Former Brentford midfielder Paul Buckle who lives and works in America says “the Premier League is now a juggernaut here”. Last weekend there were record TV ratings for a Premier League game shown in the USA. Paul spent that weekend with Gary Blissett, another of the 1992 Division 3 Champions, who also lives in America, “trying to show how big our club is and can be out here”
Paul and Gary were Brentford’s representatives, along with Club Digital Executive Megan Bespolka, at Fan Fest an annual gathering of Premier League fans living in the US. Paul says ‘it was amazing, not just a celebration of the Premier League with guests from showbiz and other sports, it was a “real bells and whistles event, a carnival weekend”.
This year it was held at the Universal Resort in Orlando, Florida, which is owned by the same company, Comcast, which owns NBC who broadcast Premier League games. NBC was to be a useful ally for Brentford in getting its message across at Fan Fest because Paul is married to Rebecca Lowe the presenter of Premier League football on NBC.
Gary Blissett, Rebecca Lowe and Paul Buckle on stage at FanFest in Orlando
Rebecca, who has an increasing high profile in US TV coverage of various sports, is traditionally a Crystal Palace supporter but with Bees fans in her family she knows to give Brentford a proper mention. Paul says “Thanks to Rebecca I was able to get us the best access possible to everything”.
Which partly explains how Gary Blissett came to be on stage for a live broadcast with a team of kids in Bees kit explaining to an American audience that Brentford is “a family club, a community club”. The kids, who Gary coaches at a nearby training facility in Florida, also played on a special pitch laid out at Fan Fest and their kit created a lot of interest.
“Americans are interested in the David and Goliath story of Brentford”, explains Paul, ‘because with no promotion and relegation in major American sports they find our system fascinating. Gary and I were approached a few months back to represent Brentford at the event and with a lot of Bees fans coming from New York and all over America, it was just nice to have someone there -former players and Megan from the club – to feed back that we are out in America and proud to be here alongside other PL clubs.
“The feedback was incredible, fans contacted Rebecca to say what a good experience they had, that they felt closer to the club, it made people feel special. I don’t think many clubs had kids running around wearing team jerseys on the soccer field. It was brilliant on a personal note to meet up with Gary, we played a lot of games for the club, we were part of that league winning team and to actually celebrate Brentford’s success now was wonderful “.
Paul who now runs a football consultancy business based in California says; “We are very proud to be able to play a part. I come free, it’s the least I can do because my six years at Brentford have given me a platform for the rest of my life. I am very grateful”.
For Paul and Rebecca’s son Teddy -with Buckle 92 on his shirt commemorating that promotion year- it was a chance to see Mum at work.
And a chance for Paul and Teddy to meet some Bees fans.
American Bees fan Reggie Gee was among them.
