Men in Blazers is a New York City-based television show, podcast, and digital brand, founded, operated and hosted by Roger Bennett and Michael Davies covering global soccer and its reception in the United States. The two met at a wedding reception in New York, which prevented them from being able to watch the 2006 World Cup Final. Bennett noticed Davies sulking at the bar and struck up a conversation. The show began as a podcast on the popular ESPN website

Grantland ''Grantland'' was a sports and pop-culture blog owned and operated by ESPN. The blog was started in 2011 by veteran writer and sports journalist Bill Simmons, who remained as editor-in-chief until May 2015. ''Grantland'' was named after famed e ...

. In 2010, the hosts were signed to produce a weekly television show for NBCSN, focusing on the English Premier League. The show entered its sixth season in August 2019. Since the television show's inception, the brand has expanded to cover sports outside of soccer, including the NFL; NHL; golf's

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

, Ryder Cup and

Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

; and the

Running of the Bulls A running of the bulls ( es, encierro, from the verb ''encerrar'', 'to corral, to enclose'; oc, abrivado, literally 'haste, momentum'; ca, correbous, 'run-bulls') is an event that involves running in front of a small group of bulls, typicall ...

in Pamplona, Spain. The podcast, which has expanded from weekly soccer recaps to also include regular interviews with athletes and cultural icons, remains a fixture on the iTunes charts. In May 2018, Bennett and Davies released "Encyclopedia Blazertannica: A Suboptimal Guide to Soccer, America's 'Sport of the Future' Since 1972," a book that hit the New York Times Bestseller list. It claims to be the first book in the history of publishing to have a

tweed Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...

cover.

Guests

The Men in Blazers television show and podcast have featured a wide range of celebrities, including: Athletes

Megan Rapinoe Megan Anna Rapinoe (; born July 5, 1985) is an American professional Association football, soccer player who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, winger and captains OL Reign of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), as well as the United States ...

DeAndre Hopkins DeAndre Rashaun Hopkins (born June 6, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson and was drafted by the Houston Texans in the first roun ...

Alexander Ovechkin Alexander Mikhailovich Ovechkin ( rus, Александр Михайлович Овечкин, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐˈvʲetɕkʲɪn; born 17 September 1985) is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger and captain of the Washington Capital ...

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while ...

Alex Morgan Alexandra Morgan Carrasco (born Alexandra Patricia Morgan; July 2, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker and captains for San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest division o ...

Andrew Luck Andrew Austen Luck (born September 12, 1989) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. One of the most highly touted amateur prospects during hi ...

Carmelo Anthony Carmelo Kyam Anthony (born May 29, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been named an NBA All-Star ten times and an All-NBA Team ...

Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mic ...

, Rory McIlroy, Steve Kerr, Daryl Dike Musicians

Killer Mike Michael Santiago Render (born April 20, 1975), better known by his stage name Killer Mike, is an American rapper, actor, and activist. Mike made his debut on Outkast's 2000 LP '' Stankonia'', and later appeared on their Grammy-winning single "T ...

, Diplo,

Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chris Tomson ...

Mumford & Sons Mumford & Sons is a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band currently consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums), Ted Dwane (vocals, bass guitar, double bass), and Ben Lovett (vocals, k ...

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...

Haim The name ''Haim'' can be a first name or surname originating in the Hebrew language, or deriving from the Old German name '' Haimo''. Hebrew etymology Chayyim ( he, חַיִּים ', Classical Hebrew: , Israeli Hebrew: ), also transcribed ''Ha ...

Actors
Laura Linney,

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show '' Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 2 ...

Dominic West Dominic Gerard Francis Eagleton West (born 15 October 1969) is an English actor, director and musician. He is best known for playing Jimmy McNulty in HBO's ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Noah Solloway in Showtime's '' The Affair'' (2014–2019), ...

Diego Luna Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander (; born 29 December 1979) is a Mexican actor, director, and producer. He is known for his portrayal of Cassian Andor in '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' and the Disney+ series ''Andor''. Following an early car ...

Mike Myers Michael John Myers OC (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. His accolades include seven MTV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywoo ...

, John Lithgow, Anupam Kher Cultural
Barry Hearn

John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention ...

, James Corden,

David Simon David Judah Simon (born February 9, 1960) is an American author, journalist, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work on '' The Wire'' (2002–08). He worked for '' The Baltimore Sun'' City Desk for twelve years (1982–95), wrote '' H ...

Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the ''Adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr. Ritchi ...

, Seth Meyers,

Hasan Minhaj Hasan Minhaj ( ; born September 23, 1985) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host of Indian descent. His Netflix show ''Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj'' won two Peabody Awards and two Webby Aw ...

, Peter Moore

Live tours

The duo have travelled the nation from coast to coast, playing sold-out summer live tours which have given them the ability to bring together thousands of American soccer fans to celebrate the World Cup, Women's World Cup, and Euros, along with guests who include Billy Beane, Waka Flocka, and

Taylor Lewan Taylor Curtis Lewan (born July 22, 1991) is an American football tackle for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan, where he twice received first-team All-American honors, and was sel ...

The Annual Golden Blazer Award Show

In the ''Encyclopedia Blazertannica'', the Men in Blazers also explain that they give out a golden blazer once a year to someone they credit with helping grow soccer, especially in America. So far, the recipients are: * 2014 — Bob Ley, ESPN soccer and '' Outside the Lines'' host * 2015 —

Julie Foudy Julie Maurine Foudy ( ; born January 23, 1971) is an American retired soccer midfielder, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. She played for the United States women's national soccer team from 1988 to 2004 ...

, U.S. women's national team captain, FIFA Women's World Cup winner, Olympic gold medalist and ESPN soccer commentator and journalist * 2016 —

Loretta Lynch Loretta Elizabeth Lynch (born May 21, 1959) is an American lawyer who served as the 83rd attorney general of the United States from 2015 to 2017. She was appointed by President Barack Obama to succeed Eric Holder and previously served as the Un ...

U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

and key proponent of the 2015 FIFA corruption case that resulted in the resignation of FIFA President Sepp Blatter * 2017 —

Rebecca Lowe Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

Premier League host * 2018 — Rob Stone, FOX soccer host * 2019 —

, U.S. women's national team co-captain, FIFA Women's World Cup winner, Olympic gold medalist * 2020 — Emmanuel Eboue In 2019, Men in Blazers launched an American Premier League Player of the Year Award, given to America's favorite Premier League player. The award's inaugural recipient was Liverpool's Virgil Van Dijk.

References

External links

* * * * {{facebook, meninblazers Association football television series Sports podcasts