Monday, January 6, 2025

NYC Bees feature: Premier League Matchdays Together with Guinness

The NYC Bees were featured in one of its most high-profile pieces since our group was formed. Our Brentford supporters group took part in the Premier League Matchdays Together with Guinness, with several interviews and footage from our pub, The Red Lion, in Greenwich Village!

Hosted by Nakeira West, the COPA90-produced project included chats with NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr from nearby Washington Square Park, shorter conversations with fellow NYC Bees Dan Mitzelman and Alison Roberts from outside the pub, and of course a drop-in of our Brentford-Chelsea watch event on Dec. 15. We drew more than 30 fans that afternoon.

The Premier League filtered this video and other snippets through their social media platforms, which is naturally a big boost for us. The PL has a massive following on Instagram (76.5 million followers), X (45 million followers) and YouTube (7.9 million subscribers).

Thank you to all our supporters for repping Brentford in New York City, the piece turned out great!

Sunday, January 5, 2025

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, on NYC's Red Lion

BBC

Aug. 25, 2024:
NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr joined BBC Radio's Sunday Sportsworld for a live panel appearance to help preview the fixture between Brentford and host side Liverpool. The panel discussion was presented by Nishat Ladha alongside football reporter George Addo. Topics included the club's play, recent signings, Brentford stateside fandom and more. The BBC World Service feed is available here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service

"If I could make a blueprint for what I wanted the panel to be like, that was it."
--Jake Katborg, BBC Sunday Sportsworld Producer

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Premier League Matchdays Together with Guinness
Jan. 26, 2025:
The NYC Bees took part in this COPA90-produced feature that highlighted the NYC Bees. Hosted by Nakeira West, the piece included chats with NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr from nearby Washington Square Park, conversations with Dan Mitzelman and Alison Roberts, and a drop-in of our Brentford-Chelsea watch event on Dec. 15, which drew more than 30 fans. The PL filtered this video throughout their social media channels, including Instagram (76.5 million followers), X (45 million) and YouTube (7.9 million subscribers).

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

May 23, 2024: Stateside Perspective: Establishing our International Bees Voice | Corr recaps a significant 2023-24 season off the pitch that included substantial media attention and growth among the stateside fan base.

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.

Sept. 19, 2024: NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr rejoined the podcast following Brentford's successful week that included a hard-fought match at Man City and Carabao Cup advancement against Leyton Orient.

April 23, 2024: Adam Harder of the NYC Bees made his first appearance on the show and spoke about the roots of his Brentford fandom during the later stages of the club's Championship tenure.

April 10, 2024: Show host Tim Searls spoke about his visit to NYC and The Red Lion on April 6 as part of their program (approximately 22 minutes in). NYC Bees Charlie Corr and Levar Riley, who both have been on the show, finally caught up with Tim in person!

March 1, 2024: Our upstate neighbor, Brian O'Connell of the Saratoga Bees, made his debut on the podcast. O'Connell and his supporters joined the NYC Bees at The Red Lion for the 2022-23 season finale victory against Manchester City.

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
Sept. 20, 2024: The NYC Bees were featured in Brentford FC's Fan Spotlight, a day before the club's match against Tottenham. "Our New York City Bees meet rain or shine to cheer on the team from across the pond!"

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:

April 27, 2024: Brentford-Everton (2x)
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. 26, 2024: Even though Brentford didn't play on Boxing Day, we landed a segment on the FanFest Live show to preview our match against Brighton the following day. Corr was our guest and well known Manchester City supporter Crunk hosted the 1-hour, 45-minute program.

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 Fanzone, live on Peacock
The international PL Fanzone is broadcast live on Mondays and Fridays in the USA via Peacock's PL channel. Shows are not archived or available online, but we give advance notice when we are aligned for an appearance.

Nov. 4, 2024:  In the buildup to the Brentford-Fulham derby, Charlie Corr joined the Monday Fanzone show to discuss the Bees and the club's upward trajectory this season.

Oct. 18, 2024: Charlie Corr spoke with the Friday Fanzone crew to talk about the ongoing Thomas Frank coaching rumor mill as Brentford was preparing for a bout with Manchester United.

