My 2020 MVPs: The Men in Blazers
Several years ago, I returned from a trip to England with a new love: Premier League soccer. Sure, I’d always liked soccer. I played the game as a kid and have diligently followed the World Cup every four years since 1994. I loved Bend it Like Beckham. I knew Dan was a Chelsea fan for … some reason. But that was about the extent of my knowledge or interest.
Then, during our time in London, we went to a game. Granted, it wasn’t a spectacular one – Arsenal vs. Bournemouth. But the weather was perfect, the fans were into it, and the home team, Arsenal, cruised to victory. I decided I wanted to know everything there was to know about the league, its players, its managers, its stories. To do that, Dan recommended I check out the Men in Blazers podcast. I did, and three years later, the show – and its host Roger Bennett – were among the biggest reasons our little family made it through this godforsaken year.
For those unfamiliar, Men in Blazers is a weekly podcast and sometimes weekly TV show on NBCSN that reviews and previews Premier League games. But soccer’s merely a jumping off point for the show. Rog and his partner Michael Davies (aka Davo) – who’s one of the creators of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” – sprinkle in social commentary, film references both popular and obscure, and anecdotes from their lives in every episode. Their guests range from the sport’s biggest stars to its biggest celebrity fans, like John Oliver and Matthew McConaughey. In short, the show is as much about life as it is football.
That’s why when the pandemic brought the world – and sports – to a full stop in March, Men in Blazers soldiered on. In fact, it went into overdrive. In addition to their regular pod, Rog started a twice weekly episode originally called “Chat Shit Get Answers” (a play on Leicester City player Jamie Vardy’s motto “Chat Shit Get Banged”) where callers could ask Rog questions ranging from the practical (When will the games be back?) to the personal (I’m an Everton fan but my wife is a Liverpool fan – which team should our kids support?). Once per week, they’d run back a popular episode from the past. On another day, they’d air a new interview between Rog and someone big in the soccer world like Bob Ley. Rog even hosted a handful of GFOP (that’s “good friend of the pod”) Zoom happy hours – including a Mother’s Day edition I was fortunate enough to get in to.
Men in Blazers became something dependable in a world gone unmoored. During the pandemic’s early weeks, I’d wake up every day knowing that when I got ready to take my dog for her morning walk, I could fire up my phone’s podcast app and see a new Men in Blazers episode waiting for me. While I got my son’s dinner ready, I’d put him in his high chair and we’d listen to “Uncle Rog and Uncle Davo” to keep us company.
Often, the show provided an escape from our anxiety-ridden existence. One example: Rog turned to bird watching to help pass the time during New York City’s lockdown. During one episode, he recounted his pursuit of a rare and beautiful white bird through the park in painstaking detail – perfectly dropping the punchline: it wasn’t a bird; it was a napkin. But just as often, the show offered the warm embrace of humanity – highlighting Brighton and Hove Albion’s support of their community through COVID, Manchester United star Marcus Rashford’s efforts to ensure Britain’s needy children were fed through the pandemic, or simply being honest about the struggles both the Bennett and Davies families were facing – just like the rest of us. As Rog (quoting Philip Larkin) constantly reminded us — before and during the pandemic — “We should be careful, of each other, we should be kind, while there is still time.”
Closer to home, Men in Blazers played a role in a Hanson family milestone. Encyclopedia Blazertannica – Rog and Davo’s book – has long sat on our coffee table. When our toddler began pulling himself up to stand this fall, he’d zero in on one object: that book. He loved opening the cover and seeing the busy, colorful illustrations on the inside front and back covers. When kiddo's progress toward walking slowed, we needed something we *knew* would motivate him. So we’d pull him a couple of steps away from the coffee table then tell him to walk to “Uncle Rog,” as we began calling the book. And wouldn’t you know it – he walked right to it.
So yes, like just about everyone else on the planet, I can’t wait for 2021 to (finally, blessedly) arrive in a little more than 12 hours. But when we do look back as a family on this plague year, among the very few bright spots will be the way Men in Blazers helped carry us through it. Big thanks to you, Uncle Rog and Uncle Davo. See you in the new year.