Men in Blazers
Men in Blazers is a collaboration of the British duo Roger Bennett and Michael Davies that exists as a website, weekly podcast and NBCSN television show about English Premier League and international soccer "driven by the belief that Soccer is America’s Sport of the Future. As it has been since 1972."[1]
The two met at a wedding reception for a mutual friend. The reception was held during the final match of the 2006 World Cup. Bennett noticed Davies sulking and struck up a conversation. Davies was a contributing writer for ESPN at the time.[2]
The podcast started on the Grantland network before ESPN included the Men in Blazers during their 2014 World Cup coverage.[3]
The NBCSN television show and podcast are recorded in the SoHo area of New York City. The television show debuted Monday, September 22, 2014 at 10pm EST[4] and streams live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports Live Extra app.[5]
In July 2015 they commentated on and did post-run interviews at the annual 'Running of the Bulls' in Pamplona, Spain for the Esquire Channel in the US.[6]
Podcast
The Men in Blazers produce a weekly podcast. It is available on iTunes, BuzzSprout, TuneIn and Soundcloud. Many podcasts are also posted to YouTube.
For the 2014 World Cup, they were featured on Grantland and ESPN.
Explanation of terms and people referred to on the Podcast can be found at fan-driven site: http://meninblazers.wikispaces.com/
NBCSN television show
For the half-hour television show, the duo recaps the weekend's games, looks ahead at the upcoming weekend and features a guest who is a fan of soccer. They also highlight tweets from fans of "GFOPs" (Great Friend of the Pod). They try to predict game scores by eating pies.
NBCSN television show episodes
Episode 20 aired February 23, 2015 and featured Harry Potter actor Jason Isaacs as a guest. They discuss his Liverpool fanhood as well as his new show.
Episode 18 aired February 2, 2015 and featured NFL Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck as a guest. They spoke of books and beards.
Episode 2 aired September 29, 2014 and featured Brandon McCarthy of the New York Yankees as the guest. They had McCarthy, a Liverpool fan, compare MLB teams to their English Premier League equivalent.[7]
Episode 1 aired September 22, 2014 and featured Adam Richman as the guest.[8]
Sponsors
Every podcast, the duo drinks a Guinness when getting "to the football."
Men in Blazers have worked with Mini on videos, like NFL kickers trying out for soccer teams, a special with Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee and Cleveland Browns punter Spencer Lanning (who was a guest on the podcast in 2014).
References
- ↑ http://meninblazers.com. Missing or empty
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(help); - ↑ Celeste, Eric (1 January 2015). "Head Cases". http://hub.aa.com/en/aw/soccer-british-business-sport. American Way Magazine. External link in
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(help); - ↑ Rath, Arun (20 September 2014). "From Podcast To Broadcast: 'Men In Blazers' Gets The ESPN Bump". NPR.
- ↑ "NBCSN to Premiere New Series THE MEN IN BLAZERS SHOW, 9/22". Broadway World. 17 September 2014.
- ↑ Prince-Wright, Joe (17 September 2014). ""The Men in Blazers Show" set for kick off on NBCSN".
- ↑ 'Running of the Bulls 2015', Esquire TV
- ↑ Bonn, Kyle. "WATCH: Men in Blazers recap derby weekend, visit with Brandon McCarthy". ProSoccerTalk.
- ↑ Bonn, Kyle (22 September 2014). "WATCH: Men in Blazers show debuts on NBCSN".