Category Archives: blog news

another chance to win with WSOTP!

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want a free digital subscription to your favorite soccer magazine? read on to find out how!

If you’re anything like me, reading about soccer is one of your favorite past times. Whether its online news stories, browsing through footie-specific tweets, or my own website’s content — don’t worry, you won’t be the first to call me a narcissist – I will read it. Probably twice.

And though the advent of the internet has undoubtedly made reading about the beautiful game significantly easier, the dawn of easy-access soccer news means that I often overlook the old guard of football reporting… printed media. And that can suck, because some of the best writing out there comes packaged in the neatly printed pages of magazines such as FourFourTwo, World Soccer and Soccer America. However, the good folks at Zinio are trying to change all of that.

Missing out on the fantastic writing in your favorite magazines is now a thing of the past thanks to Zinio and their ultimate magazine experience for the digital age. Featuring award-winning apps for all of your favorite mobile operating platforms, Zinio allows you to read  your favorite magazines and sync your place across multiple devices, all while on the go with just a few swipes of your finger.

And to celebrate the resumption of the Champions League semifinals, Zinio have partnered with WSOTP to offer nine lucky readers the chance to test out their apps with a FREE digital subscription to their magazine of choice! That means if you’re selected as a winner, you’ll have the opportunity to select a subscription from one of thousands of fine publications such as:

  • FourFourTwo (1 year / 12 issues / $39.28 value)
  • Howler (1 year / 4 issues / $50.00 value)
  • Soccer America (1 year / 4 issues / $39.00 value)
  • World Soccer (1 year / 13 issues / $48.11 value)
  • XI Quarterly (1 year / 4 issues / $34.99 value)
  • UEFA Champions League Matchday (1 year / 12 issues / $30.38 value)

So, how exactly do you register for a chance to win your free, no-strings-attached subscription? As with the last give away, it’s as simple as taking three easy steps:

  1. If you’re not already, make sure that you follow WSOTP on Twitter or like us on Facebook.
  2. On Facebook, be sure to both Like AND Share this post.
  3. And/Or on Twitter, be sure to Retweet this tweet.
  4. You can register using both social media channels, meaning a maximum of two registrations per entrant.

I’ll announce the winners of this competition next Monday, May 6th, after I complete a random drawing. Sorry, you can only win a single subscription, so make sure you’ve got your favorite picked out ahead of time. Winners will then have one week to let me know of their subscription choice, and then Zinio will be in touch to show you how to get started. In the mean time, be sure to download the Zinio app from your favorite app store and check out their free articles, or check them out on your desktop at www.zinio.com. They hooked me up with a subscription just to try it out too, and I can tell you that it’s well worth the effort!

Can’t manage to wait and see if you’ve won? Zinio are also offering soccer fans up to 40% off on subscriptions through the end of May.

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so who exactly won that WSOTP shop grand opening giveaway?

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The WSOTP Shop Giveaway Draw

i held a virtual version of the champions league draw to electronically select the winner of the latest WSOTP giveaway!

Opening a webstore is a lot work. Not only do you have to come up with desirable products, select an online vendor (if you’re not savvy enough to build one yourself, like me), design the layout, and set up online payments… but you also have to get the word out. And that’s part of the reason I wanted to do a giveaway to celebrate the opening of the brand new WSOTP Shop.

Over the last week, social-network registrations have poured in from regular readers, friends of the blog and newbies a like. And thanks to your shares on Facebook and retweets on Twitter, over 2000 new faces were exposed to the store and WSOTP in general. So mission accomplished on getting the word out, and I thank you all very much for your help.

So with that said, you’re probably wondering which one of those registrants actually one their choice of a shirt from the shop. Having compiled them all in an electronic hopper, I randomly selected the following entrant as the winner of the WSOTP Shop Grand Opening Giveaway…

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the WSOTP shop grand opening and giveaway!

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it's virtual doors now open, don't miss out on your chance to win a free shirt!

its virtual doors now open, don’t miss out on your chance to win a free shirt from the new WSOTP Shop!

