Where do the Hearts fit in with New England?

New England is known for many things: maple syrup, lobsters, foliage, the iciest ski mountains in the known universe, and most notably insane sports fans. The big 4, Patriots, Celtics, Bruins, and Redsox, are constantly topics of everyday conversation for anyone who lives in the region. This pride runs so deep that Southwestern Connicut is often excluded from “official” New England due to the high-concentration of Yankee’s fans. Bottom-line, in New England the passion runs deep.

 Where does that leave the Hearts of Pine then? While New England does have an MLS team in the Revolution, there is still ample opportunity for new soccer clubs to join the scene. One such already successful example is Vermont Green FC. The Green are based in Burlington, VT, a self-acclaimed soccer city.

University of Vermont Men's Soccer Team NCAA Tournament 2024

Considering that the University of Vermont Men’s Soccer Team won the NCAA tournament this past fall, Burlington has a legitimate claim to the title.

The Green play in a division below the Hearts, USL 2, and began playing its first games in 2022. The Green served as inspiration for the Hearts eventual founding and serving as proof that a regional soccer club in New England can be successful. The Green lean on a message of environmental justice acting as a member of the “One Percent for the Planet” movement. The soccer club lean on what makes Vermont already special and builds a fanbase and culture off of it.

T-Shirt inspired my Maine based Soda Moxie (Sourced from Hearts of Pine Online Store)

The Hearts, considering their higher league status, aim to do that and more. Relying heavily on Maine culture through photoshoots which display the natural beauty of the state, exclusive merchandise featuring a regional soda “Moxie”, as well as actively engaging with Portland and the Maine community all contribute to the continual building of the Hearts of Pine fanbase.

Beyond Maine, the club is partially owned by NESN (New England Sports Network) personality and analyst Tom Caron. Any person who has watched a local broadcast of the Boston Red Sox knows who he is. Caron is a local celebrity in the truest form. The Red Sox engagement with the club expands beyond just the media personalities. Red Sox manager Alex Cora has been photographed donning the Heart’s away “Bandit” kit inspired by the Valentine’s Day tradition in Portland of taping up red hearts across the city on the night of February 13th .

Sourced from Hearts of Pine Instagram Page (Red Sox Manager Alex Cora)

Furthermore, Red Sox legend David “Big Papi” Ortiz has also been spotted in Hearts of Pine kit. The connections via the Hearts of Pine ownership to the Red Sox places the new Soccer club in the greater context of New England sports.

While certainly not at the same level of popularity as the Celtics, Pats, Bruins, or Sox, the interaction between the Hearts of Pine and other sports teams in the area display the efforts made to expand the Hearts’ fanbase beyond the state limits of Maine, and establish itself as a entity of New England.

Maine is already a favorite vacation spot for many New Englanders, so what’s stopping the state from becoming a soccer destination as well?