Regular visitors to the Triangle Soccer Fanatics website will notice that we have a new look website.  But that’s not the only thing that is new with our supporters club in 2010.  We have lots of exciting new things coming your way this season!

TSF Now Free for Everyone

For the past 4 years, a growing number of RailHawks fans have contributed $25-35 per year to the building of the foundation of Triangle Soccer Fanatics as a supporters club.  I am now pleased to announce that we have reached the critical mass necessary to allow TSF to operate without charging a yearly membership fee meaning now EVERYONE can join TSF for FREE.

Simply visit our sign-up page and register for a free membership so we can keep you up-to-date with all the news, events, promotions, and discounts available to TSF members.

New Members’ Social Site

Now that membership is free, we have put together a social site for our members that allows you to easily communicate with other RailHawks fans and makes it easy for you to track our events and RSVP if you plan to attend one of our many meetups .  This site will also be very important as the World Cup nears as this is where we’ll post the information on every one of our South Africa 2010 watching parties.  Visit the new members’ social site now at http://events.trisoccerfan.com

New Event Calendar

Part of the new social site is a fantastic events calendar which tracks all of our events and can even be imported into your favorite calendar program such as Microsoft Outlook or Google Calendar.  Start planning your soccer-related schedule by visiting http://events.trisoccerfan.com/calendar.

New Online Store

As part of our new website, we have added a couple of new online store options.  Through our site, we’ll be selling discount match tickets in the 204 Depot and exclusive supporters merchandise such as bumper magnets and a killer new TSF 2010 t-shirt.

We have also opened a CafePress shop where you can buy lots of different TSF-branded apparel and other items such as calendars which include players and fans photos, clocks, buttons, stickers, and more.  We are also working on a deal right now that will allow us to also sell some RailHawks logowear and other items through this store once the season starts!

New Player Ratings & RailHawk of the Year Contest

An ultra-cool feature of the new website is going to be our new player ratings capability to be rolled out shortly.  After each RailHawks match, starting with the regular season opener on April 10th, you’ll be able to login to the TSF site and submit your player ratings for each person that played in that match.  Over the season, we will track the ratings of all players and at the end of the season, we will name the first ever TSF Supporters’ Player of the Year. The player who has the highest rating over the course of the entire season will win a $100 gift certificate for him and his friends to visit TSF’s newest pub partner.

New Pub Partner

With the World Cup less than 100 days, TSF is pleased to announced that we have partnered with Trali Irish Pub and Restaurant.  In addition to sponsoring our RailHawk of the Year contest, Trali will be doing a number of things throughout the year to cater to TSF members including opening early for us during the World Cup for our viewing parties.

New Community Outreach Program

In 2010, TSF will be collecting used soccer gear to donate to players in need of equipment through the Passback program.  You’ll be able to bring your used boots, guards, socks, and other soccer accessories  to RailHawks matches and donate them through TSF to players in the Triangle, around the United States, and in other countries that are in need of this gear to enjoy playing the Beautiful Game.

More Articles, More Authors

Those of you that have followed the website for many years will surely have noticed the large drop off in articles posted online last year as the site moved more towards Twitter updates instead.  I must apologize for falling off on keeping you up-to-date with all things RailHawks last year, but I promise I had a good excuse — my wife and I were expecting a new addition to the Triangle Soccer Fanatics family.  Now that my 3rd child is here, I hope to pick back up with the blog with many more original articles than last season.

Plus, we’ve added several new writers to the site.  RailHawks fans Adam Morris and Bill Mason have joined the TSF blogging team and will be looking to contribute content and features as the season progresses.  I recruited these two new bloggers after their insightful and passionate analysis of the RailHawks on the BigSoccer forum and I hope you will enjoy their articles as much as I have enjoyed reading their opinions on the message boards.

New Leadership Team

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not recognize the new leadership team for Triangle Soccer Fanatics.  For years, I have run this club as a labor of love essentially by myself.  As family and job priorities have made this more difficult, a wonderful team of volunteers has stepped forward to help lead Triangle Soccer Fanatics into the next decade.

Our 2010 all-volunteer leadership team consists of Alice Meyer, Eleanor Howell, Jill Stark, Robin Copeland, Bart Barker, Dave Warner, Gordon Kelly, Greg Larance, Jim McManus, and Marc Larance.

When you see these individuals at any of our events in 2010, please join me in thanking them for the time they have dedicated to help put together the amazing events and benefits we are planning for all of our members this season.

And much more…

If that’s not enough to get you excited about the 2010 season, I’m sure we’ll be adding a number of other new things as the season progresses.  Don’t forget to sign-up for your newly free membership so you never miss a new development with our supporters club.

Best regards,

W. Jarrett Campbell
Chairman, Triangle Soccer Fanatics