Men in Blazers: Offbeat and quirky, they love their football

Downtown Abbey meets Men in Blazers / Michael Davies (L) and
 Roger Bennett (R) share a visit from "Mr. Barrow", Rob James-Collier
during this week's show.

Michael Davies and Roger Bennett like to discuss football -- the "beautiful game" not the American gladiator version played in the NFL -- and they wear blazers. Usually at the same time. Their little media empire "Men in Blazers", which includes a podcast, a website, a Facebook page, a Twitter feed (@MeninBlazers) and a weekly TV show on NBC Sports Network, is driven by the belief that "soccer is America's sport of the future. As it has been since 1972."

Very simply, Davies and Bennett, both balding English blokes -- the former (nicknamed "Davo") is an American TV game show producer while the latter is a bespectacled-but-serious documentary journalist -- are funny and articulate. And, thanks to their small but passionate following with "Men in Blazers", they are taking advantage of a growing American fascination with international football, specifically the English Premier League. It's the kind of show you can equally enjoy with your choice of morning stimulant, be it a cup of coffee or a pint of Guinness.

Beginning in 2011, "Men in Blazers" started as a weekly podcast on Grantland.com, the ESPN-owned sports and pop culture website, and Davies and Bennett offered their quirky and off-beat analysis of recent Premier League matches as well as coverage of the UEFA Champions League and other international fixtures. Davies roots for Chelsea while Bennett holds a dear spot for Everton. The popularity of their podcast has carried over nicely to television, where the British duo were regularly featured on ESPN's coverage of the FIFA World Cup tournament from Brazil last summer. In September, "Men in Blazers" became a lovely complement to NBCSN's weekly Premier League coverage and the show originates from cozy confines in New York City.

According to their website, the aim of "Men in Blazers" is "nothing less than to enlighten the masses to the wildly entertaining world of soccer and the English Premier League in particular. Immersed in the high and low culture of the beautiful game, the program mixes analysis and guest appearances in equal measure, with the aim of providing an intelligent yet often humorous, and always passionate, soccer broadcast."

On the air, the "Men in Blazers" analysis is filled with similes, World War I poetry and lots of pop culture references and inside jokes -- so listen and watch with a keen ear and eye. They love to answer fan e-mail and acknowledge their favorite fan Tweets on placards. And, they're obsessed by PBS Masterpiece Theater's "Downton Abbey". So, it's not surprising that they invited Rob James-Collier, who plays Mr. Barrow, the reviled "Downton Abbey" character everyone loves to loathe from the wildly-popular British drama, to be a guest on a recent show. Needless to say, it was highly-entertaining television.

"We've tried to revel in the narrative of football, which for us, is like an elite athletic competition fused with the storylines of a telenovela," Bennett told Rolling Stone in a recent interview. "Albert Camus had a great quote, 'Everything I know about morality and the obligations of men, I owe it to football.' We agree with that. For us, football is life, like it was for Camus, I guess. Never met the bloke. Would've loved him to come on the show."

Note: The "Men in Blazers" TV show airs on select Mondays during the English Premier Leaague season on NBC Sports Network.

Photo: Courtesy of Men in Blazers website.

These Olympic Games have been about breaking down barriers and having fun, too

The 2012 London Summer Games are less than a week old. Already, these Olympic Games have been all about host Britain being confidently eccentric, at times quirky, but always putting on a good show.

From the pristine grass tennis courts of Wimbledon to the party-like atmosphere of beach volleyball, played in the middle of the Horse Guards Parade, to the road cycling races buzzing the Mall while taking a quick right at Buckingham Palace, the sights and sounds throughout London have been unabashed and brilliantly British.

After all, a nation that's given us William Shakespeare, Sir Isaac Newton, Jane Austen, Sir Winston Churchill, the Beatles, Mary Poppins, Harry Potter and the House of Windsor, is definitely a nation secure in its own identity. And, who else but filmmaker Danny Boyle of "Slumdog Millionaire" fame could convince Queen Elizabeth that jumping out of a helicopter with James Bond during last Friday's opening ceremonies would be a good career move for her? 

