Jon Hunt
@jonhunt.substack.com
President/Capo @railbirds859.bsky.social | Writing at Jon’s Soccer Thoughts | Member of @soccerreporters.bsky.social | #COYG | Views are my own
School starts soon! I put together a small wishlist for my 7th-grade classroom. Most of it consists of items for a new classroom reward system I’ll be using this year. If you’d like to help, I’d really appreciate it 💚 📚 www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/...
Check out my list on Amazon
amazon.com
Starting this month, paid subscribers will receive: • Monthly subscriber-only video Q&As • Behind-the-scenes updates on what I'm researching and writing • Exclusive polls and the opportunity to help shape future articles (1/2)
Lexington Sporting Club came out of a lightning delay SUPERCHARGED this past Saturday, overcoming a 2 goal deficit to mount a gritty comeback against Monterey Bay! See what Coach Mac, Tarik Scott, and Cielo Tschantret had to say after the huge comeback win! #LexGo
The most positive takeaway from this FIFA / private investment scandal? WE HAVE A VOICE. We are not powerless to stupid change dictated by — and serving — the power brokers of the global soccer and collective financial bottom lines. Well done to UEFA for being the first to step up.
I wrote about this week’s FIFA news and some of the larger concerns surrounding it. open.substack.com/pub/jonhunt/...
The People’s Game Is Not for Sale
FIFA Forward Enterprise and the fight over who football belongs to.
open.substack.com
Part 3 of my Lexington SC Class of 2023 series is out! The “Thriller in Windsor,” 6 more members of the inaugural squad, and the Spark Kit. jonhunt.substack.com/p/the-class-...
The Class of 2023: Where Lexington SC’s First Squad Is Now - Part 3
The series continues with 6 new faces, and 6 new stories.
jonhunt.substack.com
The Railbirds kit vote is live — vote now! Head to the Chant App, check out the three designs, and cast your vote for Option 1, 2, or 3.
I feel like a local car dealer commercial but we've got A LOT of local club options: We've got USL, NWSL, USL League One, USL League Two! USL W, WPSL, Gainbridge Super League, and *of course*, MLS! Bad credit? No credit? No problem! Come on down to U.S. soccer-world today!
Katherine@krzonca.bsky.social · 2w agopsssst. hi. me again. world cup is over. go support your local clubs!! 🤗
You can take the man out of Germany, but you can’t take the German out of the man
Nicholas Murray@njemurray.bsky.social · 2w agoOliver Semmle decided to have a surprise expedition. #USLonCBS
Rob Vincent got it all right in the win over Louisville City on national TV over the weekend. @usltactics.com on Pittsburgh's growth from this week’s This League! 📺 tinyurl.com/7nebfps3 ➡️ tinyurl.com/3ma3e6hn
I’ve started grading every team from the 2026 World Cup. Part 1 covers the first 8 teams eliminated and what went wrong for each. Tell me which grade I got wrong. open.substack.com/pub/jonhunt/...
2026 World Cup Report Cards - Group Stage Dropouts - Part 1
Grading the first 8 of the 16 teams whose World Cup ended before the knockout stage.
open.substack.com
This is the way, go with what interest the new fans, let them have their own journey. If they find their local club, that is great, if they want to just watch messi, also great. The best thing we can do right now is to help guide people at their pace, not try to get them to where we want them.
Kieran Doyle@kierdoyle.bsky.social · 2w agoConverted 3 coworkers into actually clicking the MLS tab on their Apple TV sub this morning after they said “I want to follow soccer after the World Cup, where does Messi play?”
You know how insane MLS would have gone with the Messi World Cup Champion content? Well it will absolutely not surprise you to learn that they have decided to go just as crazy with the Messi ALMOST World Cup Champion content.
