Steven Wells Says Goodbye
Long-time SoB chronicler Steven Wells died Tuesday after a battle with cancer. While many people have helped us fly the SoB kite higher and higher these last few years, he was the person that threw it up in the air. He wrote about us in Philadelphia Weekly, FourFourTwo, and The Guardian…apart from a small little blurb in Sports Illustrated he was the source of all our solid media credits for months. He was at our first tailgate – he took the well-known picture of all of us there. He saw what we were really doing and what we were capable of doing before any of us did, I think. He gave us relevance. Apart from what he did for us he was an amazing writer as well…he had the most unique voice in his pieces, and possessed an incredible ability to weave a story. He championed American soccer to his English countrymen, because he’s seen what’s been going on here (especially in the stands) and loved it. He was the person I was looking most forward to seeing at the first game next year; I envisioned handing him another can of Phoenix Pale Ale at our second “first tailgate” in 2010. He is going to be missed.
His final article: http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/in-extremis/Steven-Wells-Says-Goodbye-49054426.html
Articles about the SoBs, the Union and American supporters culture: http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/arts-and-culture/a-list-38425559.html (our second tailgate) http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/cover-story/38465969.html (our huge 2008 cover story) http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/in-extremis/Root-for-That-Union-Label-44740457.html (covering the Union announcement) http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/feb/20/sport.comment1 (right before the franchise awarding) http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/mar/13/ussport.football (right after the franchise awarding) http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2007/jun/06/sport.comment (about the growth of supporter culture in the US) http://www.leaguelineup.com/sonsofben/images/FourFourTwo_June07.jpg (scan of the FourFourTwo article)