Who even knew the Queen even had a sense of humour?

Undoubtedly, the London Summer Games have been colorful. Lots of Union Jacks, Stella McCartney-inspired fashion and painted faces all about town have made for good visuals on TV and the Internet. Thank goodness, I've found a reliable Internet link to watch the BBC's refreshingly enjoyable coverage that is far less pretentious and glitzy than NBC's here in the U.S.

Just as importantly, the London Summer Games have been about breaking down barriers. 

On Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. women's football (soccer) team defeated North Korea 1-0 in the first women's international match played in the 102-year history of Old Trafford, the home of famed Manchester United of the English Premier League.

"It's not every decade," said U.S. player Megan Rapinoe, when asked by a New York Times reporter if she was impressed by the aura of playing at Old Trafford, the so-called "Theater of Dreams."

Talk about your gender bias.

As Olympic and Old Trafford historians met and compared notes, it seemed that the only other women's match believed to have been played at Old Trafford was a 1989 Women's F.A. Cup final between Friends of Fulham FC and Leasowe Pacific, which Leasowe won 3-2 in front of a paltry crowd of 916.

Big Ben / The Games of the XXX Olympiad from London.

NPR sports commentator Frank Deford recently observed that the Olympics are "like an independent movie with foreign actors you've never heard of." Further, he said, it's quite alright if we "cheer for people you've never heard of in a sport you don't care about just because."

While I've been riveted to the first-week excitement in the swimming pool, I've also been fascinated by sampling a bit of the action in archery, badminton, fencing and table tennis, too. These aren't exactly household sports with recognizable athletes in America. And, the competitions in these sports have been airing at odd hours of the day and night. Yet, it's been fun to watch, too.

Meanwhile, the London Summer Games have been filled with wonderful, weepy moments and dreams come true. And, it's only the first week.

At the Olympic pool Monday night, Ruta Meilutyte, a 15-year-old from Lithuania, won the gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke in 1 minute, 05.47 seconds. It was her country's first Olympic swimming medal. Imagine what this must mean for Meilutyte and for her country, too.  "I can't believe it," said Meilutyte, excitedly, in a poolside interview with the BBC moments after beating an impressive field. 

Michael Phelps / The greatest Olympian of them all.

Tonight, American swimmer Michael Phelps anchored a U.S. victory in the 4 x 200-meter freestyle and, thus, won his 15th gold and 19th overall medal to break the Olympic record for most career medals set 48 years ago by Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina. The crowd was electrified by this unbelievably spectacular and historic night in the swimming pool. Phelps had become the greatest Olympian of them all.

Aside from cheering for Phelps, among the most emotional of highlights in the first week of the Olympics for me happened during the opening ceremonies. It was the performance of the hymn "Abide With Me" as sung by the Scottish singer Emelie Sandé. She appeared shortly after a moving sequence during which a memorial wall on the stadium screens showed images of spectators' loved ones who had passed away. It was worth a good cry.

The hymn, "Abide With Me" is a prayer for God to remain present with the speaker throughout life, through trials, and through death. Since the 1927 F.A. Cup final between Arsenal and Cardiff City, the first and last verses of the hymn have been traditionally sung at the F.A. Cup final before the kick off of the match. It was awe inspiring.

As a nation, Britain has always excelled at celebrating its past: from its military victories to its monarchies, from its intellectual achievement to its culture. For this fortnight, the BBC commentators are sparing no adjectives. Everything is: amazing, beautiful, charming, dashing, elegant, fabulous, and so on. Boosterish? Maybe, but it's that lovely British accent that puts a delightful spin on everything. And, that's cool by me. 

Yes, these Olympic Games, the world's greatest five-ring sports spectacular, have been absolutely fabulous.  And, it's only the first week.

Michael Phelps photograph courtesy of the Guardian.co.uk.