If you have stumbled across this empty-looking site already, welcome! You have reached the professional page of one Robert Hay Jr. Who is this person who has the audacity to believe a website should be created about him?
I am many things, but for the purposes of this site I am a writer who aspires to be an author. Let me explain.
During the day, I am an advocacy and membership professional for a nonprofit organization. If that is of interest to you, let me know and I can share how you can contact me professionally. Additionally, I am one-half of a podcast about movies and culture. This website and podcast is called At the Movies with the Roomies, and it has its own site that I try to update regularly. It is linked to on this page and I would encourage you to enjoy that content. On occasion, I will link to that page on this site.
Primarily, though, this is my space about my sports writing. In 2006, I fell in love with the sport of soccer by watching Italy win the World Cup. While many will say it wasn’t the prettiest World Cup ever, I was taken by my ancestral homeland slogging through each round as the cloud of scandal hung over them. The characters and the personality that came through that TV stuck with me and I fell in love. I tracked down the home club for my maternal family and ever since I have been a fan of AS Bari.
Over time I picked up enough about the game to begin writing about it. My first gig was with the site Serie A Talk, which has now changed (and merged) into World Soccer Talk. My fandom also changed, as I added a more intense interest in MLS and the Premier League, as well as casually watching a number of leagues and clubs.
Fast forward to now, and I have decided to write my first book. Bari does not have a rabid fan base, enough to justify hours spent writing about it, but I plan on finishing writing a manuscript on a famous Italian derby this winter. I will reveal more details on this site but already it has been a labor of love and a high quality product.
Thus this site is about me. I will link here to my work on World Soccer Talk, Forza Italian Football, Serie A Weekly, and the other places I end up writing for as well as the occasional random post on a topic on which I feel passionate. I encourage you to read my thoughts (as well as bookmark and read the sites I write for) as well as interact with me. This site is ugly now but after the World Cup it will go through a major overhaul, with the hope of making it look as professional as possible for my hopeful book release (the first of many?).
Congratulations on seeing this site in its ugly days; I hope you keep coming back and that your early faith in my work is justified.
Robert Hay Jr. 