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  • Heat Waves Been Faking Me Out - Rog Previews Week 2

Heat Waves Been Faking Me Out - Rog Previews Week 2

August 12, 2022

Hail GFOP!

I type with fingers filled with sweaty anticipation. It is burning hot in England. Temperatures are expected to hit 99 degrees. Remember. English people melt at temperatures of 86 degrees or above. Brace yourself for a Weekend of Premier League Drinks Breaks. Climate Change Deniers, prepare for the prospect of watching Antonio Conte spontaneously combust on the sideline, leaving just a smoking pair of Bruno Maglis. Godspeed to all the players and the fans. Sunscreen, people.

More: 30 Years of the Premier League. From muddy backwater to shiny commercial product “moving shapes on a screen now, a digital product, a dopamine hit across the internet.”

 Premier League Buds are the best Buds. 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 offer. 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 EDT.

2. Tell us your Favorite INDIE BOOKSTORES America! 🇺🇸

GFOPs, your response to our new Men in Blazers book, "Men in Blazers Present Gods of Soccer: The Pantheon of the 100 Greatest Soccer Players (According to Us)" has been absolutely in-cred-i-ble. We cannot tell you how grateful we are. We know how counter-intuitive it is to order a book weeks before you can get it – but it means the world to us. And we want to use this launch to shed light on this nation's great Indie Bookstores, the cornerstones of communities across America. So please send us the name of your favorite Indie Bookstore and we will spotlight one a week going forward. And Pre-order your Signed copy of "Gods of Soccer" HERE from our Indie partners Elliott Bay in the Magical Kingdom of Seattle and New York City’s The Strand and receive a limited edition Print with the copy.

3. To the Football

i. Chelsea vs. Tottenham (Sunday, 11.30 AM ET)

A massive London Derby that is a moment of reckoning for both teams. Boehly-era, slightly listing Chelsea welcome swaggering Spurs and their Antonio Conte-inspired whoopin’ stick. Tuchel will shuffle through his attacking options to find a striking combination he has not alienated. One ray of light for Chelsea fans: Tottenham have won just one of their last 37 matches in all competitions at Stamford Bridge, losing 24 of them.

More: Guardian journalist Jacob Steinberg wrote this week, Tuchel “Does not trust” Christian Pulisic. The narrative seems to have flipped on Christiano staying over the past seven days. Our gent is a player who craves consistency and security. He will not gain either by staying at Chelsea. These are days of true challenge for Pulisic. Wishing him strength and a speedy resolution to a predicament which has been all-too-slow a burn.

ii. Southampton vs. Leeds United States of America (Saturday, 10 AM ET) 🇺🇸

Jesse Marsch takes his Good Vibes, High Energy, Fightin’ Football to Southampton, who were spanked by Spurs and have only won one in their last 13. Few teams will be impacted more by the heat than run-and-gun Leeds. Can their high intensity pressing swarm-game survive the burning sun?

iii. Manchester City vs. Bournemouth (Saturday, 10 AM ET)

When I close my eyes and think about this game, I imagine Erling Haaland as a Norwegian Gulliver in Lilliput, with the tiny Bournemouth defenders attempting to bring him down and ensnare him in netting. Tune in to watch the Giant Striker eat All the Cherries.

iv. Arsenal vs. Leicester City (Saturday, 10 AM ET)

Infinite Arsenal optimism meets “The Tielemans They Told You Not to Worry About.”

v. Brentford vs. Manchester United (Saturday, 12.30 PM ET)

Winner gets to keep Christian Eriksen. A star-free collective with a coherent tactical idea face that celebrity rehab of a hot mess. United, a once great club, now excel only at coach-killing. One game in and Ten Hag already has one arm in the wood chipper. A loss at Brentford could turn the panic, fan demos, and the Glazer Hate up to 11.

vi. Aston Villa vs. Everton (Saturday, 7.30 AM ET)

Steven Gerrard faces up to old midfield frenemy Frank Lampard in this Bowl of Sadness. Stevie G’s limp opening day defeat against Bournemouth should be righted against football’s most generous charity. Expect Everton to rip the band-aid off quickly and turn my season of dreams into shattered dreams by the end of Week 2.

vii. Crystal Palace vs. Liverpool (Monday, 3PM ET)

Thiago-less Liverpool head into the cauldron that is Selhurst Park at night. We’re Harvey Elliott’s team now.

4. Men In Blazers. Relegate Me Now. 💩💩💩

We followed the start of the bountiful 38-week matchweek feast that is the Premier League by offering a lukewarm buffet of offerings of our own:

i. Monday, Rog and Davo welcomed the league back into our loving arms by breaking down every last game on this week's Erling Haaland-sized Men in Blazers Podcast. And a reminder, we are releasing the Pod as a video every week on our YouTube channel. (HIT SUBSCRIBE, READERZ.)

ii. Tuesday, we kicked off our brand new American States United, Presented by ESPN+ Pod series with Arsenal's Matt Turner. These episodes feature Rog in conversation with some of the Baby Eagles’ biggest stars playing abroad. And THIS EPISODE, featuring a gent who's ensconced in a battle for the gloves at the 2022 World Cup, is quite the way to kick it off. And a reminder, ESPN+ is the home of LaLiga, the Bundesliga and the EFL Championship. A football destination where you can watch so many of these young Americans as they gear up for World Cup 2022. Sign up for ESPN+ RIGHT HERE.

iii. Wednesday, we released a truly special Pod Special, Presented by Camarena Tequila. An almost unbelievable conversation with Dane Murphy, the 36-year-old American CEO of Nottingham Forest Football Club. A gent from Redding, Connecticut who has risen to the top of the English game, in charge of one of the most historic clubs in global football. LISTEN HERE. And watch THIS VIDEO of Dane recapping the delirious celebrations that accompanied Forest's promotion back to the top flight for the first time in 23 years.

iv. The Women's Game with Alana Cook and Midge Purce, Presented by Paramount+. The USWNT stars on the business end of the NWSL season, Midge talks her end-to-end wondergoal, and what happens in Cabo, stays in Cabo (or gets talked about on the Pod). LISTEN HERE.

