0:00:06 > 0:00:16Welfare Park, home of the Bedlington Terriers. They are on a
0:00:16 > 0:00:24
0:00:24 > 0:00:27It is half-time... Need a lift, lad? If you don't, we will be 2-0
0:00:27 > 0:00:31down. I'm not bothered about this being here because this has been
0:00:31 > 0:00:41bottling up for week after week. Instead of playing like terriers,
0:00:41 > 0:00:43
0:00:43 > 0:00:53we are playing like pussycats. Bloody rubbish. To be quite honest.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55
0:00:55 > 0:01:03Welcome to the Bedlington Terriers, fifth in the Northern League, eight
0:01:03 > 0:01:10divisions below the Premiership. More mongrel than pedigree. They
0:01:10 > 0:01:14are struggling on the field and off. Every Northern League team is just
0:01:15 > 0:01:17scraping along on the bones of their backs, we all are. We are all
0:01:17 > 0:01:21constantly looking for sponsorship. When it's a rainy, poor night, you
0:01:21 > 0:01:27don't get too many in. You often don't cover enough to pay the
0:01:27 > 0:01:31officials, never mind the lights, never mind the players' expenses.
0:01:31 > 0:01:40The players have all got other jobs and the club is run by a hardcore
0:01:40 > 0:01:50of volunteers. I'll take a stud, no problem at all. All right, I will
0:01:50 > 0:02:00
0:02:00 > 0:02:10Tip Ex it out. Somebody has pinched What the Terriers need is a miracle.
0:02:10 > 0:02:16
0:02:16 > 0:02:22Bob Rich Junior is head of a global food empire based in America. He
0:02:22 > 0:02:29owns three baseball teams and travels the world by private jet.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32His arrival is causing a stir. to meet you too. Bob is worth $2
0:02:32 > 0:02:40billion by the Forbes calculations which makes him one of the top 600
0:02:40 > 0:02:42wealthiest people on earth. And in the top 200 in the United States.
0:02:42 > 0:02:51And he has fallen in love with Bedlington. It's insane, it's
0:02:51 > 0:02:54insane. I called David Holmes and he said we would love to have you
0:02:54 > 0:02:58sponsor the team. When I first called David Holmes and introduced
0:02:58 > 0:03:02myself, told him who I was and told him we wanted to sponsor the team,
0:03:02 > 0:03:07there was a great pause at the other end of the line. I think he
0:03:07 > 0:03:11thought we were joking. He looks pretty darn good. When I first took
0:03:11 > 0:03:15the call from Bob, it caught us by surprise. You don't expect to take
0:03:15 > 0:03:19a phone call from an American guy saying he was Lord Beddington. I
0:03:19 > 0:03:29didn't believe it. I didn't believe it. I thought it was the guys up
0:03:29 > 0:03:31
0:03:31 > 0:03:36the road being mischievous. This rich American, I thought, come on.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38A man called rich from America, it doesn't happen. You know, what has
0:03:38 > 0:03:45happened to Bedlington Terriers, it is a fairy-tale. It doesn't happen
0:03:45 > 0:03:48in real life. So, my first look at Bedlington. Bob could have bought...