I’ve been writing Wrong Side of the Pond for just short of four years now, and it really is a marvel to see how far the site has come along. No longer just a basic soccer blog, it has slowly morphed into a site where fans of the beautiful game can come to find and watch games with like-minded supporters all across the country. Partnerships with other sites, exclusive scoops and giveaways for readers are just a few of the highlights in WSOTP’s expansion across the web that I could barely have fathomed four years ago.

And today, I’m pleased to announce the next milestone in the site’s evolution: the opening of the WSOTP Shop.

That’s right kids, you can finally get your hands on official blog and soccer culture ‘merch. Not only that, but to celebrate the opening of the shop, I’m giving one lucky reader a chance to win a FREE item from the shop of their choosing!

So, what is it exactly that am I offering in this new store?

The Initial WSOTP Shirt Offerings

the first designs on offer in the WSOTP Shop. (Click the image for a slightly closer look)

Well, to start things off we’re keeping it simple with two t-shirt offerings. The first is a long-requested and reader-suggested official WSOTP Logo Shirt. The second is a design that pays homage to my hometown of Cincinnati’s love of soccer — even though we lack a fully professional club — with a design based off of the city’s official flag. Each design is screen-printed on American Apparel’s Fine Jersey Tee, meaning you’ll be pulling on a high quality shirt with a classic look and feel. And as an added bonus, $5 from the purchase of each shirt will go to the US Soccer Foundation to help develop the game around the country… so you don’t have to feel guilty about buying yourself one!

Pre-orders are now open with delivery expected in early May.

Now, the details and instructions about the giveaway you’ve all been scanning for:

  1. There’s a posting on both the official site Facebook and Twitter feeds about this post. You’ll need to either “Share” this post or “Retweet” this tweet to register yourself. And while you’re there, if you haven’t already, give me a like and/or a follow.
  2. Clever readers will want to know if they’re able to register through both Facebook and Twitter. And I’m feeling benevolent, so yes, you can. That means you’ll be able to register a grand total of twice.
  3. The deadline for registering will be Tuesday, April 16th, 2013 at 10:00pm EST.
  4. One winner will be selected at random from the total list of entries that evening, and will be notified by Private/Direct Message through their social media channel.
  5. The winner will have one week to select a design of their choosing in whatever size they like and notify Wrong Side of the Pond of their selection by email.
  6. Delivery of the shirt will coincide with the first batch from the current pre-order period.

However, if you don’t want to tempt chance and want to score one or both of the shirts — and why not another for your kid/friend/neighbor/girlfriend too?! — you can enter the WSOTP Shop with the link below or in the sidebar to pre-order your shirt today. That’s what I would do at least.

ENTER THE WSOTP SHOP HERE.

the anatomy of a “league of blogs” submission

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Outside of my weekly Ten Words or Less postings, I don’t do a whole lot of pushing of other soccer blogs in this space. The reason for that is fairly simple: once I finally get you to visit WSOTP, the last thing I want to do is send your eyeballs elsewhere. But I really should try to engage with and tell you readers about some of the other blogs out there, as there are quite a few worthy sites worth checking out. Who knows: a little cross-promotion might even might even lead to more eyeballs landing on my site because of it.

The Football Attic League of Blogs

it’s that time of year again!

Anyway, one of my favorite spots to visit regularly is The Football Attic. Based out of the UK, they catalog football nostalgia ranging from football games (Subbuteo) and collectors items (panini stickers) and retro-kits. Their blog is a virtual treasure trove for soccer hipsters the world over, and I can’t recommend them highly enough if you’re into what some consider the nerdy side of the game.

Last year, the guys at The Football Attic were even able to draw me out of my comfort zone to interact with my fellow soccer bloggers to participate in their inaugural “League of Blogs” project. Their aim: to get as many bloggers from our industry to design their own Subbuteo figure kit to represent their blog. A staggering 92 different kit designs were submitted from around the blogosphere, spanning a wide array of looks. An funnily enough, they even selected mine as their favorite of the batch… an honor I’m very proud of, as you might expect.

So when they announced that the 2013 edition of the “League of Blogs” was set to kick off yesterday, I was ready for them. The weight of expectation from last year’s high marks had me working on this year’s designs (I’m also including an away kit this year) the moment they hinted about it on their Twitter account last week. And for me, this raised a series of interesting debates.

