Today looks to be a day of expansion talk. First up is some news out of New York, or Queens rather. This release came into the Hooligan inbox earlier this morning. Now this movement sounds A LOT like what Sons of Ben did in Philadelphia not to long ago. It's still a bit early I think [...] Click to continue reading...

Delco Times has the scoop.

"The 18,500-seat stadium will be constructed at the foot of the Commodore Barry Bridge in Chester, just 13 miles from downtown Philadelphia and accessible by public transit and Interstate 95. The multi-purpose stadium will feature an 11,000 square foot club, 38 suites ranging in size from 8 to 21 seats (plus an owner's suite with 29 seats), a special 2,000 seat zone for the Sons of Ben supporters club, and a party deck overlooking the field and river.

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Not long ago there were a few guys with a dream of having an MLS club in their city banded together, organized, courted the media, the league and would be investors while their numbers continued to grow and their media footprint increased. This culminated in the awarding of the 16th MLS club to Philadelphia and much rejoicing among the aforementioned group of guys, known simply as the Sons of Ben now number in the thousands. Click to continue reading...

Here in Israel I've had pretty decent Internet access for the last week and half. But tomorrow the next segment of my journey begins -- Turkey. And I'm not sure what kinda access to the web I'll have.
While our favorite team from Euros is no longer competing, it should still be a blast. Click to continue reading...

I think this is exactly what Sons of Ben founder Bryan James had in mind. A Harrisburg City Island... Click to continue reading...

Highlights from the ever-inspiring Sons of Ben chat with Nick Sakiewicz on Jun 16, 2008 (see full transcript here):

Stadium:
-Planning electronic signage
-Architect of the stadium is Rossetti Architects (Home Depot, Toyota Park, Real Salt Lake). We will build a scale model for our sales center to be located at the site. Click to continue reading...

According to this rumor, New York expansion supporters club, the Borough Boys had a sit down session with major players within the Bloomberg Administration at City hall similar to the ones another supporters group, Sons Of Ben had with the local and state officials prior to Philadelphia becoming an official expansion club. Click to continue reading...

As you probably know by now, the US Open Cup kicks into high gear as the first round gets underway tomorrow night across the country. Sure, the matches for the most part will not be televised and sure most of these contests will take place at small stadiums, college and even high school pitches but that should take nothing away from the fact that this is the first round of OUR National Championship, Our FA Cup if you will. Click to continue reading...

Remember these guys?



They certainly have come a long way in a very short time.They now boast nearly 3,000
members and have their own media representatives, marketing arm, council of elders and one of the most recognizable logos in MLS.

Now they will soon have their very own section inside a brand new stadium constructed with them in mind. Click to continue reading...

Don Benevento of the Courier Post interviews a lot of South Jersey high school coaches (including my old one, Joe Falana) with "Fans should get a kick out of MLS". Nothing too special, but it certainly shows that the word is spreading.

The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff Gammage talks about the origins of football's team anthems. Click to continue reading...

A great piece on our new team and the spotlight is firmly on Bryan James and the Sons of Ben. Written by the always entertaining Steven Wells of Philadelphia Weekly.

Quick excerpt:

American soccer fan culture is as diverse as America itself. It cherry picks whatever the hell it wants from Europe, the Caribbean and Central and South America, and adds its own unique touches.

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It's official: Philadelphia has joined MLS and presumably no opposing fan anywhere in the league, is safe as MLS now has its own version of Milwall supporters. We mean that in the nicest kind of way.

Anyway...

We came across this courtesy of our friends at Center Holds It. Click to continue reading...

A good 1-2k showed up for the festivities at Turbine Hall, the whole investors' group was readily accessible, and a couple things were said that wasn't covered fully in the MLS Press Release. Continue below - first though, here is the video of Nick Sackiewicz addressing Sons of Ben at Dark Horse Tavern on Tuesday night. Click to continue reading...

As rumored, MLS will award the 16th franchise tomorrow afternoon to Philadelphia. MLS Commissioner Don Garber will join members of the local ownership group along with the governor and other political officials on Thursday at 2pm at Turbine Hall.

Fans are welcome to stop by and cheer on their new team. Click to continue reading...

"If you go to the Wharf in Chester, at 2:00pm, on Thursday, it won't be a waste of your time". Philly MLS CEO Nick Sakiewicz Much more was said, including talk about a possible women's team, but the guest of honor was former Red Bull New York head Nick Sakiewicz and a couple members of the [...] Click to continue reading...

After the Delaware River Port Authority signed off on the final piece of the Philadelphia puzzle yesterday, MLS appears ready to make it official, Philadelphia will be the 17th team in the league. The announcement is expect next Thursday (28 Feb) in Chester.

The new Philadelphia team will begin play in their 18,500-seat stadium in 2010. Click to continue reading...

"Tim Timminy, Tim Timminy,Tim Tim Teroo / We've got Tim Howard and he says fuck you!" The Guardian UK's Steven Wells profiled the Sons of Ben as they await the announcement - which could come any day now (coughendofthemonthcough...). Hell of a good read... Membership is now 1,200 strong and over 2,500 season ticket 'intentions' have [. Click to continue reading...

It looks like Philadelphia has won the race for the 16th MLS spot as the state is set to announce an agreement to use $45 million to partially fund construction of a soccer stadium in Chester. A formal announcement from the state is expected tomorrow.

Since this was the final piece MLS said was needed, it does appear that Philadelphia is about to become the 16th MLS team. Click to continue reading...

You might have heard of Philadelphia's Sons of Ben, the supporters' group without a team. They are, you see, very keen on MLS awarding Philadelphia an expansion franchise (currently hanging in the balance over funding), and they've attracted a lot of attention for their cause. They even showed up at the MLS draft this week [. Click to continue reading...

The greatest supporters club for a team that doesn't exist are making themselves known to the league as 25 members are trucking on down from Philadelphia to Baltimore for today's SuperDraft. There hope is to show the league that there are great people there and they "need these fans in the league."

The SOBs did something similar during last November's MLS Cup. Click to continue reading...

Philidelphia has some pretty good arguments for Major League Soccer to award their city an expansion franchise. The city has drawn capacity crowds for international exhibitions at Lincoln Financial Field. The Sons of Ben have been dedicated and passionate supporters of the league and their city despite not having a team, and they have proved over and again that they are ready for and deserve a team. Click to continue reading...

CLICK HERE for the video coverage in Media, PA which some of the supporter group Sons of Ben was on hand for. The stadium looks awesome and a lot different than most of the Rosetti planned sites that MLS aficionados have gotten used to. One step closer is all I can say - now it's up [...] Click to continue reading...

The Sons of Ben are a little closer to having a team to cheer on as 'Delaware County has agreed to spend $30 million for the construction of a soccer stadium on the Chester waterfront, bringing a Major League Soccer franchise closer to the Philadelphia region.'

And whom do soccer fans in the area have to thank for this money? The gambling industry. Click to continue reading...

If soccer is to ever be a success here in the US, supporter clubs must play a major role because it is through these clubs that fans unite as a community and that community is what makes a game into a match. At least that is what I think.

And it is because of this train of thought that I love seeing articles like this one in the Philadelphia Inquirer all about the Sons of Ben (SoBs). Click to continue reading...

Episode 14 of the Major League Soccer Podcast is now availible for direct downlaod or via Itunes. The episode features an interview with the Sons of Ben supporters group who are attempting to bring an MLS Club to the Philadephia area. Check out of the Sons of Ben website at http://www.sonsofben.net/Home/Home.html
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