0:03:48 > 0:03:51He has the money to buy Aston Villa or some other large Premiership
0:03:51 > 0:03:55team but he has a good run track record of taking small things and
0:03:55 > 0:03:58growing them. It is very much what he did with the baseball team in
0:03:58 > 0:04:02Buffalo and what he did with Rich Food Products. Looking for a
0:04:02 > 0:04:06worldwide partnership? Absolutely. When we came over, people said,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09what are you, some kind of sugar daddy? I didn't even know what that
0:04:09 > 0:04:14meant. Somebody said, oh, you are a tycoon. I thought that was a
0:04:14 > 0:04:20weather condition, I wasn't sure what it meant. We are not in this
0:04:20 > 0:04:24for the money. Your history's so much older than the US. Yeah.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27British by ancestry and found out that I had a relative who was Lord
0:04:27 > 0:04:37Beddington many years ago, so my wife surprised me for Christmas and
0:04:37 > 0:04:40
0:04:40 > 0:04:44secured the title. This is Lord Bedlington. Nice to see you. And I
0:04:44 > 0:04:46said, now I had better to something to act lordly so why have studies a
0:04:46 > 0:04:49lot about Bedlington and found out that the Bedlington Terriers
0:04:49 > 0:04:55football team in the Northern League needed a shirt sponsor. What
0:04:55 > 0:04:59is your name? Rhys. Rhys, I'm Bob. Hello, Bob. Nice to meet you. How
0:04:59 > 0:05:09did school go today, tell the truth. Quite rubbish. You are an honest
0:05:09 > 0:05:10
0:05:10 > 0:05:18lad. It's good to see you guys. See you at the ball park, the pitch.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22When is the next match on? That would be next Tuesday. Wednesday.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26Or Wednesday. I'll see you there. You are bitten by the Terriers, I
0:05:26 > 0:05:30know it is a cliche, but you are bitten by the Terriers. It just
0:05:30 > 0:05:35gets in to you, under your skin and you just live for the Terriers.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38your pitch dried out. I think Bob Rich has been bitten by the
0:05:38 > 0:05:43Terriers, definitely, yes. Hi, I'm Bob Rich. Nice to meet you. The
0:05:43 > 0:05:46people are so great. They remind me of my friends back in Buffalo. The
0:05:46 > 0:05:50community in Bedlington has struggled. They lost their mining
0:05:50 > 0:05:56here, just like we lost steel milling in Buffalo. And they have
0:05:56 > 0:05:59great courage in spite of these issues. Bob could be anywhere in
0:05:59 > 0:06:07the world but he has chosen to spend his 70th birthday in an
0:06:07 > 0:06:11Italian restaurant on Front Street, Bedlington. That's me. Believe me,
0:06:11 > 0:06:21I had a lot of options but why not come and spend my birthday with new
0:06:21 > 0:06:33
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Thank you. Terriers, woof woof. This should be interesting.
0:06:36 > 0:06:42round the party off in style, Bob and Dave go to Whitley Bay where
0:06:43 > 0:06:46the Terriers hope to demolish their local rivals. Somebody said that
0:06:46 > 0:06:56the lads might be a little nervous because they are not used to
0:06:56 > 0:07:11
0:07:11 > 0:07:21At the minute, 2-0 down. So, The Terriers go down with a whimper,
0:07:21 > 0:07:24
0:07:25 > 0:07:323-0. You can see what good luck I # I want to be a billionaire, so
0:07:32 > 0:07:39Even billionaires need to get away from it all. Bob and his wife,
0:07:39 > 0:07:43Mindy, are on a fly-fishing holiday in Hampshire. How has fishing been
0:07:43 > 0:07:45this year? Fishing is a greatest escape, a chance to be alone on a
0:07:45 > 0:07:55stream and really collect my thoughts. I like either being alone
0:07:55 > 0:08:02
0:08:02 > 0:08:05or surrounded by a herd of friendly It is rodeo time. He took a...
