goodbye, international break. HELLO, PREMIER LEAGUE.

HAIL GFOP

I write with fingers relieved that this Numb Tooth of an International Break is over. Let’s repress the memory of being outmuscled, outthought, and outplayed by Japan, and that impotent 0-0 Loss to the Saudi Arabian B-Team with some sweet healing club wonder. This weekend is akin to an overstuffed pie filled with thrilling footballing possibility: a Manchester Derby, a North London Derby, and NWSL playoff-race chaos. In truth, we are entering a manic month caused by the “appease Qatar” calendar upheaval. Teams playing in Europe face up to nine matches in the next four weeks. Our favorite players will grind themselves into pulp ahead of the World Cup for our viewing edification. This newsletter will ruminate on it all, and once more glance into the U.S. Men’s challenges as we hurtle towards our World Cup Dance with Destiny.

One thing that has kept me going this week: We can still win the World Cup off the field, even if it remains a challenge on it. In that vein, Big News Coming This Monday: The 🏆 Men in Blazers World Cup Tour 2022 🏆 America, it's happening. We are embarking on a coast-to-coast, top-to-bottom, sea-to-shining-sea tour of this great country during the upcoming World Cup. The Full announcement - including specific cities - will come on next week's Pod and tickets will go on sale via this newsletter. I cannot wait to share the magical month of a World Cup with you all and travel from East to West, sampling each unique football culture of yours. This is our chance to make memories together during a special time for our sport in the nation we love. Details coming Monday. Courage.

This week, I also had the pleasure of spending time with Harry Kane ahead of the North London Derby and Erling Haaland before Sunday’s Manchester rumble. Two record-breaking gents who are salivating at the battles to come. Kane talked about the switch that flips when he plays Arsenal. Erling Haaland told me that when he pulls back his foot to shoot, he feels both “a Zen calm” and also an “anger” because he wants to hit the ball so hard he “breaks the net.” Always approach life like that, dear readers!

🍺The Premier League is BACK and we are popping bottles…of Budweiser. Order Budweiser via Drizly and get $5 off your first order when you use the code: BUDXMIB Courtesy of Drizly. New Drizly users only. Must be 21+. Cannot be combined with any other off. Per applicable law, value may be applied towards order total or shipping or delivery fees. Includes orders of non-alcoholic items. Void where prohibited. Expires on 12/31/22 at 11:59 ET.🍺

2. 🌎🚨Big New Show on Qatar From MiB x Crooked Media Alert 🚨🌎

Despite the fact we look forward to the World Cup for four entire years... this competition is going to be slightly more complex. One that forces us to grapple with the conundrums of a tournament which has been twisted into a public relations exercise for Qatar, a country smaller than the state of Connecticut, with a shocking human rights record, who have built the tournament’s infrastructure with migrant labor practices that have left a reported 6,500 dead. And it's that moral dilemma which is at the heart of our new Pod series: World Corrupt, a six-episode collaboration from Men in Blazers Media Network and Crooked Media. That is right, my good friend, recent Everton convert - he of "Pod Save the World" and "Pod Save America" fame - Tommy Vietor and I will join forces to explore what it means to be a fan and a responsible citizen of the world while navigating a sports landscape that is increasingly being co-opted for geopolitical and corporate gain. LISTEN TO THE TRAILER FOR THE POD SERIES HERE. First full episode drops Saturday, Oct. 8.

3. To the Football

i. Arsenal vs. Tottenham (Saturday, 7.30 AM ET, USA)

Arsenal are top. Spurs are unbeaten. Winner goes top of the table. A North London Derby has never had that shimmer of aspiration before. Hard to gauge the true weight classes of these two outfits. Arsenal’s only black eye came against the one truly good team they have faced. Despite Spurs’ results, they remain a work in progress, seeking cohesion in the midfield and final third. Arsenal fans draw strength from this statistic: Tottenham haven't beaten the Gunners in the Premier League at the Emirates since 2010. I am just tuning in to watch Antonio Conte go Full War Damn Eagle.

ii. Manchester City vs. Manchester United (Sunday, 9 AM ET, P’Cock)

