Happy New Year!

We’ve made it through one of the most difficult years we’ve all lived through. For a host of reasons, this year has just been a monster. The pandemic, the political upheaval, the economic stress, it’s been bad. Surviving this year has been accomplishment we should all feel pride in. And many of us have suffered losses that will stain us forever, may the new year be a chance to find peace and comfort as life continues. But 2021 is upon us, so while it’s natural to look forward to a new year, at least for a moment, I want to look back over this year and what it’s meant for this little corner of the internet.

When this year kicked off, January was a blah year for content production. Most of the fresh material was my awful column “Old Man Yells at Sky,” which I am happy to report is long dead. Josh was always opposed to it, and rightfully so. It was self-indulgent and boring. I had modeled it after a column on old Deadspin that I loved, but it just never took off as I had hoped it would. Win some, you lose some.

From there the pandemic really took over the site this year. We focused on the league cancellations, the holdouts that played anyway, the concerns for player and public health, and we had some opinions - both right and wrong about things. I’ll give credit to the clubs and leagues that did play, unless there was a massive cover up, it didn’t lead to any super-spreader events, which was our big concern. At least one piece of happy news this year!

To be honest, there was some debate within our staff to shut down for the year. I was persuaded in that direction, to be transparent. But a couple of the guys on the staff, particularly Josh, argued that we should keep the lights on and produce content. The sport would continue to exist, so we should continue to support it with coverage. And so we did. And I think it was the best decision we made.

Speaking of great decisions, Josh’s idea to roll out sticker club really elevated our Patreon and brought a great number of new people into our subscriber list. I have to give him credit, not only was it his idea, but it also has been run by him since day one. He owns that stuff entirely. We often say we couldn’t do this without our subscribers, and it’s true (thanks!), but we couldn’t do sticker club and all the giveaways without Josh. I’m lucky he’s my co-editor, and, more importantly, my friend.

Our staff grew this year with some familiar faces returning and some new ones joining in as well. Steven Ramirez, Dan Creel, and Ryan Stallings all hopped back into the fold, which thrills this old man’s heart. Love those guys like brothers and, when they left, I felt their absence. New to the crew was John Howard-Fusco, who made his first appearance on a podcast in early March and soon after became one of the headliners of a show he named “Knights Who Say NISA.” It’s such an honor to share the mic with him every week. He puts up with me talking shit and I put up with his slow-ass internet. Of course, Dan Creel joined KWSN this year also, bringing his knowledge of the history of the game and a penchant for zinging me. Love those dorks. Lis Schendel became a regular guest on the Weekly and I certainly consider her an important contributor to what we do in podcasting. If she ever decides to write something, she’s got my email. I think her voice is vital to the conversation and I’m so happy she puts up with us. New to the fold just this month is Danielle Gawronski, a skilled writer who brings an impressive knowledge of the game, both as an analyst and a referee. Can’t wait to see what she will add to the mix here. All in all, it’s an awesome team, I’m glad to be the figurehead.

And a quick note to those of you that have worked with us in the past or maybe planned to and decided not to, I’m always willing to work with people who want to contribute. You’ve got my email.

And now we look forward to 2021. We’ve got some big plans for the year. Another throwback kit is being planned. Some cool guest hosts are scheduled for our Weekly show. Definitely got plans for new merch. The Sticker Club packs are gorgeous (Josh has them planned out already). We’re even tossing around the idea of some sort of printed publication. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll have actual soccer to report on!

I know some people imagine that we play favorites and ignore leagues and a host of other rumors and claims we see online. All I can say is we love the game, from coast to coast, border to border, we’ve met some of the best people in the world and we write about them and the sport they and we love. I’d also say, if you don’t like what we do, start a site, a youtube channel, a podcast, a club. Do something real to grow the game, don’t just throw rocks through windows. There’s enough negativity in the world kill us all. Let it go and be productive. I promise you, we’ll support it. No matter what happens in 2021, Protagonist Soccer will continue to do what we’ve always done: provide the best coverage of the beautiful game that we can.

I cannot believe we’re headed into year 4 of this crazy thing, but it’s real and it’s spectacular. Happy New Year, everyone!

- Dan Vaughn