New York State of mind. Peter Ragone knows how it feels to be a fan in exile. Although Peter now lives in San Francisco, he was born and raised in New York. He remembers tailgating with family and friends at New York Jets home games at Shea Stadium. A life-long Yankees fan, Peter started an online community of Yankees fans called “Yanks in Exile” to bring together other transplanted Yankees fans who wish to remain connected with their team and hometown. That idea has now boomed and includes other sports teams and cities, including his beloved New York Giants. Apparently there are other exiles out there… a LOT of exiles. Peter’s New York Giants Exiles is now an active online community of over 50,000 fans and counting.

Examiner.com

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Homeland is the Bronx, and the team is the Yankees. For the past year, Peter Ragone – an accomplished public affairs pro and former New Yorker, now based in San Francisco — has been quietly building a vibrant community of Yankee fans who root for their team from outposts as far away as Nashville, Dallas, and Seattle. The community is called Yanks in Exile, and if you haven’t heard from them yet, and you are a Yankees fan, I suspect you will hear from them soon. By providing a platform for fans to connect, congratulate, and commiserate with one another — not every game ends well — Yanks in Exile is helping the larger Yankee community to find itself.

It might also help the sports marketing community peek into the future.  For the “exiles” concept may in fact be the next big thing in sports marketing.

Forbes

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