Saturday, March 9, 2024

NYC Bees featured on NBC for 4th time this Premier League season

The NYC Bees Brentford FC supporters landed their fourth appearance on NBC this 2023-24 Premier League season. The group was featured during halftime of the American broadcast of Brentford-Arsenal on Saturday, March 9.

The Bees supporters have been a regular fixture on both NBC and USA Network broadcasts for the past several seasons, but not to the extent of this current campaign. The two other NBC match broadcasts included Brentford-Newcastle on Sept. 16, 2023, and Brentford-Everton on Sept. 23, 2023. Then on Nov. 11, 2023, the NYC Bees were among an exclusive group of USA-based supporters to wish happy birthday (video) to famed NBC Sports host Rebecca Lowe.

For Brentford fans itching to show their support on a telecast, simply use the #MyPLMorning hashtag on social media [typically Twitter (X) is the most successful medium] and your image might be selected for the broadcast!

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

New York City Bees: Brentford FC Media Hits (2021-present)

The New York City Bees have been the largest international Brentford FC supporters group since the club's rise to the Premier League. The group has garnered dozens of media hits since 2021. Learn more about us below:

Peacock and NBC Sports (PL Stories):
July 19, 2023: The NYC Bees are prevalently featured on this Premier League Productions series. NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr is interviewed (and does the introductory team voice overs) to provide some insight on the NYC fandom. On Peacock, the feature is PL Stories: Season 2, Episode 61. NBC Sports also posted the feature on its YouTube page for North American-based viewers. (Peacock is a subscription media outlet.)

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The Athletic and New York Times:
Feb. 20, 2023:
NYC Bees Charlie Corr (Manhattan) and Levar Riley (Newark, N.J.) are interviewed by The Athletic's Brentford beat writer, Jay Harris, for a piece focusing on the American Bees support. Corr discusses his draw to the club in 2015 and the growth of the fan group at The Red Lion, and Riley talks about his search for a footballing club back in 2019, and how Brentford checked all the boxes for what he wanted in a team. (The Athletic is a subscription media outlet.)

"The next-best thing to being at the Gtech."
-- The Athletic comments section

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Bees United:
Charlie Corr has regularly submitted articles for Bees United's newsletter.

Dec. 30, 2023: International Greetings | Corr wrote on behalf of American-based supporters for Bees United's 2023 reflections piece. 

Aug. 12, 2023: Bees in the States: Partying Like It's 1889 | Corr looks back at the event surrounding Brentford's participation in the Premier League Summer Series in America.

June 10, 2023: Webb's Undertaking to Prove VAR Works in EPL | Corr, a former colleague of PGMOL's Howard Webb during his tenure at MLS, weighs in on Webb's role in Video Assistant Review in the UK.

April 29, 2023: USA Bees: The NYC Experience | Corr describes the Red Lion experience in Greenwich Village, home of the NYC Bees, and making the pub feel like an extension of Gtech and West London.

"We're 'Just a subway stop in The Village.'"

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Across The Seas But Forever Bees:
NYC Bees supporters and visitors have frequently taken part in this USA-based Brentford FC podcast.

Feb. 6, 2024: NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr joins the group for a third time to discuss the Bees' play heading into a difficult six-game stretch, following a match against defending league champions Manchester City.

Oct. 5, 2023: Host Tim Searls opens this episode with a shoutout to NYC and The Red Lion, as well as an important reminder for USA-based Bees supporters to reach out to him to promote your respective stateside watch events.

Aug. 17, 2023: Longtime Brentford expert and show co-host Greville Waterman provides his perspective on the American Bees, with recognition to Brentford USA's John Kenkel and NYC Bees' Charlie Corr on the watch party and supporter movement stateside.

July 28, 2023: NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr returns during the PL Summer Series, to chat about Brentford and the heavy supporters growth in NYC.

May 9, 2023: NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr makes his first appearance.

April 19, 2023: New Hampshire resident Dustin Senor spoke about his NYC experience after visiting The Red Lion for a midweek match.

March 13, 2023: Brentford USA's John Kenkel touts the growth of USA Bees support, with a nice shoutout about the NYC group playing a big role in this trend.

