The Magical FA Cup Returns 🏆

Hail GFOP! 

I type with fingers braced for the silver-polished glory that is FA Cup third round weekend. The days we see scrappers live out their dreams, and discover which Premier League also-rans truly want to win a trophy and which are content to break their aching fanbases’ hearts. 

I will be honest, I am jonesing for the Premier League. What a midweek packed with intrigue in which the top four all stumbled and drew, culminating in the most fascinating 0-0 draw of the season between Arsenal and Liverpool. A game played in drowned rat conditions, in which the yellow cards on the bench and off-the-ball scuffles were the true highlights, climaxing in the return of simmering Arsenal frustration symbolized by Gabriel Martinelli going heel.

Also: It was SO GOOD to pod with Rory again. Response to this has been magical. AND… Rory will join me on today’s Big Weekend Preview… 🤩

ii. At MiB, this has been a week of deep World Cup planning. It is crazy how close this precious moment feels. We have a dedicated team planning out close to every second and it is thrilling how alive it all is. We are hiring: Couple of roles, including this social media strategist. Come and be with us. We want to do good things with great people. 🙌

iii. Couple of big announcements coming up this week! I am honored to be announcing a new book this Monday on “Morning Joe”! Every time I finish a book, I tell my wife, “I am never going to put myself through that again. But here we are…” This one is a follow-up of sorts to my memoir, “(Re)Born in the USA,” which you guys made No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list. It is very, very football. I cannot wait to share it with you. The cover will be in Monday’s newsletter… 

BAY AREA GFOPs! We are doing a show in your loving arms on Feb. 4. It will be announced in the very near future, so be sure to check our socials. I love coming to SF because the football passion there is just so ecstatic and knowledgeable. I cannot wait to be with you and the slew of special guests we are going to rock with you. 📣

iv. Did you watch “Marty Supreme” and love it? It felt like a remake of “Uncut Gems” with ping-pong built in to me, which I am A-OK with. The funny thing is, I have long been obsessed with table tennis culture. In 2010, I wrote a full-color cultural history of the game, “Everything You Know Is Pong,” with my friend Eli Horowitz. It did not find its people back then. Eli texted me yesterday to say, “There is always a danger of being SO far ahead of your time.” 

Also: I love, love, LOVED “Sentimental Value.” Stellan Skarsgård is the Zlatan of acting. 🎬

v. I am in New York for the next week. My wife just had hip surgery so I am working from home to look after her, and also tape the audio book, which is an oddly grueling experience. Like running a marathon every day for six days, but with your voice instead of your legs. Again, last time I did it, I said, never again…but life is like football fandom: we always go back.

In that spirit, BEAR DOWN. I am so excited for Saturday night’s playoff game. This Bears team under Coach Johnson, Caleb, and beautiful Luther Burden has given me and my family such joy to witness. Not since 1985 have I felt this kind of true ecstasy. Obvs, it can only end in shattering defeat tomorrow… but God bless the Bears, and all who dare believe in them. 🐻

Courage,
ROG

PS - In case you missed it, here's the best angle of the best strike since Harrison Reed's worldie last Sunday. What an absolute heater. 🔥

MiB HQ Bulletin Board 📣

To the Football 🍻

Wrexham vs. Nottingham Forest (TODAY, 2:30 p.m ET, ESPN)

Wrexham kick off the third round in spectacular style this afternoon, when Nottingham Forest become the first Premier League club to visit North Wales since Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac took over the club a little under five years ago. The Town are on a run of four straight wins and their visitors, Forest, sit only 12 places above them in the English football pyramid. Sean Dyche was not yet a youth player at Forest the last time these two met in the Cup, but no doubt remembers the day 44 years ago when Wrexham beat Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest 3-1 in the third round of the 1982 FA Cup. 

More: Forest are Wrexham’s first Premier League opponents of their Hollywood era: This is what it means.

Everton vs. Sunderland (Saturday, 7:15 a.m. ET, ESPN2)

I am braced for the worst: An early Saturday morning cataclysm that will feel as if Everton’s last chance of silverware is dead for another season. Hello darkness, my old friend. No Jack Grealish. No Michael Keane (his red card appeal was rejected this morning). Part of me is now tuning in to watch my boys to see the surreal way we will summon a red card this week. Slapping a teammate? Pulling an opponent’s hair? Sarcastic clapping? As this incredible tweet details, we are guilty of all these crimes and more.

