Roger Bennett (journalist)

Roger James Bennett (born 19 September 1970) is a British-American broadcaster, podcaster, and filmmaker, who has, through Men in Blazers, become one of the most prominent football broadcasters in the United States. Along with Michael Davies, Men in Blazers has turned a weekly Premier League podcast into a popular television show on NBCSN and digital content brand covering multiple sports including women’s soccer, golf, and the NHL.The duo have written a New York Times Best Selling book, released clothing collaborations with a slew of designers, and travelled the nation on sold-out live tours celebrating soccer, which they call “America’s Sport of the Future… as it has been since 1972.”

Roger Bennett
Bennett interviewing Wayne Rooney at D.C. United
Born
Roger James Bennett

(1970-09-19) 19 September 1970
Liverpool, United Kingdom
Other namesRog Bennett
CitizenshipUnited States
OccupationJournalist, author, radio presenter, film maker
Known forMen in Blazers
Spouse(s)
Vanessa Kroll
​
(m. 2000)​
[1]

Career

Men in Blazers
See also: Men in Blazers

The podcast began on the Grantland network in 2011 and quickly established itself as the most popular football podcast in North America. Regular guests included Billy Beane, John Oliver, Andrew Luck, and bands like The National (band), Vampire Weekend, and Mumford and Sons, all of whom would come on to discuss their footballing passions.

After becoming a cult hit on ESPN during the 2014 World Cup,[2] the duo signed with NBCSN to create a weekly half-hour television show "Men in Blazers" which covers the English Premier League. It debuted on 15 September 2014, and is filmed in a studio in the SoHo area of New York City, which Bennett refers to as “The Panic Room.”

The show celebrates Premier League storylines week to week. Bennett interviews a celebrity in the final third of each episode. His guests have included Will Ferrell, Laura Linney, DeAndre Hopkins, Killer Mike, Rory McIlroy, Diplo, and Alex Morgan.

Other Sports

Empowered by the popularity of the Men In Blazers football coverage, Bennett and Men In Blazers, along with his production partner, Jonathan Williamson, have gone on to create content on NFL, golf, where they cover the British Open and The Presidents Cup, and the NHL.

Men In Blazers on Ice

In 2019, Men in Blazers debuted "Men in Blazers on Ice," where Bennett sat down with NHL stars to talk through their career ups and downs and the lessons they've learned along the way. The first season featured PK Subban[3] and Alex Ovechkin.[4] Season two premiered in the spring of 2020 and featured interviews with T.J. Oshie,[5] Auston Matthews,[6] Ryan O'Reilly,[7] Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper,[8] and Victor Hedman.[9]

Live Tours

Every summer, Bennett and Davies tour the nation playing a stream of live tours which bring together footballing loving Americans in a theater setting with guests including Waka Flocka, Sam Darnold, and Julie Ertz. The tours were the subject of a "Real Sports" feature on HBO.[10]

Films

Thanks to the popularity of Men In Blazers, Bennett has been invited by numerous teams to film with their managers and players. He has created television specials with Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Steve Kerr, Arsene Wenger, Mauricio Pochettino, Kevin De Bruyne, Harry Kane, Virgil van Dijk, and Wayne Rooney. In 2018, Bennett made a 3-part NBC Sports television story on the history of Liverpool Football Club, entitled “In the Shadow of the Kop”.[11]

The Promoted Series

In 2017, Bennett launched an annual three-part television series on NBC, entitled ”The Promoted” where he visits the cities of every newly promoted Premier League teams to tell the story of their journey to the Premier League and the culture that surrounds the club. 2017's episodes were Newcastle United F.C.,[12] Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.[13] and Huddersfield Town A.F.C.[14] 2018 featured Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.,[15] Cardiff City F.C.,[16] and Fulham F.C.[17] 2019 had Norwich City F.C.,[18] Sheffield United F.C.,[19] and Aston Villa F.C.[20] 2020 featured Leeds United F.C.[21]

Podcasts

American Fiasco

In 2018, Bennett partnered with WNYC to create American Fiasco,[22] a 10-part series that followed the rise and fall of US Soccer’s World Cup dreams in 1998, when the American squad believed that after successfully hosting the 1994 tournament, nothing could stop them from going to the next one and winning it all. The series was described as "part love letter to the American game, and part forensic accounting of the nation’s inability to fulfill its dreams in the global game." It reached Number One on iTunes in its debut week.[23]

Women in Blazers

Bennett has taped films with US Women World Cup winners including Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Crystal Dunn, and Lindsey Horan. In September, 2019, Bennett launched a podcast dedicated to the National Women’s Soccer League,[24] which has featured interviews with Sam Kerr[25] and Emily Sonnett.[26]

Wayne Rooney podcast

After Wayne Rooney filmed a Men in Blazers Special with Rog,[27] the duo went on to tape a regular monthly podcast, "The Wayne Rooney Podcast" whilst Rooney was in the United States.[28]

HBO's Succession podcast

In July 2020, Bennett produced and hosted an eight-part podcast series for HBO.[29] Airing weekly, each episode featured an interview between Bennett and a member of the cast of Succession discussing the series in anticipation of its third season.

