16
Jan
Ok, let’s admit it, we don’t deserve Ted Lasso. I recently started watching Ted Lasso, which I know I’m very late to the party. And since the first episode I have been reflecting on the pureness of Lasso’s character and the impact a character like that should make in society.
Let me explain. For anyone who hasn’t seen the show, it follows an American football coach as he becomes the lead coach for a British football (soccer) team. While the owner of the team is actively trying to destroy her ex-husband’s beloved football club, Ted Lasso is turning a losing team into a success. Lasso’s character is full of unbridled joy, he walks around like a little kid taking delight in little things and moving on from challenges as if they didn’t even happen. He’s kind to everyone, even the reporters who are looking for reasons to hate him, locals who are fans of the football club and think he’s the worst decision the club could have made (and who don’t hold back in making that clear to Lasso himself) and the players who show their immediate dislike and distrust of him. But Lasso presses on, eventually winning over many of the haters.
And this fun and joy-filled story came at the perfect time. The first season was released in 2020, which we all remember was filled with division and hostility between complete strangers as well as loved ones. What I love about this show is that it’s just so overly positive. Not many comedies have such a positive theme throughout. If we think about The Office, so much of the comedy comes from the expense of characters, or characters being mean to each other, or Michael Scott being arrogant and misogynistic. And even if we think about Friends or How I Met Your Mother, much of the comedy comes from characters lying to each other, or doing things they know is wrong. But with Ted Lasso, so much of the comedy comes from Lasso’s positive outlook on life and how that is contrasted by the grumpy and often hateful people around him. The writers also use Lasso being from the US as comedy as he hates tea, and doesn’t know a lot of the words people around him are saying.
The reason I think we don’t deserve Ted Lasso is this: what did we do to get a show about such a genuinely pleasant character? Someone we would want to be friends with in real life. Someone we should want to be more like? Someone full of curiosity and never holding judgment.
We can’t all be happy all the time. That’s not realistic, and the show balances Lasso’s happy outward appearance by letting us see him go through difficult things privately. But we can all try to be a little happier and to make the world a better place for those around us, whether we know them or not. Watching Ted Lasso inspires me to see the world with brighter curious eyes, instead of with the cynical point of view I’ve developed as life hasn’t gone my way. Am I saying we should be naive? Absolutely not. But Lasso sees the best in others, befriending the team’s assistant, Nate, who setups cones, and collects the laundry, and brings him into the inner circle of the coaches. He makes Nate feel important and valued simply by knowing his name, valuing his work, and tapping into his expertise on the players personalities, since Nate has been with the team for some time. Lasso befriends the owner of the club, despite her best efforts to loathe him. He wins over the difficult players, and begins to get the team members to play effectively together.
Lasso’s outlook on life is something we can all strive for, and while I don’t think you should change your entire personality, I do think we could benefit from being a little more curious and a little less judgemental.