Chapter Thirty-Five: Men in Blazers (with Jonathan Mahler)

In 2006, Roger Bennett and Michael Davies had a chance meeting at a wedding. The two bonded over their love for soccer and their frustration with missing the World Cup final. Friendship turned into a podcast, their podcast turned into a television show and a brand was born. Men in Blazers became a legitimate phenomenon, propelling the two men into the soccer media spotlight. The show became a fixture for a devoted group of American soccer fans and helped elevate coverage of the Premier League and beyond for audiences throughout the country. Jonathan Mahler was a media reporter for the New York Times in 2014, a time when Men in Blazers had emerged as dominant voice in soccer coverage in America. Mahler joined Founding Futbol to talk about the evolution of Rog and Davo, BlazerCon, their impact on the popularity of the game and what MIB's next act might look like. Founding Futbol is a year-long exploration of the critical moments that have led to soccer's emerging popularity in Amer...