Sept. 2022: NYC Bee Levar Riley of Newark, N.J., discusses his Bees fandom. Riley was the first member of the NYC group to join this podcast.

"The scale and the center of gravity that they've been able to pull ... theirs is the model with which we want to replicate."
-- John Kenkel, Brentford USA, on the NYC Bees

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Beesotted Podcast
NYC Bees supporters and visitors have connected with the highly-touted West London-based podcast.

Aug. 14, 2023: Billy "The Bee" Grant spoke to a bevy of NYC Bees during his visit at The Red Lion for Brentford's opener against Tottenham on Aug. 13. NYC Bees in order of conversations: Charlie Corr, Levar Riley, Adam Harder, Miles Dilworth, Brandi Daniels, Charles Daniel, Sarah Muni and Bruce Muni, followed by some repeat interviews.

Aug. 11, 2023: Billy "The Bee" Grant and Beesotted talked about the NYC Bees and The Red Lion, where Grant presided for the 2023-24 season opener, during their preseason podcast episode.

July 24, 2023:
Two-time Red Lion visitor Sophie Holmes and NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr spoke with Beesotted's Dave "Laney" Lane following Brentford's preseason match against Fulham, in Philadelphia.

April 22, 2023: Beesotted gave a great shoutout to the NYC Bees after making an unannounced drop-in at the pub.

"A must-go venue for any Bees fans visiting NYC."
-- Billy 'The Bee' Grant, Beesotted Podcast

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BrentfordFC.com and official Brentford outlets:
Aug. 29, 2023: During the Carabao Cup broadcast, Mark Burridge and Marcus Gayle dedicated much of the pregame toward the growth of American support. The segment included a mention of NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr, Brentford USA's John Kenkel and Across the Seas but Forever Bees' Tim Searls.

March 23, 2023: The club's official site, BrentfordFC.com, featured the NYC Brentford fan group and spoke with NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr about the rapid supporters growth taking place across the pond.

August of 2022: On the Brentford LinkedIn channel, NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr discussed the start of his Bees fandom and the building of the New York City supporters group.

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NBC
The NYC Bees have been featured frequently on the NBC or USA Network broadcasts throughout Brentford's Premier League tenure.

In 2023-24, the NYC Bees landed spots on the following NBC broadcasts:

March 9, 2024: Brentford-Arsenal
Nov. 11, 2023: Birthday wishes to Rebecca Lowe (video)
Sept. 23, 2023: Brentford-Everton
Sept. 16, 2023: Brentford-Newcastle

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Premier League FanFest Live
NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr has been a regular guest on the show, which is the USA's pre-game supporter platform during the Premier League season and the PL Summer Series.

Dec. 17, 2023: The 8-minute opening segment led with Chelsea Cabarcas' conversation with Corr about the NYC Bees and featured the group from their home base, The Red Lion.

Dec. 10, 2023: The show's third segment included Corr and the NYC Bees during Week 16 of the Premier League season.

Dec. 3, 2023: As part of the Premier League's Festive Fixtures campaign, FanFest kicked off a series of shows featuring mostly American supporters. Corr of the NYC Bees was part of this panel, and the Brentford NYC group received rave reviews from the nearby Manchester City supporters.

July 26, 2023: This 30-minute show took part before the Brentford-Brighton preseason match, part of the PL Summer Series. Corr was one of FanFest Live's guests, and the show featured the 5-A-Side Pod, Elischa Edouard and Chelsea Cabarcas.

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Premier League Fan Zone
Jan. 19, 2024: NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr returned to Premier League FanZone to discuss the long-awaited return of Ivan Toney. For a second straight appearance, a Brentford victory was correctly predicted, as well!

Nov. 3, 2023: NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr made an appearance on the Premier League FanZone program in the build-up toward Brentford's match against West Ham, which ultimately resulted in the Bees' third consecutive victory.

April 4, 2022: NYC Bees Co-Founder Ben Reynolds joined the Premier League FanZone program to discuss the group and Brentford's strong play following a 4-1 rout of Chelsea.

