Wanker.
"In my mind, you only need three things to be a Premier League team. One, you gotta play physical. Two, you gotta give a hundred percent 'til the final whistle. And three, you gotta be sponsored by a Middle Eastern airline."
— Ted Lasso
Coach Ted Lasso is an advertising character used by NBC Sports to publicize their coverage of the English Premier League. Ted Lasso, played by Jason Sudeikis, is an American football coach hired to coach Tottenham Hotspur. The only problem? He's an American football coach, and knows nothing about that other football game the Americans call "soccer".
The main skits in the series are "An American Coach in London
", released in 2013 and chronicling Lasso's brief foray into coaching, and "The Return of Coach Lasso", released in 2014 and chronicling Lasso's subsequent attempts at becoming a soccer pundit after his stint with Tottenham. NBC has also released various extra videos featuring the character.
Eventually, Sudeikis and collaborator Brendan Hunt developed a full-length television show out of Coach Lasso. Ted Lasso premiered on Apple TV+ in 2020.
Tropes:
- Accent Interest: Lasso considers the English accent of sports commentator Arlo White to be "golden, velvety, yummy".
- Brits Love Tea: Even though he only had a London job for less than a day, hardcore American Ted Lasso takes to tea in the aftermath. He even does high tea for the girl's soccer team.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: Lasso yells insults at the team while doing drills. He then adopts that same attitude for the young girl's soccer team he winds up coaching afterwards.
- Early Adaptation Weirdness: This version of Ted Lasso is very different from the better known version of the character in the later TV series, as he's a straight up Drill Sergeant Nasty and "Ugly American" Stereotype instead of A Father to His Men who respects British culture. Plus, this version actually likes tea.
- Foreign Culture Fetish: Ted picks up a love for the UK after his brief stint in England, and puts up all sorts of British decorations in a room he calls "Teeny Tiny England."
- George Jetson Job Security: He gets fired from his job as head coach by text. In about 6 hours.
- Global Ignorance: As part of the ignorant American stereotype Lasso fits to a tee:Lasso: Wales? Is that another country?
Beard: Yes and no.
Lasso: How many countries are in this country!? - Here We Go Again!: At the end of the second sketch, Lasso gets an invitation to coach for Leicester City. Whose name he brutally mispronounces.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: Lasso's assistant knows far more about soccer and...just about everything else than Lasso. He's constantly correcting his boss's missteps in a quiet deadpan.
- I Know Mortal Kombat: Soccer coach Lasso plays FIFA Soccer to get some understanding of soccer rules.
- Insult Backfire: Lasso's team, fed up with his ignorance and Drill Sergeant Nasty tendencies, take to calling him "wanker". Lasso, being who he is, thinks it is a term of profound respect. He maintains this misundertanding through the second sketch.Rebecca Lowe: You're a w*nker! [walks off]Lasso: Hey, she knows my nickname!
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Lasso doesn't know anything about soccer, but confidently acts like he does.Lasso: [screaming at ref] Will you explain to me how that was offside?! ...No, I'm asking you seriously,
explain offside to me. - Newscaster Cameo: In "The Return of Coach Lasso", real sports presenters Arlo White and Rebecca Lowe assist in the skit as Lasso's co-commentators.
- No Name Given: Ted's assistant is unnamed in the original sketches. Ted Lasso gives him the name Coach Beard.
- Poster-Gallery Bedroom: Even though Lasso was very quickly fired from his coaching job in England, he made England his entire personality when he returned to the US, decorating his apartment with Britishisms like the Union Jack, teacups, "Keep Calm and" posters, and a framed soccer jersey.
- Soccer-Hating Americans: A lot of the humor is derived from how the American Ted Lasso, despite being hired to manage a high-ranking soccer team, can't be assed to learn the rules.
- "Ugly American" Stereotype: As the main video proclaims, Lasso is an "American coach in London", and is rude, crude, and thinks he knows best, even though he doesn't actually know anything about the sport he was hired to teach.
