Watching a (soccer) dream come true

Over the past 16 years, I have watched my husband Roger pursue his dream. At the age of 40, he decided to find a way to convince America to fall in love with football (soccer). A Liverpool native where football is more of a religion than any of the other faiths practiced in that city, he grew up with football as the spine of his life. The most seminal memories of his father, his grandfather, his best friend, and our children are all inextricably tied up in it. Football offers him meaning and joy, heartbreak and devastation, but ultimately it makes him feel alive. And he wanted America, his adoptive country, to come alive through football too. So Men in Blazers was born.

You can read his recent book, We Are the World (Cup), to dive deep into this journey in his voice — I’m not here to regurgitate that story. Rather, days away from the 2026 World Cup final, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it’s been like to travel alongside him on his quest, called by some a fool’s errand. Witnessing the path he has walked (and sometimes crawled) has been less about soccer and more about what it means to passionately pursue something in the face of endless obstacles and others’ doubt.

The funny thing about life is that there are so many moments – as a parent, a partner, a professional – when you imagine that you’ve arrived. Oftentimes it seems as if you’ve reach the top of the hill you’re climbing, done what you set out to do, only to realize there’s a another peak beyond it. This story is no different. In 2014, Roger and his fellow “man in blazer,” Michael, arrived in Brazil to do a TV show for ESPN during the World Cup. After several years of podcasting, this was their shot at a show. I thought: This is it! Rog has done it. But when I turned on my TV to watch their first episode, I was shocked to see Roger and his co-host facing the camera, sitting side by side in a janitor’s closet. Literally, a janitor’s closet. Gobsmacked, I put on a brave face when I spoke to Roger after the show aired. He told me that the production team had, in fact, cleared out a storage closet to make a tiny set for them. Anyone else would have raged at the indignity of it all. But Rog, as ever, used the humiliation to fuel him (I would have just quit) and figured out a way to make their self-designated “panic room” show a success.

He returned from Brazil to begin the long slog of building a media company about soccer, experimenting and testing along the way. There are truly dozens of stories just like the janitor’s closet-cum-studio, setback after setback that would have flattened another person. But somehow Roger stayed upright, buffeted by a world telling him his idea would never work. Again and again, he delved into that mad-scientist-brain of his to find new pathways to convince the United States of America that soccer is indeed the sport of the future.

It’s a funny thing to be inspired by your spouse’s reversals rather than his successes. I looked on in awe as he toiled away — I would have folded ages ago in the face of the adversity he experienced. But I never, ever doubted Roger’s ability to pull off his goal. Truly, not for a single second did I think he wouldn’t continue on this football odyssey. I actually think that his tenacity was what first drew me to him 26 years ago. He moved to this country and worked several jobs to make ends meet all while exploring his curiosities and passions. By the time I met him, he had carved out a life for himself pursuing wildly brilliant (and deeply unorthodox) ideas. I didn’t fall in love with his ability to succeed. I fell in love with his willingness to fail and try anyway, betting on himself.

God knows what we’ve both given up in order for Roger to pursue this singular story. Some years it was a steady income and many years it was time together as a family, as he missed summer camp visiting days, milestone birthdays, and big anniversaries. But I told him that as long as he was grasping every possible opportunity to make his idea come to fruition, it would all be worth it. And that’s exactly what he did. Even when he was so tired he could barely sit up straight. Even when his father was dying. Even when he faced disheartening blows. He persisted with a determination I never imagined possible.

And now we are almost done with the longest World Cup in history, on American shores, no less. This country has legitimately fallen in love with the game, its traditions, and Roger’s unique brand of soulful football fandom. Even though (as every single article about him points out) he is bald, bespectacled, and middle-aged, Rog has willed this reality into existence. But not alone. Over recent years, Men in Blazers’ band of merry people has swelled and together they work around the clock and across the country to fulfill a shared mission: to evangelize the soccer gospel in America. Each of them has sacrificed precious time with their loved ones – small children, aging parents, and new spouses – in order to make this improbable vision a reality.

I write this piece not to “glaze“ my husband, as the kids would say. God knows I am unflinchingly honest about his weaknesses far more often than I praise his strengths. Rather, I share it as a source of inspiration for anyone out there, child or adult, who is wondering if it’s worth pursuing a dream that seems impossible. In this day and age, kids are on career tracks as soon as they’re out of diapers, being asked to give up on the uncertain and beautiful winding road that life lays before us. I offer up Roger’s path as a way to say: we should all keep dreaming in big and small ways.

Who knows what is to come in this wild and unpredictable world of ours. We’ve all had moments when our realities have turned on a dime. So I’m choosing to stop for a moment and sit in my gratitude that we’ve made it this far. I am recognizing my husband‘s courage to take this bold risk and the brave souls who’ve chosen to join him on this epic journey. I am illuminating his singular ability to share joy with strangers when the world feels very dark. I am celebrating his ability to listen to his heart and audaciously pursue his dream, even when we were the only ones to believe in it.

Leave a comment