Adele lifts the lid on her new music

I’ve reached that oh-so-regular, first world problem: I’ve finished a boxset I love. How will I cope? Well I’ll watch something else. But what will replace... Ted Lasso. If you’ve not seen it, Ted Lasso is a rather sweary but sweet sitcom about an American football coach, who moves to London to manage a British football team, knowing nothing about football. It’s American-made, with a British sensibility to it. Pubs, training, shouty football crowds – I didn’t think it would be my thing. But at the show’s pure beating heart, Ted Lasso is an irresistible character – there to improve us all with his Kansas wisdom: “Taking on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse – if you’re comfortable while doing it, you’re probably doing it wrong.”

I love a show that feels like it’s making you a better person. Ted Lasso is a character that doesn’t change – he changes those around him. In the show, he’s also suffering – a marital breakdown, mockery at every step, daily struggles. Yet he persists in relentless kindness – an optimist in a sea of pessimists. Some critics have even likened Ted Lasso to Jesus. I can see their point: He’s got a dozen or so immediate followers (a football team), Lasso speaks of having faith, of miracles on and off the pitch, he encourages forgiveness – of other people, and forgiving ourselves... There’s even a sign outside Ted Lasso’s office saying ‘Believe’. He’s a revolutionary of sorts too: rebelliously sincere, Ted Lasso boosts his team of snarky, self-obsessed cynics, with folksy encouragement, making time for people: “If that’s a joke, I love it,” he says. “If not, I can’t wait to unpack that with you later.” 

Of course there are big differences between Christ and the coach. Jesus asks his followers to believe in something beyond themselves. But the crossovers – hope, joy, victory, sincerity... there’s a sense of those in both TV show and Bible. And sometimes in modern culture, I think we need models of how to live better. Selfless not cynical, building up not knocking down, because as they say in the show: “Teamwork makes the team work.” I wish I had Ted Lasso coaching me in my life. Instead I’ll just do what the sign says outside his door, and ‘BELIEVE’.