0:08:05 > 0:08:15Despite their tame performance, Bob has fallen for the Terriers, hook,
0:08:15 > 0:08:17
0:08:17 > 0:08:20line and sinker. Beautiful. A nice brown trout. Now he plans to fly
0:08:21 > 0:08:24the whole club up to his home town of Buffalo on an all-expenses paid
0:08:24 > 0:08:28trip so they will never forget. think that the team is going to
0:08:28 > 0:08:31have a trip of a lifetime. There is another purpose to this trip and I
0:08:31 > 0:08:33think it's very important, too, it's to share knowledge so that the
0:08:33 > 0:08:40people who are involved with the Bedlington Terriers football club
0:08:40 > 0:08:44can come back and help build their business by building their fan base.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49At the end of the day, that is going to be what determines the
0:08:49 > 0:08:51ultimate success of this trip. It is how they are able to make their
0:08:52 > 0:09:01team self-sustaining so they don't need a big brother or fairy
0:09:01 > 0:09:04godfather, whatever I've been called. If you have eaten in a
0:09:04 > 0:09:07McDonald's, you've eaten a Rich Food product. If you've eaten at
0:09:07 > 0:09:10the Palm in New York, one of the great restaurants, and ordered the
0:09:10 > 0:09:14cheesecake, you've also had a Rich Food product. He's pretty much
0:09:14 > 0:09:16built a bomb-proof company. This is our 15 minutes, is it? That is the
0:09:16 > 0:09:24bottom line. This is our opportunity to put Bedlington on
0:09:24 > 0:09:27the map. The story splashed across the front page of the New York
0:09:27 > 0:09:37Times and Hollywood comes calling. Negotiations start for the film
0:09:37 > 0:09:39
0:09:39 > 0:09:43rights and a screenplay is under way. It is surreal that the New
0:09:43 > 0:09:46York Times came over and they were interviewing a few of the lads. I'm
0:09:46 > 0:09:49a little bit worried about the casting for some of the lads.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52lads are picking characters for one another which has been good banter,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55picking Shrek to play the centre forward and this one and that one.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58It has been good. But there is no Hollywood ending to this season.
0:09:58 > 0:10:05The Terriers limp in in ninth place. Work immediately starts on
0:10:05 > 0:10:07improving the pitch. Bob Rich contributes �20,000 to the cost. A
0:10:08 > 0:10:12vast scoreboard shipped from America is also being installed.
0:10:12 > 0:10:18Bob picks up the �100,000 tab. He is also sponsoring next season's
0:10:18 > 0:10:26strip at a cost of 10 grand. The club is buzzing about the trip to
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Buffalo. But not everyone can go. Unfortunately, I'm out of work at
0:10:29 > 0:10:34the moment. If I go, I lose a fortnight's benefits. Who knows how
0:10:34 > 0:10:38I'm going to feel that the time? I won't know until it happens. It
0:10:38 > 0:10:41will not be the first time in life that had not been able to do
0:10:41 > 0:10:44something I really wanted to do and I don't suppose it will be the last.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, this is unique. I
0:10:47 > 0:10:51don't think there is any non-League team at our level that has had a
0:10:51 > 0:11:01level of interest from somebody so high a profile and of the status of
0:11:01 > 0:11:27
0:11:27 > 0:11:33The Terriers are heading across the We have got the bar ready for you
0:11:33 > 0:11:43guys. Hi, hi. After 24 hours of the road, the lads are ready for an
0:11:43 > 0:11:53
0:11:53 > 0:12:02Can he get in with them on? There are a few of us who went out into
0:12:02 > 0:12:07the town and the locals were fantastic. Welcome to Buffalo.
0:12:07 > 0:12:12like you guys already. I think when you have one drink, it leads to two
0:12:12 > 0:12:22and then three and then four and then five, six, seven. First night,
0:12:22 > 0:12:26
0:12:26 > 0:12:2910 days to go. Happy days. Happy 22, 23... Keep going up to 50.
0:12:29 > 0:12:34is not the best way to start the first training session on American
0:12:34 > 0:12:40soil, with a raging hangover. terrible at the beginning, headache,
0:12:41 > 0:12:45but a warm-up and once I got a sweat on, the beer is out of us now.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48OK, what we said last night, let's put it in, all right. In just four
0:12:48 > 0:12:51days, they play local soccer team FC Buffalo for the first ever Lord
0:12:51 > 0:12:54Beddington Cup. It will be a high- profile match, a chance to impress
0:12:54 > 0:13:00the American crowd and their sponsor, who has turned up to watch
0:13:00 > 0:13:07them practice. Hey, buddy boy. How are you? The lad's become like a
0:13:07 > 0:13:17son to me, tell the truth. I know, Dad, I know. But they haven't woken
0:13:17 > 0:13:20
0:13:20 > 0:13:28When they visit the headquarters of Rich Products Limiteds, Bob's huge
0:13:28 > 0:13:32factory on the outskirts of town, the penny finally drops. You guys
0:13:32 > 0:13:42coming in or what? We just assumed it was a bog-standard facility.