Macclesfield FC vs. Crystal Palace (Saturday, 7:15 a.m. ET, ESPN+)

“Magic of the FA Cup Klaxon.” Sixth-tier Macclesfield, a phoenix club reborn from old school duffers, Macclesfield Town, who went bankrupt in 2020, welcome the defending FA Cup Champions Palace, who for once will be the big boys in a football game. The Silk Men play on a 4G synthetic pitch at the 5,300 capacity Moss Road. This is the changing room that awaits the Premier League boys… What could possibly go wrong?

More: A game tinged with sadness. Twenty-five days ago, Macclesfield’s former Wolves striker, Ethan McLeod, died aged 21 in a road crash. His memory will cast a pall of sadness over the joy of this moment.

Manchester City vs. Exeter City (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, ESPN+)

Can Semenyo’s boys break their free-fall of three straight draws against League One NPC’s Exeter City, who have one of the greatest nicknames in English Football—The Grecians? No one can remember where the name comes from exactly, with most believing it harks back to the part of town where the club was founded, which was outside of the Roman walls of the city. A vengeance subplot? The financially-challenged Exeter City asked Manchester City if they could have a greater share of the gate receipts in the spirit of “solidarity.” City said no.

Charlton Athletic vs. Chelsea (Saturday, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

Cometh the hour, cometh Liam Rosenior. The 41-year-old former Strasbourg manager is by all accounts an intelligent, ambitious, articulate young leader. He is also undeniably random and inexperienced and will be thrust into a crucible of pressure, dysfunction and win-now spotlight, which has destroyed far more seasoned men than he. The new era—and Rosenior was unfathomably given a contract until 2032—begins now, against Championship relegation fighters, Charlton Athletic. This is our first chance to see whom Rosenior rates and believes in, as well as the footballing formation he wants to set out to find goals where they had dried out, and re-energize Cole Palmer back to the pomp of his Chippy Chips best.

Portsmouth vs. Arsenal (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, ESPN2)

The Arsenal second string is so good, I believe they could challenge for a Champions League place in their own right. Here we will get a chance to see the likes of Ethan Nwaneri, Christian Nørgaard and Kepa, and learn how many set-piece strikes, and own goals, they can coax.

More: I love this Arsenal fan’s work. She is so talented.

Manchester United vs. Brighton (Sunday, 11:30 a.m. ET, ESPN+)

Under the interim management of former title and Champions League-winner Darren Fletcher, United remain in chaos. Digging back to the vibes of the historic good old days will no more bring back the glory than excavating a fossil will bring the dinosaurs back to life. The midweek game—a 2-2 draw against Burnley—featured many of the modern tropes: leads coughed up, confounding goal concessions. Fan groups are calling for Jim Ratcliffe and his “clown car” to exit the club, ex-legend Roy Keane is accusing iconic manager Sir Alex Ferguson of lingering like a “bad smell,” and there is no sense of the next step in this post-Amorim world that everyone must have seen coming, but no one seems to have planned for. 

Good read: Amorim doomed to fail inside Manchester United’s broken machine.

Liverpool vs. Barnsley (Monday, 2:45 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

Is the FA Cup now the focus for Liverpool silverware this season? Enter a Barnsley team languishing in 17th in League One. Slot made massive changes in his club's Carabao exit and was denigrated by the fans. Dare he again?

🗓️ Full FA Cup schedule here.

MiB Mad Libs 📝

This week’s phrase is: “_______ should be the next Manchester United manager because _______”

Email us your submissions to be in contention to win a coveted MiB patch.

There were a record-breaking numbers of entries for our last Mad Lib of 2025, but there can only be one winner:

Jon Bloom: “Football and Christmas is an even better combo than football and Thanksgiving.”

Jon, I love your wisdom—it hints at the America I dream of post-2026 World Cup… send us your postal and the patch is yours!

Beautiful Football Around the World 🌎

AFCON Quarter-Final: Egypt vs. Ivory Coast (Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, beIN Sports USA) 🏆

Romantics will want Mo Salah to finally meet his unrequited love, the AFCON trophy, something he holds in equal prestige to any club silverware. He’s reached and lost two AFCON finals with Egypt, who he’s scored three goals for so far this tournament, a tally matched by Ivory Coast’s star man, Amad Diallo. They’ve collided plenty of times in the infernos of Anfield and Old Trafford, but the pressure of national expectation in the Adrar Stadium tomorrow will be a different beast. 

Inter Milan vs. Napoli (Sunday, 2:45 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🇮🇹

Inter Milan are moving like Timothée Chalamet through awards season, winning their last six league games and emerging from the Christmas crunch period as Serie A leaders. Champions Napoli have dropped off since their strong start, sitting third and trailing them by four points in Europe’s tightest title race. Christian Chivu and Antonio Conte’s philosophies are diametrically opposed to each other’s, but the result of this match at the San Siro could hinge on the individual performances of Nerazzurri conductor, Lautaro Martinez, and Napoli’s maestro, Scott McTominay.

