Ted LassoSeason 3is finally here. This is one of the few series that’s earned an almost universal acclamation due to its uplifting and overall positive tone, butTed Lassogoes way beyond using soccer — henceforth referred to as “footy”, that way we’re all happy — as the setting for heartwarming stories. It also shows us how sports are the best tool to promote some good in this world.
You might think this is the obvious point to make about this show, but footy fans all over the world know that’s not necessarily true right now. Over the last few years, the beautiful game lost a little of its charm, and that’s much due to the way it’s been approached by those who play it. When we are all in the stands cheering, crying, or holding our breaths simultaneously for 90 minutes, we sometimes lose sight of the transformative power sports have for ordinary people, footy most of all. These last two seasons helped some disillusioned fans retain their faith, as has the third. And they did it so effortlessly…
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Football Has Changed a Lot Over the Years, and Not For the Better
Footy itself was created in England in the 1800s by factory workers and has remained a sport for the masses everywhere it went. In Brazil, it allowed Black people a form of expression back when they were mostly seen as the children of slaves — some of the most beautiful trick shots that charmed the world in the 1958 World Cup, for example, are a cultural heritage born from samba and dancing, made popular by the likes ofLeonidas da SilvaandDomingos da Guia, and then made famous worldwide years later byPelé. In Argentina, lower-class people clashed with the elite associations for the right to allow foreigners in their clubs. Had that never happened, maybeDiego Maradonawould never have found his way to CA Boca Juniors and, from there, to becoming the legitimate Argentinian deity he is now.
Mentioning these facts nowadays, one might come across as a hopeless romantic, perhaps even naive. Stories like those are impossible to happen now, as footy has grown almost unrecognizable. The current management landscape is a very hostile environment, focused primarily on money and the business side of the thing. Players are recruited ever younger from their homelands and taken to the richest clubs in the world with the promise of money and success, their national teams being the only way to really give something back to their people.Lionel Messi, for example, who last December lifted theWorld Cupfor Argentina, never played for an Argentinian side, and Brazilian starNeymarneeded a whole financial apparatus to hold him in his home club Santos FC before the offers became too high to refuse.
It’s natural that sports evolve, and management needs to evolve with it. It happened in the USA with sports like basketball and their football, too, for example. The transformation into business is impossible to hold back, and, well, the more money making the rounds, the better it is for the sport. But big companies are now taking over small clubs and turning them into giants, and hedge funds are creating segregationist private leagues with just the richest teams. People now cheer for squads to win because “they’ve spent a lot of money,“losing sight of what the sport is actually about. These things take a toll, and not a financial one. It takes away from the passion of the people, who are really what footy is about. Money is important, sure, and it may buy the world’s best players for any rich club. But playing with a soul, that’s a whole different thing. And it’s whatTed Lassohelps us to remember.
‘Ted Lasso’ Tells Us That Community Matters
WhenTed Lassofirst aired, set on the most prestigious national league on the planet,England’s Premier League, it was easy to imagine a glamorous and shallow take on the sport. Every footy fan remembers that’s how usually the sport is portrayed when taken to the screen, like theGoaltrilogy, for example. Not getting swayed by the star power is difficult, butTed Lassokept it simple. May it have helped that they didn’t have the rights to the Premier League clubs? Sure, but you can tell from the story that it was never the point.
A character like Ted (Jason Sudeikis) being new to footy is a great way of keeping the story grounded and rooted in the basics of what it’s all about. He needs to learn the ropes, so we get to learn (or do it again) with him even the basic stuff, like offside rules, relegation and promotion, etc. The first thing we learn, though, is that his club, AFC Richmond, is not big. There’s no glamour involved in coaching those players, and, while that may be a frustration for some (likePhil Dunster’s Jamie Tartt) or a silent relief for others (likeBrett Goldstein’s Roy Kent), for Ted it’s ideal to do something that we don’t see in footy so often anymore: building a real team.
Ted spends an awesome amount of time building a trusting relationship with his players, identifying strengths and weaknesses not only on the pitch but also off. He understands that coaches are not just for setting tactic patterns, but also for helping a player become a better person, and he does that with several players. One of the best arcs in the show is Jamie’s, as he leaves for Manchester City, the richest club in the league, relegates AFC Richmond, and finds out that he’s actually grown past the expectations of his abusive and toxic father. Another example isRoy Kent himself, who played for Chelsea, but only finds true passion at the end of his career, playing for a small local club.
Community is an important aspect of footy, one thatTed Lassocaptures beautifully. Ted makes sure the players understand they are part of something bigger than themselves. Richmond is a typical neighborhood team, where passion is often not a result of star power or money, but of tradition and values, so he never strays too far away from that area of London. He has his own ghosts haunting him, granted, but he uses that as another reason to better connect with the people who really make the team function and get the best out of them.
It’s Not About The Money in ‘Ted Lasso’
Ted’s coaching makes a huge differencein how Richmond performs on the pitch, and it’s sad to notice that, despite their best efforts, it’s still not enough. Playing against sides such as Manchester City is still a Herculean task for a small team, it doesn’t matter how in sync the players are. Fairy tales do happen, but it’s once in a blue moon, like when Richmond beat Tottenham Hotspur. It’s difficult competing against money, and the series makes a point of showing it.
This is directly tied to another practice that’s unfortunately common nowadays. Sam is, once again, the target of disloyal financial practices asEdwin Akufo (Sam Richardson), a Ghana entrepreneur who’s trying to build a strong African team in Morocco’s traditional team Raja Casablanca. Edwin might have noble intentions at first, as African sides rarely have a fighting chance against European teams in the FIFA Club World Cup, but Edwin doesn’t seem to be in it for the benefit it would bring to the continent, rather than to promote himself. When Sam is once again strong enough to refuse the call of money, Edwin freaks out and even calls him a “medium talent.” But it does pay off for Sam, as he is a hero for Richmond fans and is still young, with much room to grow as a player before really being able to help his country and continent.
Soin the wake of Season 3, the footy side once again blended with the story side of the series — especially after Nate (Nick Mohammed) decides to leave the command of his own team at West Ham United in order to return to Richmond. Although the team’s ultimate position in the Premier League isn’t on top, as fans may have been hoping, coming in second place to Manchester City is really just as good since the show was never about winning anyway. Besides, there’s no reason to not keep on cheering for Richmond regardless, especially since they represent the true face of football.
