I recently binge-watched the entire three seasons of Ted Lasso. Even with all of the hoopla about it for the last three years, I didn’t watch it for a few reasons. First, it is on a streaming service that I didn’t have (Apple TV+) and I hate having to keep signing up for streaming services to see whatever the newest “hot” shows are. But the second reason is that I thought it was just about sports and it isn’t, at all. Saying that you don’t want to watch Ted Lasso because you don’t like sports is like saying you don’t want to watch The Office because you don’t have any interest in a company that sells paper.
Ted Lasso is goofy and corny more than it is really ha-ha funny. It made me cry more than it made me laugh, but they were happy tears. And it kept my mood elevated for the whole time that I was watching it and now, I hate that it is over.
If you are the kind of person that watches everything with a critical mind and want to keep saying “that would never happen”, then Ted Lasso isn’t for you. It is ridiculous to think that a man would fly over 4000 miles to another country to coach a sport, and not take the time to at least learn the rules of the sport. But that is the premise of Ted Lasso.
In my mind, coach Ted Lasso brings to mind Forrest Gump and Gomer Pyle. I mean, he seems to be both as naive and pure of heart as those two characters. But he is much more polished and intelligent than either of them.
So if it’s not really JUST about sports, what is Ted Lasso about? I would have to say it’s about relationships, and how all of the insecurities, jealousies, spite, etc. that we develop from the LACK of love, especially familial love, can affect every relationship in our life. And how the right “coach” can help us to overcome those obstacles so that we can learn what love really is and develop the kind of relationships we all really yearn for. Not just with others, but with ourselves. Yeah, I know. That all sounds really out there and “touchy feeling” but I’m just telling you what I got from the series.
It’s not really a love story. I don’t think there are any REAL love stories in Ted Lasso. Nothing to compare to Jim and Pam or even Dwight and Angela from The Office although Higgins and Julie certainly have a relationship that many of us dream would love to have.
To me, the main point of Ted Lasso is that we are ALL successful people inside. Maybe even “champions”. But many of us have been messed up by our parents, other role models, ex-lovers who made us feel “less than” who we were meant to be. For some people it may take counseling or just a good “coach” but it’s something that has to be worked on. That decency and goodness is inside of all of us. We just have to “believe” and have courage and keep reaching towards our greatness. Coach Lasso opened that door for many of the characters in the series. But they still had to do the work.
This is just my very brief take on the series. I know that it inspired me and made me feel happy and optimistic about life and I really can’t name another series or movie that has had that effect on me for a long time. So if you haven’t watched it, I hope you will. It is so much better than most of the series that can eventually make you feel good but sometimes drag your heart through some pretty intense and heavy drama or trauma before you get there. Ted Lasso is all upbeat and optimistic. It made me sort of believe in the human race again. And I think we can all use a little bit of that right now.
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