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let me count the ways

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Mrs. WSOTP

there’s nothing more attractive — to me at least — than a pretty girl drinking a craft beer in a spurs shirt.

Tomorrow is the Feast of Saint Valentine, the patron saint of affianced couples, happy marriages and love — among other oddities such as bee keepers, epilepsy and the plague. Traditionally a Roman Catholic holiday, modern capitalism has exploited it and turned it into a yearly economic stimulus for greeting card companies, jewelers and the floral industry… and possibly turned it into one of the most dreaded days ever for men the world over.

As a married man, I too can be counted in those numbers. For one, it falls during the same month as my wife’s birthday: a double whammy my wallet surely feels. But it’s also because I find it difficult to come up with unique ideas other than the standard bouquet of flowers and fancy-smanshy dinner. Perhaps that’s because I’m always thinking about what I should write next in this space, but that’s an argument for another day.

For those of you surprised that I’m married, you’re not the only ones. Considering that all I really ever care to talk/care/think about is soccer, you would think most girls would quickly run for the hills due to the extreme boredom felt from being subjected to the my near continuous rants and ravings over the game.

So how was I ever able to convince some young lady to stick it out with me? Allow me to highlight a few tweets I made summarizing a conversation my wife and I had just two days ago, which I think sheds light on just how I was able to trick a girl into marrying me (read top-down):

Why Mrs. WSOTP Loves MeYes, the girl I married has dreams where she is the match-winning hero for the US Men’s National Team. Not the Women’s National Team. The Men’s. And apparently she wants to kiss them all afterward, which is a little weird for a game winning celebration, unless of course you’re Diego Maradona.

Therefore as you might expect, the reason why my wife and I are the perfect match for one another is because she is just as soccer obsessed as I am. Well, maybe not quite as much — she can only handle watching two matches a day — but she’s at least close. So she get’s my obsession. And that’s at least 81% of the reason I asked her to marry me in the first place. A favorable statistic for ensuring our long-term prospects, right?

And while I don’t necessarily have an idea yet for this Valentine’s Day to show my lovely, footie-obsessed wife just how much I love her… I do hope this public declaration is a good start. Plus if I’m really cheap lucky, Tottenham delivering a win on V-Day might be all the gift she would want. Crosses-fingers.

So happy Valentine’s Day, Mrs. WSOTP. Thanks for putting up with me — and the blog — for this long. Here’s hoping you continue to do so for many years to come. Otherwise, who’s going to edit all of my postings?

</sappylovepost>

WSOTP x the free beer movement

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WSOTP x The Free Beer Movement

wrong side of the pond is teaming up with the free beer movement to help you find a pub to watch your game.

Despite regularly claiming that I live on the wrong side of the pond, things have actually gotten much better for American soccer fans as of late. Football has, if nothing else, gained respect in the American sporting arena — just don’t ask Sepp Blatter his thoughts on the matter. The reasons for this surge in popularity are many and varied: the successes for the USMNT and UWSNT, better on-field product both in MLS and Americans abroad, and the increased exposure of European leagues.

But there’s also been organic growth, too, brought upon by the American fans hoping to make soccer more accepted among their non-converted peers. One of the leaders in those efforts are the stalwarts over at The Free Beer Movement. Their mission is simple:  to educate not-yet-converted, but willing, friends, family, and colleagues in exchange for a beer here and there. And unsurprisingly, the movement has caught wind and is helping soccer attract new fans in the US.

Well, today, I’m pleased to announce that WSOTP is partnering with FBM to help existing and new fans alike to find a soccer-friendly, hospitable environment to take in a match! Through this collaboration, the WSOTP Soccer Pub Atlas will be featured on the http://www.thefreebeermovement.com to aid those looking for a pub or bar to watch their games. Pretty cool, huh?

Anyway, be sure to mosey on over to FBM’s site to check out what they have to offer. And if you like the sound of the idea, start thinking of a friend to drag along to the bar for the next game you go to watch. After all, are they really going to turn down a free beer?!

and the winner is…

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WSOTP's Contest Winner

instead of having my wife pull the winner’s name out of a hat, originally i had much more grand plans for the announcement. they fell through.