Sept. 20, 2024:
Dan Mitzelman, who has been with the NYC Bees since our second Premier League season, made his Fanzone debut to cap off the show's supporter commentary heading into the weekend's Brentford-Tottenham match.

Sept. 16, 2024: The NYC Bees and The Red Lion were featured prevalently in our first Monday appearance on Fanzone. The show included some footage of our pub in Greenwich Village, followed by an interview with NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr, conducted by host Anita Nneka Jones and Leroy Rosenior.

Sept. 13, 2024: We made a cameo appearance prior to the Man City-Brentford match, with NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr answering a couple questions, and host Will Perry providing a little teaser for the following week's NYC Bees watch events feature and interview.

April 19, 2024:
NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr chatted with Fanzone hosts Will Perry and Clinton Morrison heading into Brentford's matchup against Luton Town, which turned out to be the Bees' best offensive performance in the Premier League.

March 29, 2024: NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr reflected on striker Ivan Toney's international history with the England national team and spoke about Brentford-Manchester United on Premier League Fanzone.

March 15, 2024: NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr made a cameo appearance to preview Brentford-Burnley on the Premier League Fanzone program.

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
Sept. 10, 2024: NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr connected with Crunk Chocolate and Lando Martinez to preview the first Manchester City-Brentford matchup of the 2024-25 season. Topics ranged from Brentford's transfer window grade to the aspects of the Bees' play that have made for such a difficult matchup in Manchester City's eyes.

July 12, 2024: NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr joined Shades of Blue for the podcast's Brentford End Of Season Report episode. The show featured an assortment of grading assignments, ranging from the players and coaches, to even the Brentford kits.

March 28, 2024: NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr was invited for the Shades of Blue's LIT Stream, hosted by FanFest Live. Our segment (which starts approximately 30 minutes into the show) delved into Ivan Toney's international goal and accomplishments for England and his club future, Brentford's front-line talent and Thomas Frank. 

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.

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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).

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Don't Know Much About Football
Nov. 16, 2024: NYC Bees Alison Roberts and Abhi Goyal were featured in this new show, which focuses on American-based Premier League fans and gets into the origins of their support. Alison and Abhi delved into their growing interest in Brentford and provided some wonderful color about their fandom, the NYC Bees, The Red Lion experience and much more.

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Hounslow Herald
May 30, 2024:
The London Borough of Hounslow publication ran an abridged version of the NYC Bees' piece focusing on the NYC Bees' stateside growth.

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.

Saturday, December 28, 2024

Newsletter: Happy New Year, COPA90 content, FanFest Live, injury woes

Hi NYC Bees, wishing you an early Happy New Year! Thanks so much for your continued support! We start up our 2025 schedule on New Year's Day, so here are some links and information to get you set right away for January!

January slate against tap of the table
We're not messing around with this January schedule: We host Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool across the first 18 days of 2025! The Jan. 1 fixture against Arsenal kicks off at 12:30 p.m. ET to start things off. We have five league games and a third-round FA Cup match against Plymouth Argyle. All matches will be hosted at The Red Lion, 151 Bleecker St.! I have confirmed with the pub that they will open up early for us on Sunday, Jan. 26, when Brentford faces Crystal Palace (9 a.m. ET kickoff). The FA Cup match is available on ESPN Plus, which The Red Lion has in-house. See the graphic for our full January schedule.

More on NYC Bees:
Social:
Bluesky | Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok | X
Media Hub: SlideTackles.com

COPA90 PL and Guinness content upcoming
The Dec. 15 match against Chelsea was a success, off the pitch at least! Thanks for the impressive turnout (30-plus supporters) and participation when COPA90 media dropped into The Red Lion for some upcoming content for the Premier League and Guinness! We had a handful of interviews outside the pub, some game day camera footage throughout our space inside the pub, preceded by a conversation I had off-site with their crew for a feature that will incorporate our NYC Bees! The PL trophy also was on-site. COPA90 has not provided the rollout details/schedule from these interviews and footage, but as soon as I hear anything, I will circle back with you and eventually plug through our social channels. It's potentially a massive opportunity, especially if this is circulated on the PL's main platforms. Thanks again!