0:13:42 > 0:14:06
0:14:06 > 0:14:10It's like the Mediterranean village We walked through the building and
0:14:10 > 0:14:20the roof just came down. Hundreds of people chanting, singing. It was
0:14:20 > 0:14:23
0:14:23 > 0:14:27unbelievable. Wow! Bedlington! Bedlington! Bedlington! Emotionally,
0:14:27 > 0:14:37I'm just saying, I've got a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes.
0:14:37 > 0:14:37
0:14:38 > 0:14:45Nobody'll ever believe that. This is our normal reception on a
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Saturday, by the way. LAUGHTER.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51We're used to this! Honestly, amazing! It's like Willy Wonka's
0:14:51 > 0:14:55chocolate factory! Absolutely fantastic. I hope everybody comes
0:14:55 > 0:15:02to the game. I hope you all come for a drink afterwards, because Bob
0:15:02 > 0:15:09is buying! We are going to win the cup for you. I promise.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13CHEERING. Take one last look at the Lord
0:15:13 > 0:15:23Bedlington Cup. We will see it again when we award it to our
0:15:23 > 0:15:32
0:15:32 > 0:15:35winner. Mr Brown. Sell! Buy! Buy!
0:15:35 > 0:15:45Bob even lets the Terriers loose in his office, the hub of a multi-
0:15:45 > 0:15:47
0:15:47 > 0:15:52I wanted these guys to see my office, so they could see where I'm
0:15:52 > 0:15:55watching the games from. And I thought, "Bring the lads up here -
0:15:55 > 0:16:00what's the worst that could happen?". I found out - they broke
0:16:00 > 0:16:04my chair! I don't really know if there is such a thing as a normal
0:16:04 > 0:16:07billionaire, but he is as close as I have seen. Most of these guys
0:16:07 > 0:16:11don't really walk on the same earth that the rest of us walk on. The
0:16:11 > 0:16:20rich really are different from you and I. He is not. He is a very
0:16:20 > 0:16:23The Terriers are the talk of the town. Everywhere they go, the
0:16:23 > 0:16:31players - floor layers, teachers and builders - are treated like
0:16:31 > 0:16:38celebrities. Buffalo's getting a real kick out
0:16:38 > 0:16:41of the Bedlington Terriers. From what I have heard, there is a
0:16:41 > 0:16:44soccer team coming in from the Europe area. So, we are excited
0:16:44 > 0:16:53they are coming here to publicise soccer in our area. We love soccer
0:16:53 > 0:16:57here. I've just seen them! I'm so excited! There is somebody out
0:16:57 > 0:17:05there who cares, and when there is somebody who cares about you, you
0:17:05 > 0:17:09want to give them something back. Like Bedlington, Buffalo has seen
0:17:09 > 0:17:18better days. Painful reminders of the steel-making heyday are there
0:17:18 > 0:17:20for all to see. Obviously, one of the things we have chatted about is
0:17:21 > 0:17:30the demise of the coal-mining industry in our country.
0:17:31 > 0:17:32
0:17:32 > 0:17:35Bob and Dave take a walk downtown. How you cope with that the loss of
0:17:35 > 0:17:38the steel industry and what effect that has had on the city. This is
0:17:38 > 0:17:41something that nobody ever saw coming. Nobody would ever have
0:17:41 > 0:17:44believed to that the mines or, in our case, the mills would have
0:17:44 > 0:17:48closed. So this was a total devastation for this area, and
0:17:48 > 0:17:51people left with... In many cases, that is all they knew - steel
0:17:51 > 0:17:55milling. They had to be retrained and that was a painful thing. A lot
0:17:55 > 0:18:01of people left. This is my town, this is where I grew up, and so I
0:18:01 > 0:18:04am in it for life. We made it clear. We get a lot of attractive offers
0:18:04 > 0:18:12to leave Buffalo and move to another state for all kinds of
0:18:12 > 0:18:14incentives, but this is about your home town.