Well I have to admit, running these giveaways are a quite the experience. It’s exciting for me, to see all of this interaction with readers, both new and veteran alike. The idea of giving something away to all of you — aside from my extremely valuable words and thoughts, of course — is admittedly pretty fun. And after a week’s worth of anticipation, tonight’s the night I have the privilege announce which one of you lucky Wrong Side of the Pond Facebook fans get’s to take home the prize.

But first, a big shout out is in order for our sponsor for this giveaway, protective sports apparel company Storelli Sports. Being completely honest, I’m pretty jealous of the winner getting to take home a free pair of their BodyShield Sliders… I’ve been eyeing them myself for a while now. And let’s be honest, without our good friends at Storelli, all of you would be stuck with nothing more than the aforementioned words and thoughts.

So, the winner… right?

Fifty-three readers signed up for the giveaway, twenty-three of which were brand new fans of the blog. And perhaps fittingly, it was one of those new readers who get’s to take home the prize. So it’s with great pleasure that I can announce that the winner of our Wrong Side of the Pond giveaway is:

WSOTP-Storelli Giveaway Winner Brad McNutt

Congratulations, Brad! We’ll be in touch with you soon to arrange to have your free pair of Storelli BodyShield Sliders sent you. And since I happen to know Brad is a big Newcastle fan, let’s just consider this a peace-offering when Spurs march out of St. James’ Sport Direct Park on August 18th with three points under their belts.

For all the rest of you new Facebook fans, and those of you who’ve been around for a while, stick around. I promise it’ll be worth your while. Cheers!

i “liked” WSOTP on facebook, and all i got was this awesome gear

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WSOTP and Storelli-Gift

omg… wrong side of the pond got me storelli sliders!?!?!

You probably won’t find this shocking, but I think “Liking” the Wrong Side of the Pond page on Facebook is a pretty great idea. As you might expect, the benefits for doing so are many: you’re the first to know when posts land on the blog, you’re privy to view albums from my various adventures in the world of football, and you have the ability to interact directly with me… an honor some might kill for.

And while I think that’s ample reason for you readers to click this link and “Like” the blog, I begrudgingly must accept that for some of you, well, that’s just not enough.

Fine, how about a little extra incentive then?

Starting today, Sunday, July 29th, at the time of posting, everyone who gives WSOTP a “Like” on our Facebook page before 11:59pm EST on Friday, August 3rd, will be registered for a chance to win a free pair of BodyShield Sliders shorts from our friends at Storelli Sports!

These aren’t just your average pair of compression shorts, either. Storelli’s BodyShield Sliders offer you not only light-weight and sweat-wicking properties you would expect from your gear during competitive matches, but they also incorporate 3mm of innovative, flexible foam technology that protects you every time you dive or slide without hindering your movements. The thinness of the foam, and its flexibility, means they’re perfect for both goalkeepers and field players. Thanks to anti-microbial treatments, they’re also far less likely to retain your stink after each match — which is perfect for those of you who might not have a mom/wife doing your laundry properly for you.

And considering they cost nearly $60 retail, the chance of landing a free pair of these in the size of your choosing is well worth the simple few clicks to “Like” us on Facebook… wouldn’t you agree?

Storelli BodyShield Sliders
Alright, so if you’re still reading to this point, you’re probably looking for specifics, or perhaps the official rules and regulations:

