Ted Lasso is a sports comedy TV series developed by Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, and Joe Keely. It premiered on Apple TV+ in August 2020. The series follows the story of Ted Lasso, an American football coach who is hired to manage an English Premier League team despite having no experience in association football. The show has received critical acclaim for its humor, writing, and performances, and has been praised for its positive themes, including the importance of communication, perseverance, teamwork, and overcoming obstacles. Currently, it holds an 8.8 rating on IMDB and an average audience score of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes.
In this article, I will explain why Ted Lasso is the best television show with a soccer theme. The humor is so compelling that I can't stop watching until I've seen the last episode. I'm drawn into the uplifting atmosphere that Ted creates in his workplace; it's an environment that I'd love to be a part of. After all, who wouldn't want to work with someone like Ted, who is funny, enthusiastic, optimistic, and never gives up?
“Wanker!”
This is a story about downfall. It talks about how a man who already succeeded in his career yet to start all over to save his marriage. Ted, an American football coach, arrived in England amidst a marriage crisis with his wife. He accepted a job offer to become a soccer coach in Richmond, hoping that this would provide some space for his wife.
However, there was one problem: Ted had never taught soccer before, and his previous experience was limited to coaching kids. Local fans distrust Ted’s ability and called him “Wanker” with great hospitality to shout out their anger.
The story did not start with a dream team or even an ordinary one. Each new colleague, including team members, has their own set of problems as well. People are either frustrated, cocky or careless. Though they are all excellent individuals, they work together like shit.
Ted is facing rejection from both his wife and the new place he planned to start fresh in. It's a tough situation, as he not only has family issues to deal with, but also job and personal life adjustments to make.
Despite facing many obstacles and a challenging environment in the beginning, Ted remained determined to succeed. In situations like these, people with energetic and optimistic outlooks, like Ted, can immediately capture the audience's heart because they bring hope. It's always intriguing to see how a strong-willed person handles struggles with wit and endurance, especially when they add humor to the mix. As the saying goes, a good beginning sets the tone for the rest of the story, although there are exceptions, like Game of Thrones, which had a disappointing ending (It still worked, as intrigued you to at least finish it).
“Soccer is Life”
In the show, Dani Rojas is a young man from Mexico who always lives by the motto "Football is Life". He is talented and has a simple outlook on life that keeps him youthful no matter how old he grows. Initially, I interpreted Dani's motto to mean that football is the most important thing in life, but I later realized that it has a deeper meaning. He actually meant that football is a reflection of life, and vice versa. It's like we can see the game of life reflected in football, just as we can see the game of football reflected in life.
We've seen plenty of inspiring soccer films about underdogs or aspiring young men who make their way to success in soccer. However, most of the time, films like Goal! and Kungfu Soccer can be too focused on achieving their goals, which can make it difficult for the audience to relate to their lives outside of soccer. We see how determined these characters are to pursue their dreams, but what about their other life issues? How do they balance everything? We can learn from these beautiful characters, but after the film ends, it can be hard to relate to them.
I’m not saying it should be as much authentic as possible, yet provide the audience with more mundanes or small details that reminds us of our life. In the show, Ted always bring cookies to Rebecca, his boss, when he comes to work on the morning. Every time for 10 seconds or 2 minutes, Ted will try to catch Rebecca’s attention with some prompt jokes or funny acts along with presenting her the cookies.
As we know right from the beginning that Rebecca never hired him to win a match but to loose so she can revenge her ex-husband by ruining the club he owned and loved, it is extra funny and illuminating to see how Ted affects and changes Rebecca by his humor and active tenderness. Although Rebecca often finds Ted’s joke to be lame or difficult to understand (as Ted is American, there is cultural gap. The fact that Ted is not aware of it but doing it seriously is still quite funny), she is still touched by Ted’s constant visit.
Workplace relationship is hard, but Ted delivered a great demonstration of how we can deal with it.
Perhaps This is the Way
I used to believe that it was nearly impossible to create a great soccer film. However, after watching Ted Lasso, I realized that this is the way soccer stories should be told. Of course, I understand that including more content means increasing the running time. While watching a three-hour soccer film can be time-consuming, binge-watching a soccer TV series may be a better alternative.
Series also allows for more focus on supporting characters, freeing up space for their development. As soccer is a team-oriented sport, it is important to have enough "supporting content" to make the main story more believable. Additionally, the unnecessary parts of a story often serve to make the necessary parts more impactful. We can appreciate the character of Ted Lasso, but can really understand how great he is without seeing how he influences the lives of those around him.
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