Hello,
Some of the best ideas don’t start in boardrooms. This one started during a lunch break at Destroyer – a hipster café in Culver City with (arguably) the best schnitzel in LA. Germans know.
It was Alex Benton (LinkedIn), Robert Zitzmann (LinkedIn), Max Hoewedes (LinkedIn), and me.
No deck.
No agenda.
Just conversation.
Someone said, “What if we did something around the Super Bowl?” But not another panel.
Something that feels like why we started this in the first place.
What I’ve always loved (and where I grow) is bringing people together. We want to create rooms where ideas collide and where curiosity leads the conversation.
So we asked a better question: What if we built a transatlantic hub between Europe and the United States – through sport?
Football and soccer are two of the biggest global sports on the planet, yet they know surprisingly little about each other.
So we decided to change that.
We’re doing this in collaboration with Jung von Matt Sports
For Super Bowl week, we’re building a room full of experts in sports, marketing, culture, and business. A place where worlds meet.
We’re bringing together voices from both sides of the Atlantic:
- Opener / Welcome / Keynote: Alex Benton, Benjamin Diedering (LinkedIn)
- Football to Football: Pittsburgh Steelers × Borussia Dortmund: Ryan Huzjak (LinkedIn), Marc Lingenhoff (LinkedIn)
- An Intimate Conversation with Adidas: Horst Bente (LinkedIn)
- Global Leagues, Local Growth: Dr. Alexander Steinforth (LinkedIn), Tom Julian (LinkedIn)
- A Conversation with a Bundesliga Legend: Claudio Pizarro
This is a rare lineup – not for prestige, but for perspective.
On stage, you’ll see people from American football and European soccer talking about what fascinates them about each other’s worlds. It’ll cover how they operate, how they build fandom, and how they think about culture, community, and scale.
Steelers meet Dortmund.
NFL meets Bundesliga.
And this is not to compare, but to learn, because this is what happens when you team up across disciplines, borders, and mindsets.
Sign up here to reserve your spot: https://luma.com/i80cla8y
This isn’t about a moment. It’s about momentum, and doubling down in 2026 on what actually matters.
Events + community + shared experiences.
The future doesn’t belong to the loudest voices – it belongs to the rooms where people feel connected.
And that’s the room we’re building – together.
One Thing I Saw This Week (from LA)
While a lot of the conversation right now is happening in San Francisco, one moment out of LA made me stop scrolling.
A clip of Sydney Sweeney climbing the Hollywood sign.
Not polished. Not overproduced. Just bold… and impossible to ignore.
A detail that makes it even more interesting: the stunt wasn’t random. It was tied to a product she sells exclusively on Amazon.
That’s the pattern worth paying attention to. Right now, attention doesn’t follow perfection. It follows courage. The people and brands willing to take smart risks are getting disproportionate coverage and cultural momentum, while others stick to safe playbooks.
Different city, same energy: momentum favors the bold.
And that’s exactly the energy we’re bringing to San Francisco next week.
The San Francisco Sports Marketing Summit on Feb 6, right before the Super Bowl, is limited capacity. Once it’s full, it’s full. RSVP now to secure your spot: https://luma.com/i80cla8y
Want this every Friday? Subscribe here: https://bdxmedia.com/en/newsletter-us/
See you next week ✌️
Benjamin
