The world of soccer has been virtually untouched by Hollywood for years. Why? Because of how simply un-American it is. It’s as idiosyncratic as Lance Armstrong choosing cycling as his sport: it takes a specific, odd American not to tackle baseball, or basketball, or football, but instead go for the outsider sport. Ted Lasso, however, aims to flip that on its head.
With its politics meets optimism duality, Ted Lasso gives the world of European football a jolt of American confidence. Determined on driving her ex-husband’s football club into the ground, Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham), co-owner of AFC Richmond, hires Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis), a Division II American college football coach with no knowledge of soccer, in hopes that the team will be relegated and lose its worth. This, however, backfires. At first faced with adversity, Ted Lasso brings a morale and unified enthusiasm to the fragmented, divided team, which eventually upends the owner’s plans as the team begins to show more promise.
The story engine of the show exists to thrust American morale into the business and politics of European football, a world that can be such a “business” nowadays that it lacks any sportsmanship and team morale. Since the best teams in Europe have the most money, they buy up the best players and expect them to play well with each other to win games. However, when the gung-ho savvy coach is hired, it throws a monkey wrench into not only Welton’s plans, but the culture of European football as a whole.
The show aims to contrast the elements of American and British sportsmanship. The Premiere League is such a numbers game, where the best, wealthiest teams play each other over and over again for the top titles, that it misses the point of fostering a family. It’s a world where players are bought and sold, traded and loaned, and statistics make the judgements. Ted Lasso, however, introduces to his players what they’ve long lacked: confidence.
The world of European football just feels so impenetrable, that American ideals struggle to fit in. There’s a number of reasons as to why soccer has never taken off in the states. 1) There is no youth infrastructure for the sport. If you look at Europe, you see club teams that have been fostering players since the age of 11. And, as a result, 2) only the wealthy can afford to excel at soccer. Since soccer is rarely taught in public schools in the U.S., one really has to invest money in the sport: trainers, youth leagues, fees… it’s a sport that just isn’t as accessible to Americans. Perhaps it’s because there is no “satisfaction” point in soccer: home-runs, touchdowns, or slam dunks. And more often than not, goals are sloppy pieces of work. But perhaps it’s also because Americans crave the individual gratification of taking sole credit for a score, as opposed to the team-driven effort of soccer.
However, just recently, actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds took control of Wrexham AFC – a Welsh football club that currently plays in the fifth tier of the English football league system. With a two million pound investment, the purchase brings American money onto foreign soccer soil with a plan to foster growth and push for a promotion in order to compete with the greater Premiere and Champions League teams. But even Hollywood money can’t compare to the billionaire oil-money out of the Middle East or the mob money out of Russia that owns teams like Manchester City, Manchester United, and Chelsea – teams that are owned by powers that supersede Hollywood money.
And perhaps this is why, only less than a month ago, the biggest clubs in Europe agreed to join what would be called the European Super League. This was heavily scrutinized by the media and UEFA, European football’s governing body, and was seen as merely a “cash grab.” With the organizers of the league promising “solidarity payments” that would be “in excess of €10 billion during the course of the initial commitment period,” there would be a €3.5 billion advance to “support infrastructure investment plans.” This came as a result of the massive inequality in European football, as more often than not, the same richest teams play for the top spot year after year – be it the Champions League, Europa League, or Premiere League – further eluding to the idea that the world of European football is, in fact, just one big bubble waiting to burst (FC Barcelona, the world’s wealthiest football club, is already worth $4.6 billion.)
Ted Lasso points out this gaping hole of missing sportsmanship in European football culture by reinforcing the idea of what it means to be great: it’s not just about winning, but also about how you deal with the unfair. Because more often than not, the best team, at least on paper, doesn’t win. But it’s how you come back from that unfair disadvantage that makes it a sport both on and off the field. I think Ted Lasso would agree with those ideals.