Three Years, One Dream: Building YSM
In the summer of 2022, somewhere high above the western US, I jotted a few crazy notes about a concept I had, during a flight to Las Vegas. I was heading there for something sports related, of course, the NBA Summer League, but my mind was on something bigger: What if sports fans could connect across the country—not just online, but in real life?
I used “Notes” for the first time ever on my phone (!!!) and drew a very bad football, and called my new idea “CF Match.” My initial thoughts were to “match” football fans across the country. What if a Tiger fan from LSU could host an Ohio State Buckeye in Baton Rouge, and the OSU fan could return the favor in Columbus? The seed was planted!
When I got back home, I scribbled out names like My Sports Match, My Sportz Match (with a Z), CFB Match, Local Sports Host, Baseball Match—and eventually circled the one that stuck: Your Sports Match. That moment was the start of a dream.
I did a bit of the groundwork myself, secured the domain, and even by myself (was not a web guy!) got a placeholder website online. I did hire a local web developer. He was good, but pricey. We built out an initial version of the site that technically worked, but it wasn’t my vision. This graphic below was the main image on my site, but that’s not what I was after. I imagined something looser, more fun—just fans helping fans have better sports experiences. Simple as that.
The original site graphic. A bit more “dating site” than I had in mind…
Honestly? Not much happened after that. “Life kept lifing,” as they say. I put YSM on the back burner, telling myself I’d come back to it “When the time was right.” Months passed. Then a year. But the idea never really left me.
In 2024, I started picking it back up—this time with help from a Fiverr developer who got the job done without draining my bank account. I even had several versions of logos made.
Moving to present day 2025, I also started using AI (yep, even this post had some help!) to fine-tune content, brainstorm ideas, and make the site stronger overall. I even ordered merchandise (business cards, a hat, and two shirts). It’s not the best video on YouTube, but I did record one, telling folks what YSM is. A second wind had arrived!
Now it’s 2025. I’m trying to do this the right way—build something real, meaningful, and fun. YSM is still growing, and honestly, it might always be a work in progress. But it exists now. It’s real. And it’s mine.
Will it become something big? We’ll see. But I’m optimistic.
And in case you’re wondering—yes, I kept those early scribbled notes. You can see them below.
iPhone Note
Notebook Sketch
Thanks for being part of the journey—especially if you’ve been here since that first flight to Las Vegas. If you’re just finding this now: welcome. There’s more to come.
— Charles
Have a question, or want to share your own journey?
Email me at contact@yoursportsmatch.com