The From the Forest, To the Tide podcast is one of several sources of news on what's going on with Hearts of Pine and League One
Short of being a lower league junkie (like us) – you’ve probably been trying to find some ways to learn more about Hearts of Pine and the USL1. While we’ve seen leaps and bounds in media for the larger leagues in the United States like the Premier League and Major League Soccer, lower league soccer is a bit more niche in what outlets report stories. To keep our DU members and fellow Hearts fans up to date all the goings on within the league, the State of the Union has created this handy media guide to help you stay in the know:
Maine, Hearts of Pine, and the Fans That Follow
The best soccer podcast in the United States (hands down) and a production of the Dirigo Union Media Enterprise. Our supporter’s centric podcast provides news and analysis from folks who love the Hearts just as much as you do. You can catch the podcast covering topics from Maine culture, the local soccer scene, and of course, Hearts of Pine. In the future you may even be able to catch live tapings at bars, soccer pitches, and lobster wharfs across our beautiful state.
Our man in England, Adam, recently launched a UK based podcast to cover the team. Adam is admittedly a lover of all things Maine so hopefully we also get him across the water to see a game at Fitzpatrick this season!
Our German friend, ShadowWulf, has an excellent podcast which has scored a number of high profile interviews with Hearts of Pine ownership, staff, and supporters. Its always worth taking a listen when he drops a new episode.
Originally a dedicated New England Revolution sports blog, the Blazing Musket has turned into a go-to source for professional soccer news in New England. Among the teams they cover besides New England are Hartford Athletic, Rhode Island FC, and Vermont Green. The Musket recently announced that Dirigo Union’s own Shawn Fecteau will be the platform’s dedicated Hearts correspondent. You can check out his articles here.
We’ll give traditional media its due! The the Portland Press Herald is a great way to follow developments especially related to the Hearts’ lease of municipal-owned Fitzpatrick Stadium. While we aren’t sure what coverage will look like come March, the Portland Press Herald at a minimum reports league standings and game results for all Portland sports teams. Hopefully we’ll see some dedicated coverage once they realize how huge our fan base is!
USL, United States, and Beyond
CBS Goalazo/Paramount+
Paramount has broadcast rights for select USL games and often before a big match they will do interviews or previews on their flagship programs including Morning Footy, Scoreline, and other programing. Generally this happens around big matches like US Open Cup or the league championship.
ESPN/ESPN+
The primary broadcast rights holder of USL games - you will occasionally see USL teams highlighted on ESPN programing usually when something remarkable happens in a game. This will be your go to source on away days to watch any matches that are not given to CBS.
From the game itself. As major sports outlets slowly expand their coverage of USL1, the league has become its own comprehensible source, providing power rankings, game summaries, talking points, league and cup standings, a newsletter, and expansion updates.
A weekly source of all news across all USLC, USL1, USLS, & USL2 – the USL show will catch you up on all the action and rumors surrounding the league. There is also a very active discord community for the show where fans can chat and react to breaking league news and fixture results.
While shows tend to be in-frequent, this podcast is rooted in the idea of “of the fan, for the the fan, by the fan” and takes a look at the league’s news from a supporters perspective. Their takes tend to be hot and you're in for an enjoyable hour of listening when they drop an episode.
Beyond the 90 is best described as a union of multiple soccer blogs and podcasts. Among the most important for Hearts fans will be League One Updater which covers the USL1. Beyond the 90 also sends out regular news updates to those on their subscriber list for those interested in immediate news.
Written by John Morrissey (former USL club scout, current Backheeled writer, USL Show host) USL Tactics takes a hard statistical view of the league. The topics covered include league attendance figures, playoff odds, and transfer trackers along with articles covering the longer trends and developments in the USL backed by hard data.
An independent soccer media source covering all things US Soccer, Backheeled doesn’t always provide day-to-day coverage of the USL, instead they produce well-researched articles and excellent insights into the league.
A newer entrant to the media landscape, Protagonist Soccer aims to provide lower leagues content coverage in both written and podcast form. In the latter field, the platform covers content on the USLC, USL1, USLS, as well as other lower leagues. You can also listen to their podcasts on Spotify which includes One League Under the C which covers the USL1.
The league sponsored Youtube show is a great way to get information on what’s going on in the sporting side of the league. Generally the show is light on the spin but will avoid controversial topics or rumors which is probably pretty responsible for them.
If you enjoy rumors, innuendo, (friendly) ribbing, and other nonsense with other fans, the USLPRO reddit is your place to be. If you want breaking news from across the league, usually it is posted to reddit within a day or so. Certainly, you’ll find a lot of speculation there, however, so we recommend you take everything you read there with a fine grain of salt.
Like USLPRO Reddit, but exclusively USL1 news and posts. Already Hearts of Pine is making waves in the comments!
Weekly power rankings and humorous hot takes of all USL teams.
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