I jumped on board the "Ted Lasso" bandwagon the night the show started — Aug. 14, 2020. After I watched the episodes that night, I went on social media to beg people I loved to give the show a try.
I was relentless.
And perhaps a tad annoying.
Within a few months, I was ordering Roy Kent, the then aging star of the team, jerseys and writing columns about the show.
I wrote:
"This show has also reminded me that’s it’s OK not to know things, that being curious and asking questions is a good thing — and that one person, being true to who he is, can be an agent of change and spread joy, even hope, thus making his community, and thereby the world, a better place.
"Early in the first episode when the lead character, Ted Lasso, realizes the extent to which he is despised in his new role — by fans, team management and players (Roy Kent, in particular), I knew I would love the show. Ted is unfazed. To his sidekick, Coach Beard, Lasso says something along the lines of, 'Man, they are going to hate it when we win them over.'
"With that one line, my heart went, 'Swoon.' ”
Back then, I felt alone in my "Ted Lasso" love. Then Brene Brown got on board and the "Ted Lasso" snowball picked up speed.
This 'Ted Lasso' billboard pertaining to U.S. Soccer and player Cameron Carter-Vickers stands on the north side of I-10 between College Drive and Baywell Street, but facing eastbound traffic. It is seen Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022.
If case you're not familiar, Ted Lasso, the character, is an American football coach who was hired to coach an English football (soccer) team. Upon his hiring, he doesn't know anything about the sport he has been hired to coach, but he, at heart, represents the best of coaches. Perhaps my lifelong appreciation of good coaches increases my love for Ted, the character, and "Ted Lasso," the show.
In 2020, "Ted Lasso" was a light in what was a difficult year. If you haven't watched the show and would like to feel better about the world, I recommend springing for the Apple TV subscription and watching all three seasons.
Earlier this year, the show's creator and namesake star, Jason Sudeikis, confirmed that, at the completion of its third season, the show will end later this month. Every good thing must come to an end, and I trust the show's creators enough to believe things will work out, but still I'm a little sad that something that was such a big part of my pandemic years will be going away.
Ironically, the show that helped so many people get through the pandemic is ending as the pandemic is declared no longer a world crisis.
Some people, contrary to the whole point of the show, have been highly critical of Season 3, but I'm grateful for it.
What's not to love when the main character speaks to his team of soccer during the halftime of a game, encouraging them to "stop messing around with" things that will do them no good and comprise energy poorly spent.
"You know what I want to mess around with? The belief that I matter regardless of what I do or don't achieve. Or the belief that we all deserve to be loved, whether we've been hurt or maybe we've hurt somebody else," Lasso said to his team in the locker room. "What about the belief of hope? That's what I want to mess with. Believing that things can get better — that I can get better. That we all will get better. Believe in yourself. Believe in one another — that's fundamental to being alive."
Other quotes I love that I refer to on occasion:
- "So I've been hearing this phrase y'all got over here that I ain't too crazy about. 'It's the hope that kills you.' Y'all know that? I disagree, you know? I think it's the lack of hope that comes and gets you."
- “I want you to be grateful that you're going through this sad moment with all these other folks. Because I promise you, there is something worse out there than being sad, and that is being alone and being sad. Ain't nobody in this room alone. Let's be sad now. Let's be sad together.”
- "Guys have underestimated me my entire life. And for years, I never understood why. It used to really bother me. But then one day, I was driving my little boy to school, and I saw this quote by Walt Whitman, and it was painted on the wall there. It said, 'Be curious, not judgmental.' I like that."
What about the belief of hope? That things can get better? That I can get better? That we all will get better?
Oh, Ted, I love you, you fictional character, you.