July 12 marks the 6 month anniversary of the official founding of Sons of Ben. In that time, and keeping in mind we do not have a team to support yet, the statistics and facts about us are astonishing.

• Current membership is at 363

• Current number of Charter Members stands at 34

• The old SoB homepage has received close to 11,000 hits

• The new SoB homepage (since going live on June 8, 2007) has received over 2,700 visitors

• We have gotten coverage in the June 2007 issue of FourFourTwo (one of England’s largest soccer magazines)

• We have gotten coverage on The Guardian Unlimited Sport Blog (based in England) as an “independent, witty, irreverent fan culture”.

• We have gotten coverage closer to home, in the June 25, 2007 issue of Sports Illustrated as “Fans of the Week”.

• The 2 G’s, a soccer-centric radio broadcast/podcast, has mentioned our efforts in their show on June 29, 2007

• Our volunteer efforts at the MLS Futbolito 4v4 Tournament on June 30, 2007 was a huge success. Unfortunately the teams we fielded couldn’t being home any hardware … but there’s always next year!

• Our logo, the Jolly Franklin has been updated with the motto “Ad Finem Fidelis”, a Latin phrase describing the true spirit of Philadelphia and soccer fans while reminding Sons of Ben of their mission, supporting the Philadelphia team to the final whistle and beyond, both on and off the pitch

• Our merchandise is expanding, with a second scarf, embroidered items (polos and fitted caps), and items on our CafePress store (www.cafepress.com/sonsofben)

• We have set up a Flickr group (www.flickr.com/groups/sonsofben) to share all the photos taken from various activities, outings, and get-togethers

Let’s hope the 3rd Quarter Report for 2007 will begin with the news of a team coming to our city.