0:18:14 > 0:18:20Bob owns Buffalo's home-town baseball team, the Bisons, and two
0:18:20 > 0:18:23other minor league clubs. He has rejuvenated the once-dying ball
0:18:23 > 0:18:32parks and Dave is keen to learn how American razzmatazz could put bums
0:18:32 > 0:18:37on seats back in Bedlington. Do you keep all the game money for the
0:18:37 > 0:18:44games or do you share it? Dave wants to wring every last drop from
0:18:44 > 0:18:47I am determined Bedlington Terriers are going to shake off the
0:18:47 > 0:18:53stereotypical image of football at our level because there is no
0:18:53 > 0:18:56future in that. That is how we are going to approach all of this. It
0:18:56 > 0:19:06may be corny and it may annoy the traditionalists, but they are the
0:19:06 > 0:19:08
0:19:08 > 0:19:10guys that are stuck in the Dark The whole atmosphere in the ground
0:19:10 > 0:19:14tonight is poles apart from Bedlington Terriers. Just the buzz
0:19:14 > 0:19:24and everybody enjoying it, and the amount of kids - that is the main
0:19:24 > 0:19:26
0:19:26 > 0:19:30If we don't change, we are on the road to oblivion, so we must change.
0:19:30 > 0:19:40It really is absolutely superb and wonderful entertainment. Exactly
0:19:40 > 0:19:46
0:19:46 > 0:19:52what I am looking for. After days of hype, the day of the
0:19:52 > 0:20:02big game is here. I hope the bus is still there. The pressure's on, but
0:20:02 > 0:20:08
0:20:08 > 0:20:12There is a lot riding on this game. That is why we have come over here,
0:20:12 > 0:20:16to beat these. Everyone is prepared, everyone is up for it. Everyone is
0:20:16 > 0:20:24confident. A prize is involved and when you win a game, you celebrate
0:20:24 > 0:20:34more. To win the game today, we will have a great night tonight.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36
0:20:36 > 0:20:42am all right at the minute. Sweaty We are going to get it out on the
0:20:42 > 0:20:45day, trust me. It is our time. FC Buffalo! To win would be nice but
0:20:45 > 0:20:48the Terriers are pretty strong, so we are just hoping for something
0:20:48 > 0:20:52that all the fans can enjoy and everybody can have a really good
0:20:52 > 0:20:59time with. It is important that we start the way we finish. You can
0:20:59 > 0:21:02see who I am rooting for! I will go for England today. We are going to
0:21:02 > 0:21:11take the ball and pick the pieces up. First half, we are just trying
0:21:11 > 0:21:14to get a bit of pace, trying to put a foot in. We are really trying to
0:21:14 > 0:21:24get soccer going here, trying to get more people involved and get
0:21:24 > 0:21:24
0:21:24 > 0:22:11Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds
0:22:11 > 0:22:14more people excited about it so a Let's go, Buffalo!
0:22:14 > 0:22:24Another opportunity for FC Buffalo in blue. They are moving in! And
0:22:24 > 0:22:27
0:22:27 > 0:22:35they score! They got sloppy. Bob Rich can fix most things, but
0:22:35 > 0:22:38he can't fix the score. The Terriers are down 2-0 at half-time.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41To be honest, we got a big shock because these guys were fit, were
0:22:41 > 0:22:51strong, were well organised, and, you know, we were not really
0:22:51 > 0:22:58mentally prepared. Just when things can't get any worse... They do.
0:22:58 > 0:23:08Captain Stewart Elliot is sent off. I let everybody down. I let
0:23:08 > 0:23:10
0:23:10 > 0:23:13Bob got my mobile number, phoned me and I apologised to him. I said, "I
0:23:13 > 0:23:21apologise for getting sent off," and he said, "don't ever say sorry
0:23:21 > 0:23:31to me again". Chrissy! Hey! Just calm it down. Don't get involved!
