20230331 Raven Newsletter

March 31, 2023

Hail GFOP!

I type with fingers ecstatic at the prospect of the Premier League’s return to our loving arms. I spent the International Break in London watching England beat Ukraine at Wembley. A spectacle really won by the Ukrainian fans, whose joy was a reminder that football is about more, much more, than which team emerges with three points. Sometimes, just taking the field of play as a symbol of heart to the world is enough. I also went to East London to watch ABBA Voyage, which was incredible. Seven-year-old old Rog would have crapped his pants to witness it all. One of my few life regrets is never having seen the Swedish mega-act in the flesh. I took my parents, Val and Judge Ivor, and my youngest son Oz, and I am not going to lie: I sobbed through the first few of their classic tracks, experiencing a nostalgia for the naivete of that time of first listening, a sense of what has been lost since then too, combined with an awareness of the new memories I associate with the music after savoring it with my own kids in the present. ABBA are really a blank canvas against which we all project our own meaning, loves, and loss, in a similar way to football. I was reminded of that this week when I read a piece that I loved so much by novelist Rebecca Watson. Give it a read:

ii. International Break though it may have been, this has been one of the biggest weeks in Men In Blazers history. The week in which Fabrizio Romano joined the Men In Blazers Media Network. We have wanted to augment our ability to engage your interest in transfer dealings for a long time, and have always wanted to do so authentically and in the most informed way possible. There is no better way to do that than by partnering with Fab, who is going to drop two podcasts a week on the MIB Network (SUBSCRIBE HERE). He made his debut Wednesday night, joining me on a Do it Live! in which we discussed where Jude Bellingham will land next season, if Christian Pulisic will stay at Chelsea, and that open USMNT job. LISTEN HERE.

Fab’s arrival triggered a lot of press. I am grateful to The Hollywood Reporter for their thoughtful coverage and cringe photos, and to Axios and John Wall Street too.

This is an incredible time for the growth of the game in our nation. And as the game grows, so do we. Fast. Our goal is to listen to all of your interests and needs as you fall ever deeper in love with this game, and seek to create content and engage voices to meet that. Because of that, by far the loveliest aspect of the whole week has been the truly magical response from you GFOPs to this news. The way you have received it, and the Ravens we received overflowing with generosity of spirit and messages of excitement, means the world to us. The whole MiB Network is built on the foundation of the conversation between us and you GFOPs. A dialogue that is built on shared passion, a sense of footballing community, and the continuing belief in empathy, curiosity and kindness. To more, to more, with love and enormous gratitude.

One of my favorite responses from GFOP @frandrewoconnor:

PS. Yesterday, we dropped a new episode of VAMOS with Herc Gomez, Presented by Bud Light. This is your go-to Podcast for all of the biggest stories in CONCACAF. This week, Herc breaks down the USMNT's CONCACAF Nations League victories over Grenada and El Salvador, Mexico's disappointing 2 - 2 draw against Jamaica at the once impenetrable Estadio Azteca, and why MLS continues to play during FIFA International Windows. LISTEN HERE

🚨 Men in Blazers YouTube Alert. Massive Week on the MiB YouTube Page with Pep Guardiola and Matt Turner interviews dropping. Marcus Rashford and Erik ten Hag coming very soon... SUBSCRIBE. SUBSCRIBE. SUBSCRIBE.

2. To the Football

i. Manchester City vs. Liverpool, Bud Light Big Game Preview (Saturday, 7.30 AM ET, P’Cock)

Back with a Bang. The game that has defined the title over the past four seasons might do so again. This time in Arsenal’s favor. Liverpool may be limping into the final lap of the season, but as Manchester United discovered, they can still summon the muscle memory to rise up and smite. Hard to remember, but back in October, Liverpool won the reverse fixture 1-0 with the old “Alisson to Mo Salah” route one road to glory. Erling Haaland’s status is uncertain. The Hattrick hoarder did not train yesterday due to the groin issue he is said to have picked up in the FA Cup win over Burnley which kept him out of Norway action during the International Break. There must be a supply chain problem for robot parts in the North of England. Arsenal fans will be watching and cheering full-throatedly for Harvey Elliott’s Boys to do them a solid.

ii. Arsenal vs. Leeds (Saturday, 10 AM ET, USA)

Arsenal’s first coronation march in 19 years continues. “Matt Turner’s Boys,” as everyone in the world calls them, are eight points clear with 10 games to play and only the Premier League to focus on after an incredible March in which they won all four league games, blasting 14 goals in the process. Fourteenth place Leeds United will hope to be fearless, not headless. They have the brutal news that Tyler Adams will be out for an uncertain amount of time after “non-invasive surgery” on his hamstring. Gnonto and the impressive Wober also injured. This game should be another opportunity for Weston McKennie to prove he can adapt to the Premier League argy-bargy.

iii. Crystal Palace vs. Leicester (Saturday 10 AM ET, P’Cock)

Roy Hodgson Undertaker Meme game. Gent returns from retirement, aged 75. What is Dead May Never Die. The Good news: His Palace are 12th! The Bad: In this unprecedented Relegation race, that is just four points off the bottom of the table. Football is a hell of a Drug. Why else would he kick off his slippers and place himself in that position of peril? (His explanation: “My wife was glad to see the back of me.”) This battle against Brodge’s 17th place Leicester will be low on confidence, high on consequence.