Premier League FanFest Live on Boxing Day
Even though Brentford didn't actually play on Boxing Day, we still managed to land a segment on the Premier League FanFest Live show on Dec. 26, to preview our match against Brighton the following day. I chatted about the matchup and the state of our club, starting around the 1-hour, 30-minute mark of the show. I made four appearances for FanFest Live in 2023, once during the preseason tournament and a few times that December. The company recently launched a Premier League hub, if you're interested in checking out and creating an account. It's still very much in its early stages. (Note: The show replay link works better on a mobile device, versus a desktop/laptop.)

Injury woes reach another level
Manager Thomas Frank had an appropriate quote to explain Brentford's dire roster situation: "I've got a very strong Starting XI on the sideline." Kris Ajer, who recently came back from injury, will now miss some time with an ankle injury from Brentford's 2-0 loss to Nottingham Forest. Ethan Pinnock injured his hamstring during the Carabao Cup against Newcastle, and Sepp Van den Berg is missing some time with a groin injury during warmups of that Newcastle match. Thiago has a joint infection, which is an unknown recovery timetable. The Brighton game brought some fresh concerns as Mark Flekken (quad/groin) and Ben Mee (groin) couldn't complete the match. Combine that with a longer stretch out for Mathias Jensen (hamstring), the ongoing outside back absences of Rico Henry (knee) and Aaron Hickey (hamstring), and Gustavo Nunes (back), Josh Dasilva (knee) ... fortunately we've created a buffer in the table thanks to our stellar home record. The coming weeks will be a massive test!

Brentford News & Notes
Home unbeaten streak halts at 8:
Brentford was the toast of Europe when it came to the team's performance at home. Unfortunately this season's home unbeaten streak stopped at eight games (7 wins, 1 draw) following a 2-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Dec. 21. The lack of goals was also a massive change for the Bees, who had tallied 26 in those previous eight home matches (3.25 per game). Gtech Community Stadium is still on track to average the most goals per game in a Premier League season with 4.7 per game (42 goals in nine matches). The current Premier League record is held by Chelsea's Stamford Bridge, where teams combined for 4.3 goals per game in 2009-10 (82 goals in 19 games).

Pair of Premier League debuts: There was some optimism to be taken away from Brentford's road point against Brighton: We saw a couple Premier League debuts at a critical juncture. Icelandic goalkeeper Hakon Valdimarsson secured a joint clean sheet after replacing Mark Flekken late in the first half. Then 20-year-old defender Kim Ji-soo saw his first PL action, subbing in for an injured Ben Mee.

Bees United AGM on Jan. 21: The Annual General Meeting (AGM) for Bees United, the official supporters trust for Brentford FC, will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 21. The event begins at 1:30 p.m. ET, starting with the AGM and followed by a conversation and Q&A with Stephen Torpey, Brentford's academy director. If you are interested in participating, register here.

Carabao Cup closes in quarterfinals: Brentford posted one of its most forgettable performances of the campaign with a 3-1 loss to Newcastle in the quarterfinals of the Carabao Cup on Dec. 18. The match included some conservative roster selections, injuries during the match (Ethan Pinnock) and before the match (Sepp Van den Berg), and a nonexistent attack until Yoane Wissa scored a consolation goal in second-half stoppage time.

Quick hits: Our string of December games on USA Network led to a couple days where our NYC Bees made the broadcast on Dec. 7 against Newcastle and on Dec. 21 against Nottingham Forest! Remember to use the #MyPLMorning hashtag (X is the most successful social media outlet) to try and get your Bees photos on TV. ... The Brentford Women saw their historic FA Cup run come to an end when they fell 2-1 to Fulham on Dec. 8 in the tournament's third round (the furthest Brentford has ever gone in the competition). Brentford plays in the sixth tier of English football, so their performance truly defied the odds. Congrats!

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

Charlie

Thursday, December 26, 2024

NYC Bees appear on Premier League FanFest Live on Boxing Day

Even though Brentford did not have a Boxing Day match, we still managed to be part of the coverage with a segment on the Premier League FanFest Live show on Dec. 26. NYC Bees' Charlie Corr capped off the show to preview the following day's Brentford match at Brighton. We spoke about the matchup and the current state of the club.

Our appearance begins around the 1-hour, 30-minute mar. It was our fifth appearance on FanFest Live, dating back to 2023 when we joined a preseason tournament broadcast. FanFest Live also recently launched a Premier League hub, if you're interested.