS West square off.

OL REIGN-ORLANDO WOMEN

Sunday, 7 pm ET, Twitch

I’m psyched that the NWSL didn’t overlap games on Sunday and instead has a tripleheader with this one as the attractive capstone.

INTER-ATALANTA

Saturday, noon ET, Paramount+

The defending Serie A champs host one of the favorite hipster teams in world soccer.

REAL MADRID-VILLARREAL

Saturday, 3 pm ET, ESPN+

So far, it seems like Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid are going to separate from the pack in Spain. But Villarreal is a legit team that could make a statement here.

Enjoy the weekend!