#PLFans #PLFanZone

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Shades of Blue
Feb. 19, 2024: NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr rejoined the America-based Manchester City show, Shades of Blue, heading into the rematch against the defending champs. The discussion included a nice range of Brentford topics, from the club's affinity toward manager Thomas Frank to the blueprint for posting a strong result against City.

Feb. 2, 2024: NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr made a live debut with Shades of Blue: Breaking Bread, a Manchester City-based show. Corr and Shades of Blue host Crunk Chocolate had prevalently featured on the Premier League FanFest Live Show during the holidays.

Whole Lotta Wolves
Feb. 6, 2024: NYC Bees' Abhi Goyal made a second appearance on Whole Lotta Wolves to provide the Brentford perspective heading into the Bees' final meet-up with Wolves (approximately 39 minutes into the show).

Jan. 3, 2024: Abhi Goyal of the NYC Bees joined the USA-based Wolves podcast in previewing the FA Cup 3rd Round matchup between Brentford and Wolves (approximately 45 minutes into the show).

The Ealing Road Podcast
June 22, 2023: During the podcast's show with Brentford's Allen Tillyard (marketing) and Stu Wakeford (content), the staff gave kudos to the pockets of American watch parties, including New York City and Chicago.

The Anfield Wrap
Aug. 18, 2023: On the Liverpool-focused podcast, Beesotted's Billy "The Bee" Grant was invited on and talked about his time watching with the NYC Bees in The Red Lion for Brentford-Tottenham (approximately 9 minutes into the show).

Fulham FC Matchday Programme
Aug. 19, 2023: NYC Bee Adam Harder, 2023 Red Lion visitor Billy "The Bee" Grant and Brentford USA's John Kenkel were among the Brentford FC supporters who took over the pages of Fulham FC's official match day guide. Brentford went on to beat Fulham 3-0 at Craven College.

To contact, or for more information about the NYC Bees, email brentfordnyc@gmail.com.

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Newsletter: March Madness, Watch Event 'Field Trip,' Breaking Bread

Hi NYC Bees, we're heading into a pivotal three-month stretch as we struggle to create some distance from the dreaded relegation zone! Here are some links and updates:

March Madness, Field Trip to Football Factory
Our stretch of March Madness features four matches, including a road game against Arsenal on March 9. We will be getting together for every game this month, but there is a little hurdle: The late kickoff on March 30 against Manchester United cuts into the Saturday music entertainment window at The Red Lion, and unfortunately the pub is unable to adjust its itinerary. Therefore, we will be doing a one-time field trip to watch that match at The Football Factory at Legends, 6 W. 33rd St., in Midtown Manhattan. I'm sure some of you have set foot in there before; it works as a nice temporary venue to make some noise!

See the graphic for our schedule breakdown.

More on NYC Bees: Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Media Hub

Breaking Bread with Opposing Supporters
Our February included four NYC Bees appearances on the USA-based podcast circuit. I connected two times for the live Manchester City Shades of Blue show, previewing the Feb. 3 match and then rejoining a couple weeks later to chat about manager Thomas Frank and some other interesting Bees topics. Our good friends Tim Searls and Greville Waterman also welcomed me back to the Across the Seas But Forever Bees podcast, and our own Abhi Goyal contributed once again about the Brentford side of things on the Whole Lotta Wolves podcast to preview our last victory.

I have one upcoming podcast on the March docket and will keep a lookout for some more opportunities. I'm always open to any contributions or suggestions you may have in this space!

Brentford News & Notes
Grasping for reinforcements:
With just two victories and 10 defeats over its past 12 league matches, Brentford finds itself only a couple positions about the relegation zone in the club's third Premier League season. The Bees did come up with a crucial 2-0 road victory against Wolves on Feb. 10, but it also came at a price as center back Ethan Pinnock injured his ankle. The early prognosis from the club is that Pinnock could return after the March international break. The timetable for Bryan Mbeumo (also an ankle injury) might be similar to Pinnock, which gives some sliver of hope that reinforcements could be on the way heading into April. But then there are other injuries that have lingered much longer than expected. Outside back Aaron Hickey had a "setback" as he has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since late October, and there's still no timetable on Kevin Schade (groin), who was injured during warm-ups before Brentford's loss to Everton in September. The one small bit of fortune is that the bottom two teams in the league (Burnley, Sheffield United) are likely headed back down to the Championship. It's that third relegation spot that is giving us some panic!

