I sat down to write one post about why I love Ted Lasso and quickly realised I had far too much to say.
What began as a fairly simple idea soon turned into pages of thoughts about kindness, friendship, mental health, character growth and, yes, football. Trying to squeeze all of that into one post felt like doing the show a disservice, so I’ve decided to turn it into a short three-part series instead.
In this first post, I’m starting with the thing that surprised me most when I watched the show: Ted Lasso is more than football. Despite its setting, it is not really a show about sport at all.
What I Expected Is Not What I Got
Back in 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a friend suggested I check out a new show he was watching on Apple TV+: Ted Lasso. Having seen the adverts, I really wasn’t interested. It didn’t look like the kind of humour I would enjoy, and I tend to avoid shows about sport. It didn’t help that Ted Lasso’s accent annoyed me. Sorry to my Midwestern American friends.
I’ve previously written about the differences between British and American television, and Ted Lasso sits somewhere between the two. Even so, the adverts did little to convince me that it was a show I would enjoy.
But I trusted my friend’s judgement, and he only insisted that I watch two episodes before calling it quits. So, I gave it a go. I am sooo glad I did.
Admittedly, I struggled with the first episode for exactly the reason my friend predicted. Ted is a character with what seems like unwavering optimism. He’s that annoying person who always finds the bright side, even when things look dire. Annoying, right?
But I stuck with it. I gave it a chance to wow me — and it did.
Why the Football Setting Is Only the Framework
For anyone unfamiliar with the premise, here is the briefest synopsis I can manage. Ted Lasso, played by Jason Sudeikis, is an American college football coach hired to manage the Richmond Greyhounds, a London-based Premier League football (soccer) team. He knows almost nothing about the sport, but luckily his friend and assistant, Coach Beard, played by Brendan Hunt, is there to help with the finer details.
Ted leaves his family behind to take the job in London, and for a while, it is a mystery why he and Beard would make such a move. They even discuss how crazy it all is while on the plane.
The show is not really about football. In fact, it is not really about sport at all. You do pick up a few things about the game along the way, but football is mostly the setting for a story about people — how we interact, how we treat one another and how little we sometimes understand about what someone else is going through.
Again and again, Ted Lasso subtly reminds us that there is far more to a person than what we see on the surface. It also explores how people grow, change and sometimes become better versions of themselves when they are given support, patience and understanding.
That is where the real heart of the show lies, and it is what makes Ted Lasso about so much more than what happens on the pitch.
What Makes Ted Lasso So Special
The easiest answer to what makes Ted Lasso so special is the characters. Just about every main character goes through their own journey — even Ted.
One such character is Nate, played by Nick Mohammed. Nate starts out as the team’s kit man. His self-confidence is low, and some of the less mature members of the team pick on him and treat him like rubbish. After Ted enters his life, he begins to gain confidence and respect as his talents are recognised.
His character development is possibly the most heartbreaking and frustrating of them all, but — without giving too much away — he finds contentment in the end.
Rebecca, the team’s owner, and Keeley, played by Hannah Waddingham and Juno Temple respectively, are the perfect example of how to create great storylines about women. Instead of competing and constantly going at each other, they lift one another up.
They are both dealing with their own struggles and changes, but their friendship remains beautiful and supportive.
The more I think about it, the more I believe Keeley is the female version of Ted. Keeley doesn’t give up on people. She may initially be seen as the stereotypical WAG, but in reality, she is smart, creative and strong. She also doesn’t take any shit which I absolutely love about her.
Her positivity is not as potentially off-putting as Ted’s is at first. She always tries to see the good in people, sometimes to her own detriment.
There are so many more characters who deserve to be explored. Hopefully, I can cover more of them in the subsequent posts. It’s either that or I write a dissertation on them.
Why It Works
The writing on this show is top-notch, mixing humour with believable storylines. I quickly became invested in the characters, and as the series went on, I found myself cheering on their development.
I’ve watched the first three series more times than I can count. Each time, I find myself laughing at some moments and crying at others. It is a clever combination of humour and heart.
That is ultimately why Ted Lasso is about so much more than football. At its heart, it is a show about kindness, vulnerability and trying to become a better person.
In the next post in this series, I’ll look at some of the lessons we can all learn from Ted Lasso.
