Loved this series, grew up watching these players and idolizing this team, what a great listen!

I really enjoyed this. It’s was equal parts great for the info and sad for delving into such a bad tournament

I came across this on a recommendation and I binged it all in one day. The host is lively and funny, with his “outsider looking in” perspective as a Brit that had moved to the US. The podcast tells a story of how a rise of an underdog US soccer team was seemingly brought down by one bad decision after another. I wish he had gone even further with the tough questions during the interviews with the key played and especially the coach. I will be purchasing the book to find out more details because I want to understand what type of thinking drove those mistakes. Overall, fun to listen to and I was pulled into the drama of this team. Highly recommend!!!

Changed my entire outlook of US Soccer!

I was made aware of this from the Caught Offside podcast. I feel like I’ve consumed just about everything on American soccer but somehow this slipped my notice. I’m so glad the boys called it out on their recent podcast and I’m so grateful that I was able to listen to it still. I hope there’s more for future podcasts!

Now it’s time to do the same on the Women’s game as they have massively failed after “saving” soccer for the men.

I’ve followed US Soccer my I’m whole life but this podcast shared so many stories I’d never heard of before. Highly recommend this to any sports fan.

I didn’t start following soccer and the usmnt closely until the 2010 but I recognized many of the names of players and coaches. This was fanatasitc and I hope us soccer can avoid something similar form happening again (although they have some new drama going now)

I followed the USMNT since Italia ‘90, only being able to spectate what was a third class sport in the US. With little media coverage through the MLS era, we had no idea what was going on in the training camps and locker rooms. Roger Bennet blows the lid off this pre-MLS era and delivers the scarcely heard stories from the USMNT golden generation. Excellent production, research and interviews.

Having been a teenager during this era, I found this incredibly entertaining as I remember the games only but none of the outside drama that surrounded this. Well done Rog

Amazing podcast. Such an amazing peak into the 1998 USMNT! Have sent it to my whole family to listen. 10/10 recommend

Fascinating exploration into the dark heart of the USMNT’s failed 1998 World Cup bid, by the always entertaining Roger Bennett. Eerily foreshadows the 2022 USMNT scandal. Highly recommended.

What an awesome blast from my last reliving these moments from my childhood. Definitely learned a lot that I had never heard before.

You don’t even have to like soccer to appreciate this podcast. If you’re just a fan of sports you’ll love this. Well done!

Quick, easy, fun, informative, and filled with first hand accounts. Excellent listen!

What an amazing story, perfectly executed. Great work my friend!

I listen to this series every summer and have since it same out. It’s a great story well told with fantastic interviews and real audio edited in to make it totally immersive and very entertaining. I just started the first episode, again, and can’t wait to get back into it. Comfort food for the ears. Thanks Rog. Bald is beautiful

Great peak into the causes of the USMNT horrific performance at the 1998 World Cup. Fair, balanced and informative. Roger Bennett does a great job, highlighted by enthusiasm and humor.

Bruh! How did I not know about this earlier??!! As a podcast vet I’m a bit embarrassed that I only just stumbled upon this amazing podcast! As someone who was a 20 year old former high school soccer player in ‘98, the players, games, and history was all too familiar to me and brought back a flood of memories! Please, please, please do another one of these!! Simply brilliant!! #meninblazers @usmnt

Both the story itself and the reporting in this podcast - and the interviews with actual USMNT players and coaches - is fantastic.

Fantastic podcast.

I love Rog and when he mentioned this on his other podcast men in blazers I couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard of it. It was recorded in 2018, but it holds up phenomenally. Super well produced and written. Highly recommend.

I am halfway through my third listen and this podcast is perfect!

Having listens through American Fiasco roughly 3 times now, I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good short series podcast. Great reporting, wit, and audio engineering. It’s fabulous

I’m on my third listen through of American Fiasco. It is just as good as the first time on each listen. Rog crafts the story of the 1998 World Cup brilliantly. It truly is an exemplar of the medium and a phenomenal work. Courage!

I first listened three years ago. I’m now on my 7th time through. Just can’t get enough. “Ginger of beard, resplendent of mullet”. Brilliant, Roger.

Many podcasts are either well produced but lack content, or have great content with lackluster delivery. This one, though, is a winner all around. As a semi-serious but lifelong American soccer fan, this quickly became a podcast I now have to recommend to all my soccer friends.

I'm one of those rare Americans who is has been a fan of USMNT since the 80s. This podcast brought back a lot of memories plus gave insight on the first group of soccer stars. Awesome podcast!

When is season 2 coming? 2018 fiasco!

Juicy! Loved this.

Love this! Can’t get enough of Rog as he tells this story.

Great, great, great! What a story and so amazingly told. Thanks Rog...courage!

Highly recommend

I’m not sure how I missed this for so long but I just listened and this was incredible. I was a 14 year old kid in ‘98 but I remember the disappointment of this World Cup as a U.S. fan. What I had no idea was the dysfunction amongst the team. Incredible. Roger do another for 2002 followed by 2006 all the way to the debacle of 18!

This was a great podcast. We all remember the disastrous ‘98 WC, but Bennett’s storytelling is simply fantastic. The inclusion of the people who experienced the event brought it all home. Listeners are able to see what was happening behind the scenes, get into the mindsets of the players, and the actual details around some pretty insane decisions (that lineup though?!). Hoping for a Season 2 soon, maybe about the *other* fiasco of not even qualifying? Yikes.

Great show, would love to hear more like it

This is a perfect story. Not only in content but also in form and function.

Just beautiful!

Just finished the 1st episode and really looking forward to the rest of the series!

Super bad 👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎

Stumbled onto this one, 2 years after the fact. Wow. A podcast about how sometimes things don’t go like you want them to go. About how sometimes you even get humiliated. About how there may not really be anything redeeming about the process. And about how life is still beautiful anyway. Brilliant, Rog et al.

Such a great, yet frustrating story. I remember the hype from back then, and then soccer disappeared in the American consciousness due to the result of 98.

In-depth story, dramatic, interesting, and, Football!

This is great! If you love sports and drama (not just soccer ) you’ll love it.

I went from “soccer curious” to “soccer fan” to borderline aficionado in less than a year. Roger’s exploration of this story and the American soccer experience is fascinating, insightful, and occasionally hilarious. Subscribed to Men in Blazers now, too!

This podcast gives a great history of American football and the tragedy of the Americans men’s national team. A succinct story of why we are terrible and unlikely to improve any time soon.

Roger Bennett weaves a tale that makes you laugh and cry and draw you into a story that is utterly fascinating. Courage

I’ve been a die-hard USMNT fan since USA ‘94. I loved the way this covered the highs and lows, and went so in depth about the stuff that was known already, and so much more where little was known. Lots of great memories and the heartbreak still haunts me to this day because that team should have made it to the knockout round. Thank you Rog although now I have PTSD I will send you the therapy bill. Scott - Chicago P.S. Shout out to Frankie The Dude Hejduk one of my favorite USMNT of all-time.

Excellent podcast. Well done, insightful, great storytelling. Hoping for more!

Love the tone and the information. I hope they continue to update it every once in a while