  1. “Like” Wrong Side of the Pond on Facebook before 11:59pm EST on Friday, 8/3/2012.
    1. If you’ve already “Liked” the blog at some point in the past, verify that you still do, and then comment on the Facebook posting for this article so your name can be added to the registration list. I can’t in good conscience leave out you loyal readers.
    2. A quick FYI to all of my extended family: I’m sadly ruling all of you as ineligible, so nobody can blame me for FIFA-like bribery and corruption. And before you ask: yes, I’m including myself in this ban.
  2. Wait patiently.
  3. On Sunday, August 5th, 2012, I will place every registrant name in a hat, and have my lovely assistant wife draw a single name from the hat.
  4. The winner will be announced in a new blog post at 8pm that evening.
    1. Announced winner will then be contacted via Facebook and will need to provide a mailing address and your desired size of the white BodyShield Sliders by Storelli. (Sizing instructions here.)
    2. This mailing address will be used solely for mailing you your free swag. WSOTP and Storelli Sports promise not to sell your information on to any Nigerian scammers, Japanese pirates, or US government officials… or anyone else for that matter.
  5. Storelli will then ship you your brand new slider shorts. Once received, you can run and slide about like a bat out of hell thanks to your new futuristic compression shorts!

So if you ask me — and again, I’m a little biased — giving Wrong Side of the Pond a “Like” is a pretty good idea right about now. SO WHY ARE YOU STILL READING THIS?!?! GET ON WITH IT ALREADY!!!

[After you've done that, be sure to read my interview with Storelli Sports founder, Claudio Storelli.]

WSOTP x TFC

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As both a fan and writer of the beautiful game, I often find that striking a balance between writing about topics I’m personally concerned with (Spurs!) and writing posts that appeal to a wider audience (anything not Spurs) to be a pretty difficult task. And since the dawn of WSOTP, I’ve generally tried to avoid posting back to back Tottenham articles for that very reason.

The Fighting Cock

http://www.thefightingcock.co.uk

So since my last post was focused on the Lillywhites, that means this post shouldn’t be, right? Well actually, I’m going to quasi-break my own rule. You see this newest Spurs article I’ve written isn’t on this site; it’s actually on another site.

BOOM… loophole.

While I know that many of you rely solely on my blog to stay up to date on the latest happenings in the world’s game (I kid), there are actually other blogs out there, too. Shocking, eh? As it turns out, many of them are actually quite good too. One of my favorites happens to be The Fighting Cock, a podcast/blog run by eight Spurs fans based in the UK. And to my bewilderment, the lot have been kind enough to allow me to pen a guest post on their blog.

So if you’d wouldn’t mind hearing me rant on again about Tottenham for another 1500 words or so, click here to read “Clearing the hurdles” on TheFightingCock.co.uk. →

ten words or less #43

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real madrid christmas marcelo, ramos, perez, mourinho, cassilas, higuain

even the men of real madrid thought it worth celebrating the blog's 20,000th visitor.

Despite the fact that the holidays are generally a festive time of the year, we have extra reason to celebrate on Christmas 2011: wrongsideofthepond.com crossing the 20,000 unique visitor milestone. I devoted an entire post — and even unveiled an official URL — to commemorate eclipsing the 10,000 mark, so I lament to report that I’ve only prepared you a lame-o TWOL post to celebrate this time around. I’m bad with Christmas gifts, what can I say?

I do have to admit that, after looking over that 10k post, I feel like the blog has come lightyears since. I’d like to think that my content has improved, as well as my writing… though I’ll allow you readers to have the final say on that. If nothing else, it’s been pretty cool to see how fast the site’s traffic has actually grown: while it took just under two years to hit 10,000 visitors, it only took around 10 months to double that figure. And I have to thank you, my readers, for the large part you played in helping to spread the word.

So as you gather with family, friends and the like this today, regardless your traditions, just know that whatever parades and celebrations you see on TV today are being thrown to celebrate this blog reaching such “historic” heights… and not some longstanding religious tradition or anything like that. Cheers, and Happy Holidays!

‘Arry get’s busted. Very circuitously. But still busted. – unprofessionalfoul.com

SWRL: the world’s first freestyle soccer lifestyle brand… pretty sick. – swrlworld.com

Seriously. What the hell is wrong with the Belgian league? – cheeseslices.co.uk

Not exactly a normal academy, but a great idea regardless. – kckrs.com

Enrique’s progress on bringing Barcelona to Rome. – zonalmarking.net

The Blizzard… my first digital periodical download. – theblizzard.co.uk

So if I followed, Borges is the Brazilian Darren Bent? – inbedwithmaradona.com

Even if Pepe breaks your leg, he’ll make you cookies. – dirtytackle.net