More: Roy is Risen.

iv. Newcastle United vs. Manchester United (Sunday, 11.30 AM ET, USA)

Carabao Cup Final 2: Electric Boogaloo? This game, which could be a Saudi Arabia vs. Qatar Proxy battle if the Glazer sale goes through a certain way, is actually more important because of its Top Four ramifications for both teams. Spain Slayer Scott McTominay, coveted by Newcastle, is currently the hottest goalscorer in the world after his four goal wonder of an International Break. I spoke to Erik ten Hag yesterday. He was, unsurprisingly, right on time, and rather more surprisingly, relaxed, and even humorous, oozing the calm confidence of a gentleman who has no doubt that he is in control. We talked about his management philosophy, what he has learned from his conversations with Sir Alex Ferguson, and his Dad Dancing Victory Moves. That interview coming soon.

v. Chelsea vs. Aston Villa (Saturday, 12.30 PM ET, USA)

Chelsea continue their late, late push for European football, battling the likes of Brentford for a Europa League place. I loved this piece on Kai Havertz and his very real love of donkeys. Chelsea fans will hope he can continue his run of scoring in three straight games for his club.

Fascinating: Thomas Tuchel talks openly about the shock and pain of his Boehly firing.

vi. Tottenham vs. Everton (Monday, 3 PM ET, USA)

The “Sadder than Eeyore” Derby. We have to wait an extra day to have our weekend retrospectively ruined by this clash between two teams in perpetual existential peril. Tottenham face Everton, who in many ways are the Tottenham of the North. Spurs have had some International Break. Losing a manager, appointing his assistant as interim, then having director of football Fabio Paratici banned worldwide by FIFA. Despite this, they are still fourth, and with their players no doubt biting at the bit to show the departing Conte they are not “selfish” have more than enough to topple Sean Dyche’s huff-and-puff Everton who have spent the break grappling with potentially devastating off-the-field charges they have breached Financial Fair Play and revelations that their new stadium build is “months behind.” I watched this clip of a trainspotter and realized he is getting more happiness from this one train than I have gotten watching Everton in the last two years.

More: Full Premier League broadcast schedule here

3. Der Klassiker ist upon us! 🇩🇪🍻 Bayern vs. Dortmund (Saturday, 12.30 PM ET, EPSN+)

The Bundesliga’s global game. Perpetual powerhouse Bayern Munich host league leading (yes, LEAGUE LEADING!!!) Dortmund, they of passionate aspiration. Just one point – a bratwurst of a gap – separates these two teams in what has become one of the most prominent fixtures in the calendar of European club football. Bayern enter the Thomas Tuchel era wondering if the Germans have a word for “New Manager Bounce” after the chaos of the surprise sacking of manager Julian Nagelsmann last weekend. Dortmund, out in front for the moment, are attempting to win their first title since 2012 and become the first team to take the Bundesliga title off of Bayern in over a decade.

🗣️ This morning, we dropped a Der Klassiker Pod Special, Presented by ESPN+ to get you ready for this weekend's seismic tussle. In this Pod, I was joined by ESPN Bundesliga expert Archie Rhind-Tutt to unpack this weekend's potentially season-defining duel and dive into the complex and layered micro-history of this clash. Der Klassiker goes down Saturday, April 1 at 12:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+. This Podcast is presented by ESPN+. Sign up now at: espnplus.com/GFOP.

To add to the excitement, we have a special Der Klassiker collection of kits with the GFOPs at Classic Football Shirts. Two of the most recognizable kits in football, worn by legends of the game.

3. USA! USA! USA!: Folarin Balogun is a Great American?

We have lived out all of the emotions in this International Break. First our Baby Eagles thrashed Grenada 7-1, in a game which was about as competitive as Mina Kimes beating up Jason Whitlock. We then struggled mightily against El Salvador, where we emerged 1-0 victors thanks to a fine finish from Ricardo Pepi in an utterly forgettable game. One note on Pepi: Gent has scored big goals for this US team as both a teen phenom and a 20-year-old who has picked himself off floor after disappointment that would have finished off lesser players. Tenacity personified.

