Welcome to the new Stumptown Footy! Again!

Hello hello! Welcome to Stumptown Footy version 3.0 – now housed on Ghost! The same site that was founded on SB Nation, thrown overboard by Vox and then found a home on Substack, and then packed it up and headed here due to having to share space with some unsavory (read: racist) newsletters has now found it's new permanent home (hopefully).

Things are still under construction here, and we're still in the process of getting content from the old site migrated over here. So things might feel just a tad sparse for a moment, but rest assured: there will be plenty of Portland Timbers and Portland Thorns content here very soon!

So, if you're not already, be sure you're subscribed so you don't miss all the new stuff as it goes live!

Here's your guide for all the bells and whistles here, and what to expect in the coming weeks.

Why here? And why now?

As we outlined in a post back on STF v2.0, it was time for a move. The site had outgrown Substack, and specifically the percentage of all subscriber fees the platform took. Here, 100% of what you pay will go directly to the pockets of the STF crew to help support them to continue to make the content you, and they, know and love.

In addition, as previously alluded to Substack as a housing platform was simply not doing enough to stop the spread of hateful and bigoted far right-wing content in its newsletters. Any amount of that is too much, and it is wholly unaligned with the values of this community.

And so, we find ourselves here. Ghost as a housing platform gives a lot more independence and creative control, and the entire team is really excited about it. Plus, this allows us to transition back to being a true-blue website, rather than just a beefed up newsletter.

Subscriptions and Tiers

Good news: if you were already subscribed to Stumptown Footy on Substack, you're all set here! Posts will still be able to be delivered via email, so you won't have to go hunting for the content as it comes. That being said, it will actually be easier now to find content due to some SEO magic from Ghost.io, which will help everyone in the long run.

If everything worked as intended you should automatically be signed up to the same subscription you were on the previous site. Free subscribers are still not being charged, and paying subscribers are still being charged at the same rate. If you want to change that, I highly recommend you do that as soon as possible!

Where's all the content and stuff?

Still in boxes in the back of friends' and families' cars strung out in traffic on the highway. In other words: still moving. Migrating content has been trickier than we thought, and so it's going to be a little bit before we get it moved over. Stay tuned.

Unfortunately, comments won't be able to be moved. Sorry you'll have to lose that one perfect and pithy response that fixed both the Timbers and Thorns! Speaking of comments, the process is very similar to on Substack. You will need to create an account for the site and be logged in to leave a comment.

Who all is here?

The same Stumptown Footy gang you know and love (hopefully?) is all here! And a few of them have some shiny new titles.

• Sam Svilar is still running things as Editor-in-Chief for all site content.
• Phuoc Nguyen is coordinating and managing Thorns content, as Thorns Managing Editor.
• Alex Barnes is still hammering the Timbers beat, as Senior Timbers Contributor.
• Wilder Isom, Melina Gaspar, Emma Swett, and Rocky McNeff are holding down the fort on all things BAONPDX as Thorns Contributing Writers.
• Luukas Ojala is still going to be putting out analysis pieces and player profiles as Technical Contributing Writer.
• And last but certainly not least, Kelsey Baker is running the sidelines as Site Photographer, getting all of the pictures that will grace our posts.

Well that's awesome y'all! So... what's next?

The first order of business: check out the new site's inaugural posts! Sam wrote all about the Portland Timbers playoff push in the final month of the season, as well as a reflection on the chaos and beauty that is the Portland Thorns. Plus, Alex and Luukas recorded a special Stumptown Radio episode that is exclusive to the new site at this moment!

The next step is getting the relevant pieces of content from the old site over here. Expect things like match recaps from the past few months to appear at some point, as well as podcast episodes and interviews.

The goal is to get everything we need on the new site, and shutter the Substack version for good. Might happen by the end of this month, might not. But at some point soon, this place will be the only place you need to go for STF's regular ramblings & rants.

Other cool things to expect in the coming week:

• An updating of the format and layout of the site.
• A more robust breakdown of the subscription tiers, with opportunities to engage with new content.
• A new home for the Stumptown Radio podcast (with maybe some video options?).
• More community engagement opportunities for you – the reader!

We keep Stumptown Footy alive because you are the ones who keep it thriving. The Timbers and Thorns communities continue to amaze all of us, and we are so deeply grateful that we get to share this experience of being PTFC with you all. So settle in, take a peek around, and get ready for a lot of cool stuff really soon.

Onward.