Books

Bennett has published books on a slew of eclectic topics including Bar Mitzvah Disco, a book on Bar Mitzvah photographs of the 1980s, which he wrote with Nick Kroll,[30] and Everything You Know is Pong, which he wrote with Eli Horowitz about table tennis.[31]

Other projects

In 2010, he created the architectural design competition Sukkah City with journalist Joshua Foer.[32] Bennett is also co-founder of a record label, Idelsohn Society for Musical Preservation, that has tracked down lost music from the 1950s and 60s and reissued it including BAGELS AND BONGOS[33] and BLACK SABBATH.[34] In 2018, he wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post about Wayne Rooney[35] A lifelong fan of the Chicago WhiteSox, Bennett threw out the first pitch on August 29, 2019.[36]

Personal life

Bennett married Vanessa Kroll, daughter of Kroll Inc. founder Jules Kroll, in 2000. His brother-in-law is comedian Nick Kroll.[37] Bennett is Jewish.[32] In 2014, he announced he would be becoming a naturalized US citizen based upon the United States men's national soccer team's progress in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Bennett became a US citizen on 1 June 2018.[38][39] Bennett is a longtime supporter of Everton F.C., which plays in the English Premier League. Bennett is also a fan of the Chicago Bears and the Chicago White Sox.[40] He is fond of Tracy Chapman and tweed.

Bibliography
  • ISBN 978-1400080441 - Bar Mitzvah Disco
  • ISBN 978-0307382627 - Camp Camp: Where Fantasy Island Meets Lord of the Flies
  • ISBN 978-0307394675 - And You Shall Know Us By the Trail of Our Vinyl
  • ISBN 978-0345517920 - The ESPN World Cup Companion
  • ISBN 978-0061690518 - Everything you know is pong
  • ISBN 978-0761169192 - Unscrolled
  • ISBN 9781101875988 - "Encyclopedia Blazertannica: A Suboptimal Guide to Soccer, America's "Sport of the Future" Since 1972"

References
  1. "Weddings". New York Times. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  2. Mahler, Jonathan (2014-06-25). "At World Cup, Two Unknowns Are Surprise Stars". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  3. "P.K. Subban discusses paving his own path on 'Men in Blazers' - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  4. "Alexander Ovechkin gets personal on 'Men in Blazers' - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  5. "T.J. Oshie discusses the Washington Capitals' pregame rituals on 'Men in Blazers' - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  6. "Auston Matthews discusses friendship with Justin Bieber on 'Men In Blazers' - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  7. "Ryan O'Reilly joins 'Men in Blazers' - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  8. "Men in Blazers: Jon Cooper - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  9. "Victor Hedman joins 'Men in Blazers' - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  10. "Men in Blazers | Real Sports w/ Bryant Gumbel | HBO - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  11. ""In the Shadow of the Kop" series kicks off". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  12. Newcastle United: Promoted, 2017-09-22, retrieved 2020-07-21
  13. Brighton FC: Promoted, 2017-09-22, retrieved 2020-07-21
  14. "NBC Promoted Series - Huddersfield Town". YouTube. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  15. Promoted: Wolves debuts today on NBCSN, 2018-09-23, retrieved 2020-07-21
  16. "Twitter post of NBCSportsSoccer". Twitter. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  17. "Promoted", Fulham Football Club, 2018-09-02, retrieved 2020-10-27
  18. "NBC Documentary | Norwich Promoted". YouTube. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  19. "Sheffield United | NBC Promoted Documentary". YouTube. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  20. Promoted: Aston Villa ready to reclaim rightful place in the Premier League, 2019-09-29, retrieved 2020-07-21
  21. "Leeds United street art? 'Burley Banksy' on his inspiration | Premier League | NBC Sports". YouTube. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
  22. "American Fiasco: Episodes | WNYC Studios | Podcasts". WNYC Studios. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  23. "iTunesCharts.net: 'American Fiasco' by WNYC Studios (American Podcasts iTunes Chart)". www.itunescharts.net. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  24. Blazers, Men In. "The Women in Blazers Podcast". Men in Blazers. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  25. Women in Blazers 10/14/19: With Sam Kerr and Kelley O'Hara, retrieved 2020-07-21
  26. Women in Blazers 10/24/19: With Emily Sonnett and Heather O'Reilly, retrieved 2020-07-21
  27. "Watch The Men in Blazers Show | NBC Sports". stream.nbcsports.com. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  28. Blazers, Men In. "The Wayne Rooney Podcast Episode 3". Men in Blazers. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  29. "Succession - HBO's Succession Podcast". HBO. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  30. Bennett, Roger; Shell, Jules; Kroll, Nick (2005). Bar Mitzvah Disco. ISBN 978-1-4000-8044-1.
  31. "'Everything You Know is Pong' By Roger Bennett And Eli Horowitz". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  32. Bernstein, Fred (16 September 2010). "A Harvest of Temporary Shelters". New York Times. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  33. "Funny, It Doesn't Sound Jewish". Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  34. "The Secret Musical History Of...'Black Sabbath'?". Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  35. "Fallen star Wayne Rooney saved his soccer career — and D.C.'s team along with it". Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  36. "Roger Bennett on Life, the White Sox, and the Beauty of Sports". Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  37. bennett, roger. "My real life brother-in-law, @nickkroll has a show starting tomorrow night on @ComedyCentral 10.30 EST. He's like a male Mrs. Patmore".
  38. @rogbennett (1 June 2018). "American Rog 🇺🇸 one of 162 New Americans Sworn in from 47 countries around the World. "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." 🇺🇸🙌🍻" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  39. "Twitter status". Twitter. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  40. "White Sox Talk Podcast: Roger Bennett's undying love for the White Sox". RSN. Retrieved 2020-09-09.

Further reading
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