New April date for Brighton: Brentford's match against Brighton has been rescheduled for April 3, with kickoff set for 2:30 p.m. ET. The match was previously scheduled for April 2.

RIP, Stan Bowles: Former Brentford footballer Stan Bowles recently passed away at the age of 75. He had been battling Alzheimer's disease since 2015. Greville Waterman wrote a piece for Bees United to pay homage to Bowles, who capped off his career with the Bees in the early 1980s.

Africa Cup of Nations: Brentford's Frank Onyeka and his Nigeria side finished runner-up in the Africa Cup of Nations. Though they had a 1-0 lead, Nigeria ended up falling 2-1 to Ivory Coast in the final on Feb. 11. Yoane Wissa and DR Congo took fourth in the event, and Wissa was named to the Africa Cup Team of the Tournament.

Quick Hits: If you happen to be in Florida in the coming days, the club is setting up a watch event with its partner Visit Tampa Bay on March 2. Former Bee Gary Blissett will be on site at MacDinton's Irish Pub, 405 S. Howard Ave., in Tampa, Fla. Click here to register. ... Feb. 20 marked one year since our first major media attention with the NYC Bees prevalently featured in The Athletic. I thought it was important to recognize how we have garnered dozens of media and content opportunities since that moment! ... Everton's points deduction for breach of league profitability and sustainability rules was reduced from 10 to six points, making things a bit more crowded for us at the bottom half of the league table. ... The Brentford FC Women posted a massive 14-0 victory against Camden & Islington United on Feb. 25!

Suggestions, Comments, Feedback
If you ever have any thoughts, feel free to email (brentfordnyc@gmail.com) or chat with me anytime! #COYB!

Charlie

Monday, February 19, 2024

Guest Appearance: NYC Bees Return to Shades of Blue to Preview City

For the second time in a couple weeks, NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr represented Brentford FC and the NYC Bees during the live Shades of Blue show, "Breaking Bread," hosted by Crunk Chocolate. The two supporters, who were part of the Premier League FanFest series throughout the 2023-24 season, spoke about the upcoming rematch between Brentford and Manchester City on Feb. 20.

This discussion included a nice range of Brentford topics, from the club's affinity toward manager Thomas Frank to the blueprint for posting a strong result against City.

Corr and the NYC Bees will likely be represented one more time this season for another show within the Shades of Blue production, so stay tuned in the coming weeks.

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

NYC Bees: Corr makes third appearance on Forever Bees pod

NYC Bees co-founder Charlie Corr joined Tim Searls and Greville Waterman for the stateside-based Across the Seas But Forever Bees podcast on Feb. 6. The group took away some positives from Brentford's loss to Manchester City and provided a synopsis of the club heading into a difficult six-game stretch.

The podcast has featured New York-based fans prevalently over the past two and a half seasons, with Corr providing his perspective for a third time. Searls is based in Maine and Waterman in the UK, and Waterman has written a bevy of Brentford material over the years.

NYC Bees Appearance: Goyal previews Brentford on Wolves pod

In our continuation of contributing for Brentford's opposing team podcasts, the NYC Bees' Abhi Goyal made a second appearance on Whole Lotta Wolves on Feb. 6 as the Bees prepared for their final appearance of the season against Wolverhampton.

Goyal spoke about the different dynamic of the Brentford roster compared to the previous meet-ups with Wolves. The segment starts approximately 39 minutes into the show.

Friday, February 2, 2024

NYC Bees make live debut on Man City's Shades of Blue podcast

With Brentford prepping for the first matchup of the season against defending champions Manchester City, NYC Bees co-founder Charlie Corr appeared on the live Shades of Blue: Breaking Bread show on Feb. 2.

Corr and Shades of Blue host Crunk Chocolate spoke 1-on-1 for the hourlong program, with the opportunity to delve heavily into Brentford fandom and the club's performance. Both supporters were prevalently featured on the Premier League FanFest Live Show throughout the holiday season.