History
Founded by Jesse Hertzberg as personal hobby in 1995 with Ethan Beard joining in 1997, the site was originally located at www.inch.com/~huss and was created in the wake of the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States and in anticipation of the launch of Major League Soccer (which eventually was delayed from 1995 to 1996). The site was used to post links to MLS and US Soccer related news, with a particular focus on his local MLS team in New York (soon to be announced as the MetroStars, now known as the New York Red Bulls).
In the beginning, a significant number of BigSoccer posters came from the North American Soccer (NAS) listserv. In the early to mid-90s, the NAS list was one of the best sources of information and one of the few opportunities for community for supporters of the United States men's national soccer team. With the advent of MLS, the NAS list soon sprouted listservs for many of the teams in the new league as well. As the "bulletin board" technology advanced, the listservs soon faded away.
The site evolved in two directions, becoming two distinct sites, MetroFan.com and SoccerBoards.com (which evolved into the current BigSoccer.com). While MetroFan continued to focus on the local MLS squad and eventually evolved into MetroFanatic.com, SoccerBoards invited other MLS fan clubs to join an interactive forum where they could share news, gossip, opinions, etc. about their local MLS side, the league, and US Soccer, as well other soccer teams and leagues around the world.
This new online community grew rapidly, as it was one of the few (if not the only) place for American soccer fans to turn to find fellow fans with like-minded interests.
SoccerBoards continued to be a hobby for its founders until 2000, when, with financial backing from StarMedia Network, the business was renamed BigSoccer and became a full-time endeavor. The company acquired Matchday USA, a soccer magazine and online retailer, later that year. Though the magazine was subsequently shut down, the retail operations have grown substantially and today the BigSoccer Shop, in partnership with 365 and Eurosport, carries over 10,000 products from dozens of countries and hundreds of teams.
In addition to NAS, many smaller online soccer communities migrated to BigSoccer. These include Soccer America Graffiti.
Read more about this topic: Big Soccer
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