Erling Haaland’s first ever Manchester Derby. We have often joked that the 22-Year-Old Manchild hits the ball with the anger of a young warrior seeking vengeance for his father who was unjustly slain in battle. And this is the game that saw Roy Keane obliterate Alf-Inge Haaland. I spoke to the Nordic Meat Shield yesterday, and while he was at pains to paint this as just another game, it was impossible not to notice how he licked his lips as he did so. Gent is on a run of two consecutive hat tricks at the Etihad and he was probably thinking of eating 5’9” Lisandro Martinez as a Scooby Snack. Having said that – the two times I have feared for United ahead of a game this season, they unfurled “get-up game” performances to emerge triumphant against Liverpool and Arsenal. A balanced clash… even down to the two managers’ haircuts: Battle O’ the Balds.

iii. Chelsea vs. Palace (Saturday, 10 AM ET, USA)

It feels like Graham Potter has been the manager of Chelsea for eons, but finally, after two cancellations and the international break, he will make his Boehly Ball Premier League bow. Will there be a new manager bounce? Gent has not had many of his players to influence over the past two weeks, seeing as most will have returned from their international endeavors Thursday at the earliest.

More: Pulisic “no longer wants to leave Chelsea” as Potter offers “fresh start.” 

iv. Liverpool vs. Brighton and Hove Albion (Saturday, 10 AM ET, P’Cock)

Jurgen Klopp will have spent the international break getting out the jump leads and attempting to re-ignite Liverpool’s dead battery after a flat-footed start to the season. Here he will welcome new friend, Roberto De Zerbi, a big character Italian who inherits a thriving club, fourth place Brighton, whom he must sustain as opposed to turn around.

v. Southampton vs. Everton (Saturday, 10 AM ET, P’Cock)

All the tropes for a shocking Everton performance are there. Southampton have lost two straight. Goalless in three of their last four. Che Adams has not scored in five games. Put your money on a 2-0 Southampton victory. Che with a double. One of which bounces off his shin, the second, a wonderstrike from a disbelieving forward.

More: Everton poised to receive investment from an American family, the Kaminskis of Minnesota, who must have fallen in love with the Blues when Minnesota United thumped them 4-0 in pre-season.

vi. Leeds vs. Aston Villa (Sunday, 11.30 AM ET, USA)

Bad news: Jesse Marsch will not be in the dugout after his red card for being American against Brentford. Good news: Brendan Aaronson and Tyler Adams can run free and put the trauma of the past week behind them. Tune in, America.

MORE: Full weekend television schedule is here.

4. Win the chance to have Rog come to an Indie Book Store in Your City 🇺🇸

We remain incredibly moved by the response of you GFOPs to the release of our book, Gods of Soccer. I know we have talked a lot about what we will send you in return for the preorders: the MIB patch, the beautiful limited edition Nate Kitch poster, the invitation to join us on Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. ET for an online celebration. But for one GFOP who pre-orders the book, I will travel to your city and do a book reading at an Indie bookstore for you. All you have to do to be entered to win is pre-order GODS OF SOCCER by Oct. 5 and fill out the form on our Website here. We will announce one winner on our Oct. 11 Digital Celebration of the launch and I will fly out to your city in 2023 and come and raise a glass with you. Support the book with our Big love and Thanks. #SupportIndieBookStoresAmerica 📚

5. Last Word on the International Break of Sadness 🇺🇸

To use a biblical quote. Gregg is a “stiff-necked” leader. After the dust settles on a week of Bad Vibes, I fear we are paying a price for Berhalter’s club-infused emphasis on “system, system, system.” International football is such a fleeting creature. The teams are flung together, with barely an opportunity to train. Gregg’s ambitious desire to play out the back and deliver aggressive, vertical football requires repetition, practice, and chemistry which the schedule just does not allow. But by banging on about his system, Gregg has inadvertently delivered a message to his young charges that it is both more important than his players' form and their ability to influence games in key moments as individuals. Though many of our players are undoubtedly skill-soaked – Pulisic, Brenden, Pefok, Gio (when fit), Weah (ditto) – those improvisational skills are in danger of being buried alive as slaves to the system. I wrote more, much more about it here: Are the USMNT Quiet Quitting?

ii. Paul Carr Blows Your Mind

Paul Carr is TruMedia’s Senior Director of Content. As well as being my friend and one of the loveliest humans in football, Paul is a genius, and will now grace MiB with his statistical thoughts ahead of every match week. Are you ready to have your Mind Blown?