5. More Football, Did Ya Say?

i. World Cup start date has been moved up 24 hours to satisfy the Emir of Qatar’s wish for this team to kick the tournament off and host a firework display. FIFA will do anything in return for bags o’cash as they continue to sully their jewel of a tournament.

ii. Serie A Preview. Second Coming of Big Rom 🇮🇹🤌

iii. Why do footballers move so much in Europe? Sometimes intentionally, so they can learn things about their game and about life. Fascinating to read this with an eye to Americans’ experiences abroad.

iv. This is incredible. England’s Captain Leah Williamson thanks Sue Whyatt, a member of England’s first ever women’s football team. The tears flow.

6. Coming up next week on the Men in Blazers Media Network 💩

Sunday: we kick off a new Podcast series with one of my favorite designers, who has brought me so much joy over the past few years, Todd Snyder. MIB x Todd Snyder: Conversations on Creativity is a three-part podcast series on creativity, leadership, and style. Could it also be a preview of an upcoming collaboration for later this year? Absolutely! For some more info, head over HERE.

Tuesday: Episode Four of Tyler Adams: Road to the Cup, Powered by Volkswagen. This is a simply magical conversation, taped right after Tyler's Premier League debut. Joy meets adrenaline, meets swagger. Not to be missed.

Wednesday: Men in Blazers Do It Live! We back next week at 5 p.m. ET on AMP with special guest and broadcasting legend Andrés Cantor. If you don't already have AMP, what are you doing with yourself?! DOWNLOAD HERE. Follow @meninblazers. And join us every Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET during the Premier League season.

7. Not Football and All the Better For It

i. The name “Kevin” exploded in popularity for five years in 1980s France. It now carries a stigma. A movie examines the classism involved in the Kevin hate. 

ii. The future of air conditioners. We hear AC, we think Aaron Cresswell.

iii. 'Sweeter than honey': Inside the underground quest for the perfect mango. Can't imagine they're going to have much luck searching underground but hey what do I know.

iv. Don’t Worry, Nathan Fielder Also Hates Himself. I think this title is supposed to imply that Nathan Fielder hates himself as much as other people hate him, but I love that it reads as a message of comfort to self-loathers everywhere.

v. ‘Better late than never’: how Brian Eno and David Byrne finally laid a musical ghost to rest. Went in thinking this was going to be about a niche rockstar production of the Phantom of the Opera. These two are the best partnership outside of DCL and Tom Davies.

vi. Kelis’s 20 greatest songs – ranked! Millionaire only at 11? Seems low for the greatest song ever recorded.

vii. The Lycra Legacy of Olivia Newton-John’s ‘Physical’. And when we say legacy, we mean this. Rest in peace to a pop icon.

viii. Speaking of icons. RIP ISSEY MIYAKE. Dark week.

ix. In defence of people watching. Patiently waiting for the follow up piece, "In defence of talking loudly about people within earshot."

x. This House Looks Like A Piece Of Contemporary Art, And It's Yours For A Million Dollars. On the phone to my realtor: "If it's not a two story tudor shaped like the Jeff Koons balloon dog I'm not interested, Diane."

xi. Why The Same Temperature Can Feel Different Somewhere Else. Like why 65 degrees outdoors feels brisk but 65 degrees in an office building feels like someone is trying to murder you with capitalism.

xii. This small Japanese town is a vintage vending machine paradise. Babe, wake up, new vending machine paradise just dropped. I want to move there.

xiii. Cracker Barrel's Facebook post about its plant-based sausage ignites comment culture war. If this isn’t a microcosm of American politics I don’t know what is.

xiv. Check out the new line of Ted Lasso-inspired Fisher-Price toys. Start them early. Football is life. (I want a Fisher Price Coach Beard so very badly.)

xvi. This Book is Incredible: The Fifth Act - America’s End in Afghanistan by Elliot Ackerman. Ackerman is a rare human being. A former Marine Corps Special Operations Team Leader turned author who is as prolific as he is brilliant. This book is a masterpiece of insight, structure, and emotional intelligence. Buy any of his books. Savor all of them.

That is it for this week. One last note. I am so giddy about our partnership with Classic Football Shirts. As those of you avid Raven Newsletter readers will know, we are now releasing a weekly drop of hand-curated collections of 11 different Classic Football Shirts. I really love them – the history, the aesthetic, the back story. It is a total joy to bring these garments to an American audience. This week's theme: UMBRO. That double diamond that has produced some of the most beautiful and iconic gear in football. Shirts that look as good today as they did 30 years ago. The classics never go out of style. Visit meninblazers.com at 12pm ET TODAY to see which kits I have been able to pick out. Every shirt is available for you to acquire but there is only one of each, and once they are gone, they are gone. Like Richarlison at Everton. If there are jerseys you want us to showcase, drop me a line at [email protected] and remember: Drink lots of water and hit that sunscreen this weekend. Read more on Rog's selections.

Big Love.

Courage.

ROG