Fiorentina vs. AC Milan (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, Paramount+) 🇮🇹

AC Milan’s duel attacking threats, Christian Pulisic and Rafa Leão, have only started two games together this season. Even with that in mind, they’re second to neighbors Inter by just three points, and now that both are fit again, Max Allegri must find a formula for his two top attacking threats to work in tandem. That doesn’t bode well for Fiorentina, who are 18th and clawing at the walls of the black hole of Serie A, with only two wins this season.

Supercopa Final: Barca vs. Real Madrid (Sunday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN2) 🇪🇸

The Peter Griffin and Giant Chicken of football meet again for the opportunity to taste some early season silverware and land a psychological blow on their bitterest rival. It’s the fourth consecutive Supercopa El Clásico and with Barcelona winning two of the last three finals in Saudi Arabia while enjoying a four-point lead over Los Blancos in La Liga, Hansi Flick’s side are slight favorites. Like a late Royal Rumble entrant, Xabi Alonso’s flying in Kylian Mbappé with the hope he can recover from a knee injury in time for the bout.

Bayern Munich vs. Wolfsburg (Sunday, 11:30 a.m. ET, ESPN+) 🇩🇪

New year, same Bayern Munich, as Vincent Kompany’s Monstars return from the Bundesliga Christmas break still undefeated and nine points ahead of second-placed Borussia Dortmund. Harry Kane sits on an ever-elevating throne of 35 goals for club and country this season, and his New Year’s resolution will be simple: win every individual and team honor on offer. Relegation fodder Wolfsburg are 14th in the table, but interim manager Daniel Bauer was given the job permanently in December after a string of positive results. 

Women’s Super League Returns! (Sunday, 7 a.m. ET, ESPN+/WSL YouTube) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

After nearly a month out of action, Man City return after spending New Year’s celebrating the Mewis-Kerr wedding six points clear atop the WSL. Opponents Everton spent the winter break at the opposite end of the table, only two wins this season has them battling crosstown rivals Liverpool for survival. Any result would keep City in first, while a shock win for Everton could see them climb out of danger into ninth.

Not Football and All the Better for It 📖

• I love the idea of a whole town rooted in the identity of “Ramen.”

• More of this please! Gluttons for Punishment: Justin McDaniel has developed a cult following for getting his students to read — as long as they follow his rules.

• “I’ve never worked in a kitchen,” he said. “I just really like fire.” Two Nights Playing With Fire At Patrick Mahomes And Travis Kelce’s Steakhouse. 

• AI could never: The Top 25 @ArtButMakeItSports Posts of 2025. 

• My New Year's resolution every year: Be Like Amanda Seyfried.

• This song helped me through the week: “Bloodline” by Mon Rovîa. Sufjan-esque. 

• I re-read this book and loved it all over again: “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” by Milan Kundera. I don’t often read old classics, but I felt so low at the end of the year, this book felt necessary. It bent my mind when I read it back as a teen, and did so again in really meaningful ways.

A GFOP Writes… ✍️

Chris Skey from the incredible township of Evanston, Ill. writes: “A while back we had an exchange about my cancer diagnosis, prompted by your invocation of Warren Zevon's instruction to enjoy every sandwich. That advice, and your generous response to my initial email, meant a lot to me and also touched my immediate and extended family in a lovely way.

2025 was a son of a bitch (to paraphrase Jason Isbell, another great American songwriter), with chemo, radiation, endless tests, two operations, and physical therapy. And of course the world was in chaos, with so many facing much bigger challenges than me.

But I'm pleased to report that I made it through, due in large part to loving support from near and far, MIB included. And especially from my wife, wonderful daughters, and great extended family who supported me steadfastly while continuing their own important and amazing activities.

You'll be pleased to know that football helped! Whenever I could during the medical stuff, I continued to play with my Sunday afternoon pickup group, a true United Nations of gents and ladies who play solely for the love of the game and the camaraderie that surrounds it. That group was incredibly supportive as I worked through the illness and came out the other side. 

So, I just want to say thank you again for your support. It meant more than you know.”

Rog writes: Chris, what a way to start the year. There can be no better letter than this. I am beyond thrilled to hear your news and pray that football continues to give you and your beautiful family, health, happiness and profound connections. THAT is the true power of the game.

Keep sending your stories and questions to [email protected]. WE LOVE THEM SO MUCH!

To better days ahead for all.

Let’s not take a moment watching football together for granted and make great memories.

Big Love.

Courage,
ROG