🤯 Play Christian Pulisic on Saturday, Graham Potter! Pulisic has five goals in six games against Crystal Palace, including three goals in three games at Selhurst Park. The five goals are his most against any club during his pro career.

🤯 Are you watching Gregg Berhalter: Tim Ream turns 35 on Wednesday, and he’s the oldest player to appear for Fulham this season. Yet he leads the team and is top 10 in the league with 32 clearances and 15 interceptions this season.

🤯 The U.S. Women play reigning European champion England next Friday at Wembley. The U.S. is unbeaten in 17 straight games vs reigning European champions (11 wins), last losing at the 2003 World Cup to Germany.

6. From MiB World HQ 📢📢📢

i. Yesterday, we released a very special episode of The Women's Game, Presented by Paramount+ featuring none other than one of this country's best and brightest young footballers. Trinity Rodman of the Washington Spirit. LISTEN HERE. The Pod drops on the same week Trinity was named in Time Magazine's Next100, article courtesy of U.S. Soccer LEGEND Brianna Scurry. #TeamTrin. Talking of DC and Trinity Rodman, you can snag a signed Trinity Rodman jersey from the GFOPs at DC Scores, who are auctioning the item off as part of a fundraising effort. Also on offer, but much less in-demand, a custom Men in Blazers video from Rog and Davo. MORE INFORMATION HERE.

ii. Coming up next week on Men in Blazers Media Network, it's the return of European Nights, Presented by Paramount+ with The New York Times Chief Soccer Correspondent Rory Smith. We cannot wait to be back with our favorite European football fixer to chat the world's premier Club Competition: The Europa Conference League. And, oh yeah, the Champions League. Next week, look for a story on Jordan Pefok's Top of the Bundesliga Table Union Berlin. Pod drops Tuesday.

iii. And Champions League Matchday Three includes some tasty, tasty games, starting Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET with a clash which promises to be one of the atmospheres of the season: Liverpool vs. Rangers. Wow. Wow. Wow. Talk about wanting to leap through the television screen and drink it in. Two of Britain's most storied clubs clashing under the European Floodlights. On the continent that same day, Spurs will do battle with Eintracht Frankfurt at 3 p.m. And Wednesday at 3 p.m., it's the Olivier Giroud Derby, Christian Pulisic's current team vs. his future side, the possibility of Puli vs. Dest: Chelsea vs. AC Milan. Manchester City, meanwhile, host Copenhagen. We'll see if Erling Haaland goes easy on his fellow Scandos. We would guess... NO. Where can you watch the Champions League? Paramount+. TRY ONE WEEK FREE ON US BY CLICKING HERE.

🇮🇹 Can't wait until midweek to get your fix of continental football? No need. Serie A is back. Paramount+ is the best way to start your Saturday since Struffoli and one of those fancy metal Italian coffee makers we can’t figure out how to use. It kicks off Saturday at 9 a.m. with Napoli taking on Torino. Furio vs. Joe Hart. That is followed by a seismic clash between Inter and Jose Mourinho's Roma. And Sunday, set those alarms for 6:30 a.m. ET when Lazio hosts Spezia. And at noon Atalanta look to continue their fine form as they take on Fiorentina. Where does it all go down? Guess where. Paramount+ TRY ONE WEEK FREE ON US BY CLICKING HERE 🇮🇹

7. More Football, Did Ya Say?

i. Liverpool and Arsenal to join Chelsea and City as “Multi-Club Networks.” Future of football is rich owners rolling up smaller clubs and engaging in M&A.

ii. Bayern vs. Dortmund next weekend. What is wrong with Bayern? Nagelsmann’s attire and predilection for turning up for work on a skateboard… and xG. This article covers all the bases.

iii. How Brazil’s iconic jersey has turned into a political symbol.

iv. Denmark released a monochrome World Cup kit as a statement in support of families of 6,500 workers who died building tournament infrastructure. Also includes all-black third shirt "the color of mourning." Commercial Opportunism or meaningful symbol? You decide.

v. Incredible Thread. Premier League footballers as Greggs Pies.