0:23:31 > 0:23:37
0:23:37 > 0:23:43Here comes FC Buffalo again. Nice Very disappointed. They haven't
0:23:43 > 0:23:48turned up. They haven't done themselves justice at all.
0:23:48 > 0:23:58Terriers are played off the park. Final score 5-1 - hardly the fairy-
0:23:58 > 0:23:58
0:23:58 > 0:24:04tale ending. Beaten by the Americans! I am just glad the game
0:24:04 > 0:24:13is over. The drum was making me nuts. Just really disappointed. The
0:24:13 > 0:24:17reception we had earlier on at Rich's was just unbelievable. It is
0:24:17 > 0:24:27just a bit of a shame. It hurts. It hurts. But we will get over it and
0:24:27 > 0:24:27
0:24:27 > 0:24:30we will get back to training and They done their best but it was not
0:24:30 > 0:24:35good enough, but it certainly has not ruined the trip. We will be
0:24:35 > 0:24:40fine and Bob has told us that that is the case - we have to keep our
0:24:40 > 0:24:48chins up and just get on with it. They love you here in Buffalo. You
0:24:48 > 0:24:54The defeat is overwhelming but with only a few days left in America, it
0:24:54 > 0:25:04does not dampen their spirits for long.
0:25:04 > 0:25:09
0:25:09 > 0:25:12# Happy birthday to you #. Hip, hip, hooray! Hooray!
0:25:12 > 0:25:18Bob's determined the Terriers leave on a high, so he throws open his
0:25:18 > 0:25:22lakeside summer home for a party they will never forget. Get in
0:25:22 > 0:25:28there and have some fun. Get a good sunburn going. You Brits are all so
0:25:28 > 0:25:38pasty looking! If you want to kick a ball around... There are two
0:25:38 > 0:25:39
0:25:39 > 0:25:45swimming pools and there are a lot The whole Rich dynasty is on hand
0:25:45 > 0:25:54to welcome the players. This is my dad's house, where, when
0:25:54 > 0:26:02we were kids, this was where we lived. Come on in and we will take
0:26:02 > 0:26:05a little walk inside. Show you the inner workings. This is the
0:26:05 > 0:26:12executive chef. Randy is the head groundskeeper, who keeps everything
0:26:12 > 0:26:17looking pretty around here. Into the living room, here. Three Bob
0:26:17 > 0:26:26Richs. Here is a picture of him in a board meeting. What you see is
0:26:26 > 0:26:30what you get. This is my dad's A few of the players - looks like
0:26:30 > 0:26:40they are playing shirts and skins. He is Lord Bedlington, so his call
0:26:40 > 0:26:41
0:26:41 > 0:26:46is final. You've got to be kidding! You can't be serious! It has been
0:26:46 > 0:26:51like a fairy tale. I will never ever forget this. People will not
0:26:51 > 0:26:56believe what we got up to and what we did. You can't write a book
0:26:56 > 0:27:00about it, really, because nobody would believe it. If you ask any
0:27:00 > 0:27:07player, honestly, does he want to leave... Who would want to leave
0:27:07 > 0:27:11this? Back to training, down on Blyth beach! I am going to miss
0:27:11 > 0:27:15these guys. They stay out a little later than I do at night. It has
0:27:15 > 0:27:19definitely brought us together. I think that will show next season.
0:27:19 > 0:27:29With Bob being involved in our club, I don't think you can put a limit
0:27:29 > 0:27:35
0:27:35 > 0:27:39on what could happen. I really Back at Welfare Park, it is the
0:27:40 > 0:27:47opening day of the new season. America seems a world away, but a
0:27:47 > 0:27:51little bit of Buffalo is here to spur the Terriers on.
0:27:51 > 0:27:56Well, greetings to you lads from Buffalo, New York, or as it is now
0:27:56 > 0:28:00known, Bedlington West. A lot of us are missing you very much. We can't
0:28:00 > 0:28:03wait to see how you do this season. We want to wish you all the best.
0:28:03 > 0:28:13We will be watching those scores. Don't make me come over there and
0:28:13 > 0:28:14