Tao Of Ted Lasso

A couple of years back, my daughter, Jackie, turned my wife, Lisa, onto the Apple TV Series, Ted Lasso, during one of Lisa’s multi-week visits to Jackie’s home in Georgia. Lisa only got to watch Season 1, but she never stopped raving about it. Lisa is not a natural raver.

https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Ted-Lasso/0GRVXC3UYWEV9PRBX1S4167AJR

Now the last thing I needed was another cable network to pay for just to see one series. So, I placed it on “if it ever fell in my lap I would watch it” list.

I just upgraded my phone a month or so ago, and it came with 60 days of free Apple TV. I ignored it becasue I can never quite get those things right.

Well, after Lisa’s latest comment about Ted Lasso, I just figured out – luddite indeed – how to use that phone app to get it functioning on my flat screen TV.

Voila. So, the first thing I did was start binging Ted Lasso.

It’s brilliant. Acting, writing, production, storyline. Soup to nuts.

Captures my love for anything related to British Television with my belief in the the indominatable spirit and goodness of mankind, as reflected in the trials and tribulations of the lead character, Ted Lasso.

Jason Sudeikis is absolutely brilliant in the lead role. I have seen him in other roles but he absolutely kills it in this role about a slightly niave, mildly successful, American Football coach who moves to England to manage a smaller London Football (Soccer) team. He has no knowledge or experience with the game, but manages to overcome all of the obstacles he faces in his fish out of water storyline using his indominatable American can-do spirit, his authentically good heart and his selfless desire to help those around him, on and off the pitch (field).

He unwittingly steps into a professionally and personally land mined field as the woman who hires him has done so to destroy the team that her philandering and now divorced husband loves so dearly but has been forced to give her as part of the divorce settlement.

JS is surrounded by an equally brilliant cast from both sides of the pond, who play their roles with heart and empathy. There is not one weak link in the ensemble.

Ted Lasso is not perfect, he arrives in London knowing in his heart that the wife he left behind no longer loves him and that he suffers from occassional bouts of extreme anxiety attacks. But even with that baggage he continuous to stay focused upon the troubles of those around him.

And his relentless optimism and persistence in overcoming the continuos trial and tribulations slowly and steadily win over even his most skeptical critics.

We all need a Ted Lasso in our lives.

We all need to be Ted Lasso to others.

So, my fine, five readers, find those opportunities in your daily lives to be kind to those that may need a little kindness, especially strangers.

Anyway, I’ve managed to get through Season 1 and half way through Season 2, and I cannnot wait for the first moment I can carve out to return to watching the series.

Who knows, maybe I’ll keep the Apple TV subscription going.

Anyway, it’s Tuesday, so hope springs eternal. The weekend is in sight.

You fine, five readers finish up that last cuppa and get out there. Life awaits.

But no matter what else we get up to, let’s make today a great one.