When I first fell in love with journalism, it was almost exclusively through the printed word. I started reading the sports section in the daily newspaper around 9 years old, shortly thereafter I started getting Sports Illustrated from a neighbor, I must have been one of the last subscribers to Sport and would eventually spend a decade writing and editing dailies. Even now, I take the Sunday Seattle Times (despite rarely actually opening the physical paper).
I say all this to give context to what I hope is the next enduring stage of Sounder at Heart: We’re launching a print publication (in case you missed our earlier announcement). The name of the magazine is “IV” — pronounced “four” — and is meant to represent the fourth iteration of Sounder at Heart (first was the independent blog launched by Dave Clark, then its life on SB Nation, then the newly independent version). Our ultimate goal will be to cover the Pacific Northwest soccer scene, but for now we’re focusing on the Sounders and Reign.
Yes, I freely admit that it is at least partially a vanity project. I simply want to be a magazine editor.
But there’s also a utility to it. I think we can tell different kinds of stories through both words and images. The expectation is we’ll do some longer-form writing; some deeper reporting; flashy graphics and full-color photos; more expansive tactical and analytical writing; and generally flex some creative muscles that we don’t often get to when we’re focused on churning out web-based content.
Part of what got me so excited to go through with this project is that literally everyone I approached about potentially contributing expressed unbridled encouragement.
In this digital age, I think there’s become an appreciation for the analogue product again. People want something that’s more than a piece of content to consume, they desire something tactile that can sit on a coffee table and be shared. I don’t want to get too romantic about this, but I feel like this is an opportunity to create something enduring.
While we’re still working out some of the details, here’s some of what we have planned:
- Feature on Andrew Thomas, aka the most interesting man in Soundersland
- Q&A with Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer
- Statistical deep dive on how Seattle’s offensive style was overhauled in Schmetzer’s ninth MLS season
- A look at how women’s soccer has become big business
- We’ll also have a Seattle-soccer focused crossword puzzle, some fun infographics, a roster and a pull-out schedule among other things.
As usual, that’s where you come in. For this to be something more than a one- or two-off flash in the pan, we also need to make the economics work. That means we need to sell copies and probably attract advertisers.
Right now, we’re taking pre-orders and selling copies for $10 apiece, plus shipping (although there will be a pick-up option if you think you can attend our launch party in mid-February). If you have a business that wants to advertise, please fill out this form. Our intention is to have this ready before the first Sounders game of the season, but the content within will hopefully remain relevant for much longer.
We’ll of course be producing all our normal season-preview content as well, so we definitely have our work cut out for us. Hopefully, you’re as excited about this as I am.