Love the idea and tie to soccer history in Louisville, however, the execution is serverly meh
Brett Mullenix@brettmullenix.bsky.social · 2w agoLouisville City with their "Lightning Kit" My personal thoughts? Very tame for a weather inspired kit. Like the Blackout/Greyed out feel of it. Okay effort from Puma (which is on par for the company in the US outside of New Mexico).
The World Cup may be over, but your soccer fandom does not have to be. I put together a guide for anyone wondering what to watch next, whether that means supporting local, following the women’s game or diving deeper into club soccer. open.substack.com/pub/jonhunt/...
You Loved the World Cup. Now What?
A casual fan’s guide to the soccer world beyond the World Cup.
open.substack.com
List of USL W League Champions 2022: South Georgia Tormenta FC 2023: Indy Eleven 2024: North Carolina Courage U23 2025: Utah United 2026: Salmon Bay FC
I had to finally talk about the World Cup. So, I handed out 16 awards from the tournament, covering everything from the best goal and biggest surprise to the players and teams that defined it. open.substack.com/pub/jonhunt/...
2026 World Cup Awards: The Obvious Pick vs. the Hipster Pick
My Selections Across 16 World Cup Awards and Superlatives
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The Lexington SC USL Stats & Information database has been updated! A massive thank to Hans G from @railbirds859.bsky.social, who took care of all the recent updates and brought the project fully up to date. 🔗 docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Lexington SC USL Stats and Information - Updated 7/13/2026
docs.google.com
MLS is loaded with young talent right now 📈 But which rising stars are worth paying special attention to? These are the MLS talents making the biggest impact and putting themselves on Europe's radar. @jakeburgess13.bsky.social ⤵️
Big clubs are calling about these young MLS stars: Here's why.
From academy products to breakout stars, these are the young MLS players making the biggest impact and putting themselves on Europe's radar.
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denim = ‘de Nîmes’ because they were made in the French city of Nĭmes jeans = ‘Genoa’ because they were worn by the Genoese navy khakis = Hindi word for “dust-colored, brown” JNCO = “Judge None Choose One"
Scoop: The AI music generator Suno was hacked. Hacker shared source code that shows how the tool was made and part of the music and podcasts that were scraped to create it. Decades worth of music, lyrics, and podcasts from YouTube, Deezer, Genius & more www.404media.co/hack-reveals...
Part 2 of "The Class of 2023" is here. 6 more former Lads in Green, where they are now, the memories they left behind, and another completely necessary kit review.
The Class of 2023: Where Lexington SC’s First Squad Is Now - Part 2
6 more stories from the players who helped begin Lexington SC’s men’s era.
open.substack.com
Part 2 of my series tracking where Lexington SC’s inaugural 2023 squad ended up drops tomorrow! 4 of the 6 players featured appear in this graphic of the club’s first-ever starting XI. Can you guess who they are?
Fox in the Lexington area has been adversitising Lexington SC games (helps that the club is an affiliate), it really comes down to tv contracts and relationships
James Nalton@jdnalton.bsky.social · 3w agoSeen praise of the Premier League promoting itself via NBC during the World Cup, but many of the initiatives to advertise the PL come from the broadcasters themselves. MLS's own broadcasters just don't seem as enthusiastic about promoting MLS.
We’ve gotten far too comfortable letting people say blatantly racist garbage like this and still treating them as serious thinkers.
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 3w agoHow can a region with 5% of the world’s population be so good? I’ve been on a life-long journey to find out, writes Simon Kuper. ft.trib.al/rNcqyfJ
The writing kick continues. Here’s how a few deep connections, former players, random matches, and questionable logic built my American soccer fandom tree. jonhunt.substack.com/p/my-soccer-...
My Soccer Famdom Tree: Close to Home
The American clubs I follow, and how each one wormed its way into my rotation.
jonhunt.substack.com
Got home just after midnight last night, couldn’t sleep, and needed to write out my emotions. open.substack.com/pub/jonhunt/...
Show Us What the Badge Means
An open letter to Lexington SC after another painful loss to Louisville
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