The Vocal Minority: New Site, New Badge, Same Attitude.

Passion. Despair. Toronto FC - Welcome to The Vocal Minority

Passion. Despair. Toronto FC – Welcome to The Vocal Minority

What is this that your eyes see?  The Vocal Minority Podcast in text form? Don’t blink, don’t look away, just keep reading as we, the (sometimes) loony lot from the Vocal Minority Podcast return to our blogging roots.

Yes it’s true, we’ve decided to go old school and get back to putting pen to the proverbial paper.  The four of us have all written our own blogs, as well as writing together on The Yorkies and Waking The Red blogs; not to mention the countless hours we’ve spent in the stands, on twitter and in the pub watching, talking, agonizing and analysing Toronto FC.  So when this podcast thing starting getting us nominated for awards we thought, hey – that calls for its own website!  Seriously we just decided that we needed to spend even more time together laughing and crying our way through the joy and pain, (mostly pain) of supporting TFC.  We’ve got a new site, a new badge but the same old cynical, puntastic, gallows humour tinted attitude – you wouldn’t want us to change now would you?   So while you may already know us, allow us to welcome you to our new adventure:

 

It is with great excitement that I welcome you to this brand new venture that we have launched today. For those of you not familiar with my previous work, I was the Managing Editor and a writer at the Toronto FC supporters’ blog “The Yorkies” along with Mark Hinkley, one of my fellow panelists on The Vocal Minority Podcast.

While it was bittersweet to recently say goodbye to the former outlet of my malarkey and opinion, this new site will match and surpass the fun we had there. I am so lucky to get to work alongside – and draw inspiration from – my three other colleagues here and I know that if you like balancing both the frustration and humour of supporting TFC, you will enjoy what we have planned.

From me in particular you will read serious opinion (and often critical) pieces about Toronto FC while also getting the absurdity you expect from a writer that thinks Latvian vowel-dropping is a legitimate literary tool. And yes… there will be lists.

So join us as we travel together on the fun house ride that is supporting Toronto FC. Through the passion and through the despair, we will aim to bring the words from the terraces on to the pages at The Vocal Minority.

Yours in football,

Tony Walsh

 

Hi, I’m Duncan Fletcher. You might remember me from such blogs as Cruel Geography and Waking the Red. Didn’t I just quit this blogging thing? Well, yes, sort of. It’s more the managing editing side of things that was getting me down, I always figured I’d get back to writing at some point and so here I am, TFC just keep on being TFC so what choice do I have really but to keep writing about it.

There’s plenty about writing for Waking the Red that I’ll miss, but I’m looking forward to something different and seeing just where we can take this whole Vocal Minority thing. If you’ve read my earlier work, or listened to the podcast, you’ll know what to expect, analysis and opinion with a lot of cynicism, mockery, grumpiness and random Chad Barrett love sprinkled throughout. Like the tagline says, passion, despair, Toronto FC.  Cheers.

 

Mark Hinkley is a full-time graphic designer, full-time smart ass and full-time logo, stadium and kit nerd – and so excited about this new venture; but first a little about the man behind the imagery:

Born and raised in Hamilton, I’ve endured the successes and failures of the Hamilton Steelers and Hamilton Thunder soccer clubs.  When the MLS appeared, I stumped up for seasons tickets and the rest is a miserable-but-highly-entertaining history… though I make no secret that I pine for a Hamilton club to love as well.

I’ve taken a few jokes to the next step of actually making the kits (have you seen our retro TFC kits?), including original designs and recreating a few classic jerseys.  If you need an original kit for your Tuesday night mens’ league, or because you love soccer jersey aesthetics, drop me a line.

When I’m not writing ridiculous match reports or redesigning logos for my own amusement, I’m salivating over the day that promotion and relegation occurs in MLS and Hamilton can find its way into a derby that means something. You can follow me @kitnerdmark on the twitterz.

 

As for me; I’m Kristin Knowles – creator of the Wet Wiedeman hashtag, wrangler of podcast panels, lover of Robbo and dis-liker of sponsorship gone overboard – otherwise known as the girl.  How did I fall in with this lot you ask?  Good question – I’ll blink twice if I’m blogging against my will.  Really though what else could I do? I’ve already spent the last few years talking, writing and sparring with them – couldn’t think of a better crew to throw in with.   Besides someone needs to temper all that cynicism with some optimism  – really, I’m the optimistic one – scary, isn’t it?

By now you’ve of course read my previous blog West Stand Girl and then breathlessly followed me to Waking The Red; right? Of course you did.  However Toronto FC is a team that wears at you and as much as I’ve enjoyed my two previous writing gigs as it were; well – tossing words around with this group seemed like a logical next step.  Or really a step back to the basics, to where we all started from.

I’m a writer at heart and love a good discussion; especially about the things I love, and for often unknown reasons that includes TFC.  I’m the rabble rouser of the group and more likely to write a passionate opinion piece than dissect the formation being rolled out this week.  But make no mistake, I can still throw down – don’t get me started on post coverage on set pieces!  I love a good list, a geeky reference and most of all, the game itself.  It’s going to be great to share that passion with you here each week and in the stands come the new year.

 

That’s us – that’s your Vocal Minority crew.  We, along with the occasional guest, will be here on a regular basis to tickle your eyes, not just your ears.  The podcast has been amazing to produce this past season, and we have enjoyed plugging ourselves into your ears and brains every week, but as part of our plan for world footy domination here we are – let us entertain you.  Come for the podcast, stay for the articles – we’re all about the football; from facts to frivolity.  We look forward to passionate discussions, lots of laughter and some football thrown in for kicks; most of all we look forward to sharing all of that with you. Welcome to the Vocal Minority.

Author: Kristin Knowles

Raised on basketball and baseball, Kristin soon saw the error of her ways when enrolled in a local football league as a child. Geography dictated she choose TFC as her team and ten years later she's still yet to flee the city. Cynically optimistic, she now channels her inner hooligan by singing random pop songs and making poor puns in the stands. May contain adult content. Find me on the internet machine @kzknowles

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6 Comments

  1. Welcome back to the blogosphere with quite the grand press release! you lot make it all* so much more bearable.!
    *being a TFC parasitic host~
    ~parasitic host is synonymous with “FAN” until they* start to give back.
    *they are the club, the players have been mostly fantastic humans.

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  2. I would like to know when your going to attach the “Bitchey Blanks” theme music
    to this site so I can hear it every time I log on?

    Glad to all of you on one blog so I don’t have to keep going back and forth, back and forth between blogs.

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    • now that’s a magnificent idea. as soon as you open the site, a loud Caaaaaaw, then into the blankety blank theme. That would never ever get annoying.

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      • How could it!?!?!? It’s a perfect piece of Theme Music.

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      • All I’m picturing is Bitchy a la David Caruso and the the Caaaaaaw leading into the CSI Miami theme.

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