Kickstarter

I cannot believe we only have 48 hours to go! 

To all the new backers - welcome. To all the old backers - good work reeling in the new backers! To everyone - THANK YOU for what has so far been an incurably gratifying process. 

58 days ago, I had lockjaw from the stress of even launching this campaign. Now as tick tock towards the finish line I am filled with jubilation and excitement for the next stage of post production. All thanks to you guys, the pledgers, who made it all possible. 

Since we made our target there has still been some sensational generosity coming the Soccermen way. All your facebooking, twittering and real-world yammering has really paid off and the way you pledgers have made this project your own has been a fantastic Red Bull substitute for me for all those late nights. 

All this has pushed our total to a whopping $38,586 from 304 backers with 2 days remaining. That's a 110% of the original target which means, according to the Kickstarter terms, we should get at least $35,000 to finish the movie. RESULT!!!

If there is anyone in your social network you think has been holding out, please feel free to usher them towards the donor site! It's really now or never and we wouldn't want them to miss out on this truly "grass roots" movement. (Yes I may have exhausted that pun, but come on, it's a jolly good one and I only have 2 days left to use it!)

There still is an awful lot to come from me and stay posted for the campaign round-up which will go out after the curtain drops in 2 days time. But for now - keep spreading the word. You've spread it awfully well for the last 2 months. Why stop now!

Matt

We hit the $30k mark!! BOSH!

Attached is a picture of Bob Paul (twin brother of Robert Paul...seriously), he probably has the worst disciplinary record on the team BUT see how intense he is? He is up for this and so are we. He is also wearing my Spurs shirt...and no I never saw it again. The message is spreading and we are picking up some whopping momentum but WE HAVE TO KEEP GOING AND FINISH STRONG.

On Twitter @thesoccermen I have been tweeting every footballer, journalist and blog. So have many of you. Many have also been posting the Kickstarter link on facebook with a personal recommendation. This stuff REALLY REALLY HELPS. That Mark Zuckerberg chappie was really onto something. Social media isn't anything to sneeze at. Even if you have allergies, that's no excuse!

There have been A LOT of you doubling your pledge in these last few days. THANK YOU! It's truly amazing how committed this group of pledgers has been. We have also had some big money new backers. Again THANK YOU.  If we can keep this up for the next 10 days, we will have accomplished something as incredible as Bob Paul making it through a game without a yellow card. COME ON, GUYS!!!!

Matt

WOW! In 2 days we raised almost 10% of our total. We are now at 82%

It is beginning to get very difficult to describe our progress without using x-rated language because you guys are freaking awesome!!

18 people INCREASED existing pledges! In some cases increased x 5!!

17 new people pledged. Thank you!

This is incredibly exciting. Of course, I am a blithering trembling nervous wreck as we have only 11 days left but we only need 18%. We are on the edge of pulling off something TRULY remarkable. Who can HELP but be excited?!

To those that have increased your pledges THANK YOU! To those that are thinking of doing it, our future is in your hands. (no pressure!) To those of you who have just joined us, welcome to a rip-roaring ride.

We have come so far and I mean SO FAR. We have backers from all over the world from Pohnpei to Paris. Here's a mere taster of who's pledged:

Readers of the book, UP POHNPEI, will be delighted to know we just got backed by the Pohnpei athletics coach Micheala and her entire family! She is now an aid to British Prime Minister, David Cameron! How about a shout out in Parliament, Micheala?!

Football fans will be delighted to know that we are getting continual Twitter love from former US national, web/tv star and my namesake, Jimmy Conrad. He recently made a mammoth pledge too.

Fans of awesome names will like to know a dude called Shervyn von Hoerl pledged. He is half Bavarian and half Iranian. AWESOME!

There are so many great stories coming out of this campaign and I have to restrain myself each time I write a project update. Everyone has a fantastic story and I want to give everyone a mention. I will do a full campaign recap after the deadline. But for now – THE FUTURE OF THE PROJECT IS IN YOUR HANDS!

FACEBOOK, TWITTER, PLEDGE!  WE CAN DO THIS!!

YOU CAN'T KEEP AN UNDERDOG DOWN FOREVER

Soccermen and Soccerwomen,

We have 14 days left to do this. 2 weeks, baby - $9000 and I have great news.

I got the calculator out and found a legitimate and realistic solution.  If everyone who gave $100 or less doubles their pledge - WE WILL DO THIS. Case closed. We have generated a tremendous amount of momentum over the last 6 weeks. Please do not let this groundswell go to waste. It would be a titanic tragedy if we came this far only to fall short at the final hurdle. 

Kickstarter doesn't care if you are $1 short. If we do not cross $35000 - this entire journey, all the articles, the coverage, the TV interviews, the 735 tweets, the 848 Likes, the celebrity endorsements, the unspeakable amount of man hours, it will all be for nothing! 

We have raised just short of $26,000. TOGETHER. That is incredible. 244 passionate football fans so far have come together for no other reason but they love this game and were inspired by this story. Football, soccer WHATEVER you want to call it - we are all fans of this mesmerisingly beautiful game which brings people of ALL cultures together in a way that nothing else can or will ever be capable of doing. From Manchester to Micronesia - this is a truly special sport. 

Micronesia are on the cusp of FIFA membership, as I said in a previous post they submitted their paperwork last week and it is being officially reviewed. When I think back to how we started this project - with a rain soaked kick-about with a bunch of curious  Pohnpeians to now within touching distance of a possible million dollar investment from the world's governing  body of soccer, it brings tears to my eyes. Once you are admitted to FIFA, you get a developmental grant which will change football on Pohnpei forever. 

In the proposal, our tour of Guam and indeed our win were cited as proof that Micronesia is serious about soccer and wants to be recognized by the global soccer community. I am now officially re-starting production to capture this moment and will include Fifa's decision in the final film. What an incredible ending to this film this will be. Whether we get accepted or not, this is the beginning of something special in the Pacific. 

If you double your pledge, people, not only will you ensure this movie gets made, you will ensure this story gets told. Yes a % of the films profits will go back to the team but the power of the message of this story is worth infinitely more. Doubling your pledge will be proof that you CANNOT KEEP AN UNDERDOG DOWN FOREVER and the proof will be at a cinema or TV screen near you. 

Thank you.

Matt

@thesoccermen