8. The Women’s Game

We enter the final week of the NWSL regular season with chaos, wonderful chaos, abounding. Four clubs are vying to grab the final two playoff places, four more are dreaming of first-round byes. Three can possibly lift the NWSL Shield for top regular season team. All of this will go down live on Paramount+. THEY'RE GONNA DO IT LIVE! Tonight at 10 p.m. ET, San Diego Wave look to lock up a first round bye against the best-named team in sports, the North Carolina Courage, who themselves are trying to secure a playoff spot. Saturday, Portland will look to secure the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs when they take on Gotham at 6 p.m. ET. And Sunday, two teams who are currently on the outside looking in: Chicago Red Stars and Angel City FC will attempt to sneak into the playoffs. That kicks off at 6 p.m. ET. And, as if we needed to remind you, it all goes down on Paramount+. TRY ONE WEEK FREE ON US BY CLICKING HERE.

ii. Godspeed to the English Women’s Super League, which is riding the English National Team’s Euro Glory to deliver a string of spectacular attendance records. 47,367 were at the North London Derby last weekend. 27,574 watched Everton duff up Liverpool at Anfield. May this league build and build. PS. Jess Park is a phenom.

9. Not Football and All the Better for It

i. Say goodbye to the ‘tiger mom’. Welcome to the school of jellyfish parenting. Is this a Finding Nemo 3 soft launch and if so where do I sign up

ii. This Idyllic Japanese Minka House Comes With A Floating Tea Room. Ushering my guests into the floating tea room once we run out of dinner table conversation like oh sorry can't hear you you're drifting away let me run get my paddleboat I'll be back in one sec

iii. The Jetsons, Now 60 Years Old, Is Iconic. That’s a Problem. "While The Jetsons might have made fun of the easy lifestyles that the technological future would produce, it completely missed the impact on the humans who would live in that future."

iv. The Art of Bidding, or How I Survived Federal Prison. "He said if I could find this thing — this sense of purpose — it would make all the difference in my life. Without it, he said, my sentence would feel like an endless misery. “Do the time,” he said. “Don’t let the time do you.”

v. Apple Maps vs. Google Maps - which one is best? Citymapper when I'm feeling flamboyant, google maps for everyday use, apple maps for when I'm so lost I can't even find Google maps

vi. Amazon’s robots are getting closer to replacing human hands. VAR about to manually hand out red cards.

vii. Harry Benson’s gripping portrait of 1960s America. One of the greatest photo archives of all time. Incredible.

viii. Is ‘reverse catfishing’ really a thing? Frantically calling up everyone I've ever known before Yom Kippur to beg forgiveness for tricking them into falling in love with me by revealing my true personality and physical appearance.

ix. A Little Alone Time with Carly Rae Jepsen. CRJ. One of the most underappreciated pop stars of our time.

x. It will take months and millions to recycle abandoned stash of hand sanitizer. Babe have you seen where I put my [checks notes] [checks notes again] hidden million dollar stash of hand sanitizer?

xi. In Defense … of the Ellipsis. The patron saint of Men in Blazers punctuation… I rely on these so bloody much for scripting!!!

xiii. I Got The Internet Going Nutz: Kreayshawn and the 10th Anniversary of SOMETHIN’ BOUT KREAY’. Legend. Nothing else needs to be said.

xiv. Why does everything look the same in North Texas? Blame The Flattening. The Flattening... also a promising title for a CW original teen horror series which I would absolutely watch.

xv. Why Did So Many Mid-Century Designers Make Children’s Books? A question only beaten out by the follow up, "why did so many early-century surrealists make children's books," to which I do not have the answer but I would highly recommend you get yourself over to an exhibition of Miro and Benjamin Péret's Au Paradis des fantômes

xvi. A movie: "... and Fridays at the Green Hell" Producer Jonah writes: I stumbled upon this doing Union Berlin research for next week's Euro Nights. Short, fascinating document on Union Berlin, fan culture in East German, hooliganism, and anti-establishment social life in the twilight of the GDR. The football takes a backseat to the social setting that grows around it, composed of people whose primary way of expressing emotion, positive or negative, is the middle finger. Streaming on free Kanopy! (As good an excuse as any to get a library card)

xvii. A Book! Year of the Puppy: How Dogs Become Themselves by Alexandra Horowitz. My dogfriend Martin Scorsese is now 16 months old, and this book deftly captures the arc of his development and has provided me with so much insight about the 12 months we have been through together. If you own a dog, or yearn to, this book is a brilliant delight. Grab your Copy Here.

That is it for today. I cannot wait for kick-off tomorrow. Let's never take the ability to watch football together for granted. Let’s make great memories.

Big Love

Courage

ROG