Truth is this: Right now, we are living out a period of self-inflicted limbo in which the absence of management leadership on the team is creating a vacuum filled by knee-jerk reactions like “Anthony Hudson should be considered as permanent coach” after the seven goals his team blasted past a team of part-timers from an island nation population just 125,000. Forward momentum cannot come quickly enough. Until then, the one true highlight: The naive joy of Matt Turner’s On-Field Gender Reveal.

ii. Balogun Coming: American Soccer Twitter (ourselves included) covered every moment of dual national Folarin Balogun’s visit to Florida. Fans unfurled a banner of the 21-year-old sizzling French Ligue 1 striker ahead of the El Salvador match. Oh, and there were no Balogun jerseys at Wembley, so we’re good there too. As Flo swanned around NBA games and met the Yankees, it became clear this was either one of the great free-ticket power plays, or a young gent carefully checking out the infrastructure of the squad he is going to dedicate his international career to. How many NBA games have the England team hooked you up with Flo? Truth is, Flo will join the USA. This is no two-sided tug of war. England are not making any moves. On our part, as US fans, we have to remain patient and reject the urge to coat his decision with hype and magical realism. He is a very good young striker. He will upgrade the squad in the very position we yearn for options. He is also still so raw. There will be ups in his career, there will be downs. Let’s savor him, and every moment, with joy, but without blurring into the realms of sci-fi and fantasy.

4. The Women’s Game

i. NWSL has some Game of the Week: Kansas City vs. Portland Thorns (Saturday, 12.40 PM ET, CBS Proper) a rematch of the 2022 NWSL Championship. Whole Schedule Here.

ii. The US Women announced the squad for upcoming games against Ireland and welcomed back the mighty Julie Ertz, out for the last 20 months after giving birth to a son. Our friend Tierna Davidson is also returning after a lengthy injury.

iii. HUMANLY INCREDIBLE MOMENT: Chelsea’s goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger beat thyroid cancer for a second time last year. Yesterday, she saved two penalties against defending UWCL champions Lyon (one from our friend Lindsey Horan 😦) to send her team to the semi-finals of the competition.

5. More Football, Did You Say?

ii. Qatar’s Broken promises? Future of Qatar’s World Cup stadiums still up in the air. There appears to be no rush to dismantle and repurpose the venues despite lavish pre-tournament assurances on legacy

6. Not Football and All the Better for It

i. The Best Debut Albums Ever, Ranked. One of the most important realizations I've had as an adult is that no album will ever hit as hard as How to Save a Life by the Fray. No. 1 tho has to be Tracy Chapman, amirite?

ii. Amsterdam launches "stay away" campaign targeted at young British man. Honestly the coordinated bullying of Jack Grealish is getting out of hand.

iii. Rhetoric professor explains how to win an online argument. Few things more terrifying than the prospect of witnessing a rhetoric professor winning an online argument. Have been kept off Reddit for many years by the crushing fear of this particular situation arising.

iv. None of us are breathing properly. How to power your workout with better breathing techniques. Technically speaking, some of us have spent many hours with a very patient breathwork instructor named Dave and actually are breathing properly. But I get what they mean.

v. This is your body on 3 gallons of water a day. Pitching your editor a story where you drown yourself to see what happens feels like an apt metaphor for the state of journalism in America.

vii. ‘My dog showed no remorse’. Wanted this to be an article on the dangers of anthropomorphizing but actually it's just about the dangers of having chewable couches which I suppose is more practical although, disappointingly, not nearly as philosophically ambitious.

viii. I thought I was immune to being fooled online. Then I saw the pope in a coat. Weirdly I have it on good authority that this was the exact logline when Paolo Sorrentino was selling the Young Pope to HBO.

ix. Farm cancels goat-snuggling events after critics call it exploitation. Back when everyone thought Tarantino's next movie was going to be about Pauline Kael, Goatsploitation would have been a really great name for that genre.

x. Think Getting Into College Is Hard? Try Applying for These Gyms. What's that Groucho Marx quote? I wouldn't want to belong to a gym that would have me as a member?

xi. He Bid $190 Million for the Flatiron Building, Then Didn’t Pay Up. Heard that MIB's new offices were in Flatiron. Got scared off. Happens all the time.

xii. The Surprisingly Delightful Spectacle of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Ski Trial. Hear me out. Ryan Murphy American Crime Story season 4. Gwyneth plays herself.

xiii. Tyrannosaurus rex had lips over its teeth, research suggests. Real game changer for all scientists working on that hardest of paleontological questions, how did T-Rexes kiss.

xiv. My Friend Jon Weinbach has produced Air! The Affleck directed telling of the origins of the Jordan Brand. It is in theaters this week and is so bloody good. I first worked with Jon when we traveled to Dortmund to film with 17-year-old Christian Pulisic. Jon’s success is proof that good things can happen to great people. Air! is in theaters this Wednesday.

xv. I love this Song: Barley by Water from Your Eyes

That is it for today. This has been a week of real light and real darkness. One Raven we received from longtime GFOP Diego Rodriguez put everything into perspective. He wrote to update us on the progress of a young GFOP Sam who has leukemia and underwent a stem cell transplant with his mother this week in Stanford. Sam is soccer mad, and through all of this has taken time to assistant coach the varsity soccer team at his school. As Diego notes, “We all find his optimism, resilience, and bravery incredibly inspiring. Sam's father says, the only way through this is through.” I want to end by sending Sam and his family all my love. His bravery is a reminder of everything in the world that is, and is not, important.

Savor every second.

Let’s take nothing for granted and make great memories together through football.

Big Love.

Courage.

ROG