Ted Lasso - Season 1

Ted Lasso has taken the world by a storm over the last few months. It's brilliant, witty, and uplifting all at the same time. Let's dig into what makes it so good, and relate it back to sport psychology.

Ted Lasso Season 1 was released in August 2020 and it couldn't have come at a better time. The world was fatigued (still is) from the COVID-19 Pandemic, many people were missing the opportunity to partake in their sporty activities, and generally things just felt bleak for a lot of people. What better time for Jason Sudeikis and Apple TV to release the most wholesome show we've seen in a while?

The show is full of memorable and meaningful dialogue...

"Taking on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse, isn't it? If you're comfortable while you're doing it, you're probably doing it wrong."

Essentially the show revolves around the story of an American Football coach who is hired to coach a Premier League Football team. Head coach, Ted Lasso, with assistant coach, Beard, has to navigate his crumbling marriage as well as all the challenges of leading the team as they try to avoid relegation.

The Main Character is a Positivity Powerhouse with a Complicated Past

On the surface, Coach Lasso is exuberant; oozing positivity and happy vibes with every meaningful piece of dialogue that comes from his character. While positivity is admirable a lot of the time, no one can be "positive" all the time. As humans we have a built-in range of emotions. It's just as important that we experience our sad/angry/devastated moments, the same we experience happiness/joy/excitement. The show perfectly nails this; demonstrating that no one can be positive all the time, and highlights the consequences of "toxic positivity." Ted's positivity doesn't work for everyone, and that's okay! It also doesn't give him the scope to dig deeper within himself, and cope effectively with all the hardships of his life, and the show really gets that across. Ted has to let himself feel like shit sometimes to grow as a person.

Accountability is Key

“Coach, I’m me. Why would I want to be anything else?”

In the mature grown-up world we live in, accountability for our actions is everything. Ted Lasso highlights this beautifully, and it is certainly the overarching theme of Season 1. There are so many instances of characters showing how to be accountable to themselves.

Let's start with the arrogant, cocky but lovable character, Jamie Tartt. For every goal he scores, he simultaneous manages to piss off a teammate. By the end of the season though, he starts to hold himself accountable. By the end of Season 2, his accountability helps him fit in with his team, and subsequently they are more cohesive and performance improves.

There's also Rebecca, new owner of the club. For the entire Season, she works to sabotage the club in an attempt to get revenge on her asshole ex-husband, keeping Coach Lasso in the dark right up until the very end. However, she eventually comes clean. Her apologies aren't empty. She lays her mistakes out on the table, and changes her behaviour. From that point on, the dynamics in the whole club positively change. Every coach, player, team staff member can take a page out of her book. Accountability makes the whole organisation better, and this process gorgeously plays out on screen.

The Power of Forgiveness

“You know what the happiest animal on earth is? It’s a goldfish. You know why? It’s got a 10-second memory.”

With accountability comes forgiveness, and that's what this show is all about. The writers go beyond letting their main characters forgive each other, it also shows the merit in athletes forgiving themselves. Whether it's for a missed goal, a bad pass, anger shared between players; Coach Lasso recognises that by encouraging them to forgive themselves, they can dedicate more of their energy to improving their skills and developing as good teammates. It's the opposite of tough love, and shows that sometimes what may seem unconventional just might work for certain players.

All in all, if you like football, shows about sports, need something uplifting to binge watch, or need some coaching pointers; Ted Lasso isn't a bad place to start.