The 1966 World Cup Nearly Ruined A Stanley Kubrick Film

A cataclysmic soccer moment in England rippled into an iconic scene in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. This week, we dive into the amazing story of how a goal celebration affected one of Kubrick’s most ambitious projects. Plus, we revisit Sydney Sweeney’s forgotten soccer past, dive into how a ‘Ted Lasso’ actor may end up playing in USL, and more.

This week’s stories:

• 🦅 Our European Expedition

• ⚽ Sydney Sweeney’s Forgotten Soccer Past

• 📽️ The 1966 World Cup Nearly Ruined A Stanley Kubrick Film

• 🤯 ‘Ted Lasso’ Star to Sign for a USL Team?

• 🗳️ Poll + Last Week’s Answers

• ➡️ And More

WATCH
Our European Expedition

Watch the full episode HERE!

A trip that was originally planned to be 6 days turned into 10. It was one of the craziest weeks of our lives, catching a Barcelona game in the Champions League at the Camp Nou, a Europa League night at Celtic Park in Glasgow, and two historic Premier League matches at Stamford Bridge and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. But that was only the start…

At every stop, we set out to find those hidden threads tying European football to American soccer—connections that may have been lost to time or buried in the history books.

Even more meaningful, though, was getting to meet many creatives and supporters we’ve admired from afar, like the lads at Bridged, ART OF, Soho Warriors, and more. Hearing their stories firsthand helped us realize maybe they weren’t so different from the ones we’ve heard on our bus road trip across the US, despite being an ocean apart.

*Thanks to our friends at Champions Travel, if you’d like to go on a Euro soccer trip of your own, make sure to use our code CTCLUB11 with Champions Travel to receive 10% off all football packages! (Valid until March 31st, cap of €50 per person, can be used once per person.)

CULTURE
Sydney Sweeney’s Forgotten Soccer Past

Sydney Sweeney shocked the soccer world by showcasing her footy skills at the Sporting Lisbon vs Estoril game last Friday in Portugal.

Considering the Hollywood star grew up playing soccer in Spokane, WA, I suppose it makes sense that she has a great touch.

In an interview with her hometown paper a few years back, she even mentioned how she “loved playing soccer [in high school] on that field above the South Hill just past the Target.”

Always cool to see soccer intersect with American pop culture!

COVER STORY
The 1966 World Cup Nearly Ruined A Stanley Kubrick Film

It was the summer of 1966, and Stanley Kubrick was in England in the midst of filming 2001: A Space Odyssey—his most ambitious project to date.

Of course, without the luxury of CGI at the time, Kubrick faced the difficult challenge of figuring out how to shoot believable space sequences with analog technology.

In the end, Kubrick’s solution was to craft some of the largest spaceship models ever built and move his cameras around in a very slow, meticulous manner on huge custom-built rigs. By shooting only a few seconds per frame, Kubrick and his team were able to get that deep-focus photography that made the spaceship models look incredibly sharp from one end to the other as they appeared to “float” in space.

Naturally, this was an excruciatingly long process, and Kubrick even compared it to “watching the hour hand of a clock.”

Because of the time needed to get just a few seconds of footage, occasional wobbling movements of the models or the camera couldn’t really be caught until after the film was processed.

And that’s what happened with the iconic space station scene, when, after checking the raw footage, the crew realized the station seemed to shake and “lurch from one side of the screen to another” for a split second.

A search in the log sheets revealed that the event took place during a long exposure sequence on July 30, 1966.

And what else was going on that fateful day?

You guessed it, the World Cup Final.

Just 10 miles away from MGM Borehamwood studios—where the space station sequence was being filmed—England and West Germany took the field to play the World Cup Final at Wembley.

And that’s what ended up ruining the shot:

"Kubrick now remembered that many of his staffers hadn't been willing to work that day unless they could wheel a TV set into the shooting studio and look at it from time to time. [...] in the same instant, they'd all leaped up to applaud England's winning goal. Meanwhile, on its reinforced shooting stage, the space station had been turning gently for three hours, while the camera snapped doggedly away at six seconds per frame, for 1500 frames, enough to generate about a minute's worth of footage. And for three frames somewhere about halfway through that 1500, the studio floor had shaken” [Taschen's "The Making of Stanley Kubrick's 2001", pp.178-9].

Of course, being the perfectionist that he was, Kubrick re-shot the whole sequence, and the shake isn’t visible in the final cut.

Nevertheless, it’s really cool that one of the greatest movies by a legendary American filmmaker has a fun little anecdote tied to the beautiful game.

CLUBELEVEN
The Supporters Section

Let us know your other passions, and if you’ve found a way to combine them with soccer? We’ll highlight your best answers next week!

BOX OFFICE
‘Ted Lasso’ Star to Sign for a USL Team?

Surely, one of the most insane pieces of news to come out of the American soccer space in recent years.

Turns out that after joining El Paso Locomotive for their 2026 pre-season, ‘Ted Lasso’ star Cristo Fernandez (Dani Rojas in the show) may be on the verge of signing a contract with this USL side.

Here’s all we know so far…

CLUBELEVEN
Aggregates

Dream Drop: An absolutely amazing release by this Bay Area team.

Climbing to the top of Audi Field: There was no better way to kick off the MLS season than by doing this…

A College Class About Soccer: Last week, we got to speak at a soccer politics class at the University of Virginia. Here’s the story behind it!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Absolutely foul from Messi. Love seeing this type of banter in a rivalry game.

Meet Stumpy: The new Washington Spirit cherry blossom kits were the perfect reason for a few players to meet this charming DC mascot. Made me smile!

WC2026
Ghana’s Base Camp

More and more nations have confirmed their base camps for the World Cup, and Ghana just announced theirs!

If you’re a fan of the “Black Stars,” you might be able to see them over in Rhode Island, since they’ll be at Bryant University.

FASHION
All New NWSL Kits

NWSL kit drops always end up being some of my favorites, and this year is no different.

Plus, having two inaugural jerseys (Legacy and Summit) this season also makes this drop extra special, and we’re hoping we can get our hands on them to feature on the bus!

Check out the whole collection HERE.

CLUBELEVEN
Your Takes 🗯️ 

Last week, we asked you: Who do you think will win MLS this year? Here are some of your answers:

• “LAFC. The Son-Bouanga duo is too strong!” - José

• “Inter Miami. The season is long. Come December Messi will be lifting another one.” - BD

In the poll, “LAFC” won with 40% of the vote.

Speaking as neutrally as possible, it really wouldn’t surprise me if they won it all, although Inter Miami bounced back nicely this past weekend.

UP NEXT
Ready to Hit the Road

Had a blast taking a Flix Bus to New Haven, CT, and catching the Arsenal-Chelsea match over the weekend with the New Haven Gooners!

At the same time, Justin and Gabe were down in Florida, hanging out with our good friends at the Ruckus and capturing the Inter Miami-Orlando game!

We have a lot of fun stories coming down the pipeline, and we’re excited to start our travels later this month once the Open Cup, USL, and NWSL kick into gear as well.

Onwards!!

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Have a great Tuesday!

Pablo