Ted Lasso: Believe!!!!!!!

Wyote said:

Haven't really read this thread so as not to spoil things
But I did finally watch a few episodes of the first season
I'm not a fan of Jason Sudeikis so I pretty much just ignored this show
Something about his vibe just doesn't gel with me
But I will say, he is totally transformed in this show and I actually love his character
I always love optimistic positive characters like this
It's like if you put Monkey D. Luffy as a soccer coach

idk if I'll end up watching all of it, it's a pretty good show though, I get it

Also forgot to mention that the writing is excellent, clever and hilarious
Definitely one of its greatest aspects

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I know exactly what you mean. Lucky for me, I wasn't overly familiar with him before Ted Lasso. I'd seen him in things, but didn't make the connection. Now, whenever I see him when he isn't Ted, I think, "Nope!"

The show keeps getting better and better.

Annnnnnd we're BACK!!!!

The second episode was much more like the old Ted Lasso fans love and miss. Witty, clever, endearing, and full of hidden hints, jokes, call-backs, and clues. It was a great episode overall and most of the characters gave Seasons1-3 vibes as if we never left.

Relevant to a character in season three who answers the door dressed as #4.

Anyone criticizing S4 in the fan zones is being fed to the wolves right now, including actual footballers. One of the footballers pointed out that this team is full of fuck ups who would never be allowed to behave this way professionally. (I agree with her, and I find some of the antics annoying, too.)

In the show's defense, I think they're exaggerating the situation for effect. This team seems inspired by movies like The Bad News Bears, Major League, Stripes, Slap Shot, and A League Of Their Own.

Rocky, Karate Kid, Revenge of the Nerds, Cool Runnings, Rudy, Hidden Figures, The Longest Yard, Miracle (on Ice), Cinderella Man, Billy Elliot, Goonies, Slumdog Millionaire... The list of underdog films goes on and on.


Americans LOVE underdog stories. We see ourselves as the underdogs for some reason, even though nothing could be further from the truth on a global scale. We especially love underdog sports stories. Sports are so dear to people's hearts, and people have secret dreams of going pro even if they know it's unrealistic, so maybe underdog stories let them live that fantasy a little.

My kind of underdog stories are Basquiat and Pollock.

We Are Back, BayBayyyyyy!!!!!

THIS is the Ted Lasso we signed up for! S4E4 is moving into a top ten episode slot for me. Not sure where it fits on that top ten list yet because I'm still experiencing the euphoria of seeing the show at its best again. I was skeptical about Season 4 before this, but if the rest of the season has this energy and writing, it will be gold.

Boots is punk as fuck. (Not literally.) She reminds me so much of a close friend when we were in our twenties in looks, temperament, and antics. The bar scene is exactly how things would have played out. 100% realistic for my crew back in the day. There is someone punk rock in the writer's room. (I've said this before.) The episode included the Circle Jerks "Wild In The Streets," too.







Seaward? Southport? Matthijs the boat guy? Is there a reason for this? There have been several other nautical comments like "smooth sailing" and "wind in the sails," too.


The homage to Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder in "Stir Crazy" was gold.

Reddit is failing the lesson. It's ruining the fandom for me.

The lesson this season is about women's sports and how to rise above internal biases about women.
The fan base seems OK about the women's team, most of whom remain a monolith of jock-girl sameness.
They're taking their misogyny out on Keeley instead.

Keeley is the most feminine character. She's petite, positive, girly, fun, bubbly, wears loads of pink, frills, color, patterns, make-up, and styled hair. These are all traits perceived as unprofessional in corporate workspaces, and not coincidentally, all these traits are also considered both feminine and childish. There is so much wrong with a society that associates feminine traits with children. I'm not going to go into it here, but if your automatic response to seeing a woman like Keeley is to think "little girl," you need to unpack that on your own time.

As a small woman, I know we are often infantilized, objectified, and perceived as unthreatening. Men are more likely to harass us because they think they can get away with it. (This happens to Keeley on the show, but not to Rebecca, who is gorgeous but 6'.) Keeley's response seems like a defense mechanism. She acts good-natured most of the time.

The fanbase is bashing her, full of hate for her, accusing her of being childish, making fun of her styling, hoping she and Roy don't get back together, and etc, and none of these fans of the famous "be curious, not judgmental" show seem to realize that, like every other major character on the show, Keely has an arc. She has flaws. She has lessons to learn and improvements to make. She's the only one the mob has turned on, though.

...And this is a fandom that heavily polices the criticism of other characters, no matter how low those characters stoop. (Excluding two obvious bad guys.)

The other character who gets undeserved hate is Beard. Beard After Hours is one of the lowest-rated episodes in the series... and one of the most unhinged and fun! Beard is an untamed intellectual with a secretive side. He's smart. He's observant. He's wacky. He's wise. He has a past. (He'd be one of my first picks if I could spend an evening with only one character from the show. It would not be a dull night.)

Untouchable, though? Nate. Hmmmm. Many men have stated that Nate is relatable. People give Nate grace. They won't give Keeley the same grace. ...Maybe because half the fanbase can't relate to women, and even many of the women don't understand what life is like for women like Keeley (and don't care to try).

The Keeley hate has ruined the fandom for me. I will continue to love this show, but this shows me how sheepish people can really be and how easily they jump on bandwagons.

@aeon. Thank you. I know a fanbase is not the topic itself. I believe in the quote by Susan Sontag about how 10% of people are good, 10% are evil, and 80% can go either way... and how easily that 80% is persuaded one way or another.

I've also spent a lifetime enjoying spaces with people who share interests.

Before Season 4, I found the Ted Lasso sub to be positive (for the most part). The past few weeks have been filled with mean-spirited posts and comments about Keeley. (Sometimes backhanded.) It sucked the joy out of a once-positive space.

But Reddit rewards copying popular posts and agreeing with the crowd. -- A large part of why I am a reader there, but rarely comment.

Is Cristo perfect? Save some for the rest of us, friend. (He's an actor, professional footballer, handsome, fun, a delight, and can sing well enough to entertain us doing this.)




Well, this rules.

Ahhh, now we know what's going on with Beard.

One of the themes of Ted Lasso Season 4 is theater. We should be watching for clues. I'm not that into theater, so that will be tough for me. LOL!


The mask scene in the last (NYE) episode was bothering me because I recognized the masks and knew they were significant, but I couldn't place them. They were on the tip of my brain, so to speak. I realized, of course, that the episode referended Eyes Wide Shut, but I knew there was more to it.

I pulled this abbreviated post off Reddit to help explain the visual/prop decisions of the last episode and what they meant:

Cue Etta James "At Last."