Welcome to The Blazing Musket

Well, here we are. We told you we weren’t going anywhere.

When SB Nation decided not to support our site, we would be lying to say it didn’t sting but everyone here at TBM knew that the corporate overloads at Vox couldn’t keep us from doing what we love. We are a group of passionate writers who love covering soccer in New England.

There were still questions to be answered. Could we still be called The Bent Musket? And what about our logo? Those questions were met with silence from Vox, who decided to lay off MLS sites around a month prior to the start of the 2023 MLS regular season.

So we decided to use the talent we already had. We brainstormed a new name, decided on our home here at Substack, and now have a new logo thanks to TBM photographer Dolan.

But we knew that we needed something special for our new venture. That is why we combined forces with Revolution Recap and Tanner Rebelo. Revs Recap will continue to offer their podcast while Rebelo will be our main man covering Rhode Island FC. He will also continue writing his amazing Revolution notebooks.

Without the backing of SB Nation, we now have to take on the brunt of the costs that come with covering multiple professional soccer teams. Driving from the North Shore to Gillette ain’t cheap folks. But going independent means that we can do things, such as have sponsors and possibly even merch (stay tuned).

When I announced the news that we were being laid off by Vox, everyone at The Bent Musket received an outpouring of support and many asked questions about how they could support us. Well, here is your chance. Share our work, interact with us here and on social media, and if possible financially support us with a paid subscription.

With so much soccer coverage going behind a paywall, we want to remain largely free. But if you like what we do, please sign up to be a paid subscriber. It’s your way of showing us appreciation, plus you’ll get some exclusive content along the way.

So welcome to The Blazing Musket, your home for ALL of your New England soccer coverage!

Jake Catanese, John Alexander Dolan, Greg Johnstone, Seth Macomber, Matt Medoff, Sam Minton, Josh Nye, and Tanner Rebelo