Ted Lasso, an entire show originally based on a commercial, was a series that no one expected to be of any quality. A one joke idea (a fish out of water American is completely out of his depth in English sport) on a new streaming platform no one had heard of (eating an actual apple is less of a mouthful than "Apple TV+") had somehow gotten its strategy right, becoming a huge hit with a first season to remember.
Packed with a plucky cast, fantastic writing, and the element of surprise, Ted Lasso was something so entirely welcome at a time of such anguish with people hiding away in their homes during COVID. Arriving at the pitch perfect moment, Ted and the show was about kindness and hope in a globally horrid time of fear. Now finished with its Emmy-winning second season, it's enlightening to see how Ted Lasso's pop culture weight has trickled down into the world of the real game that is bases itself on.
If this proves anything, it's that Ted Lasso's marketing has been consistently some of the best in recent years to promote a show.
Believe.
Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney Take Over Wrexham
In a constant talking point, Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney would purchase low level Welsh team Wrexham, becoming the team's owners. Celebrity ownership is not unusual in the world of sports (Elton John was the former chairman of Watford, Mindy Kaling the proud owner of 1% of Swansea FC...), but for such a genuine A-lister like Reynolds to partake in something so different (both culturally and geographically) remains a continued anomaly.
Exchanging light ribbing, Ted Lasso would use the Wrexham takeover in a joke, directly, and Ryan Reynolds would post a mock Cease and Desist letter to his Twitter. Following in Ted's footsteps and coming full circle, Reynolds and McElhenney now feature in their own fly on the wall documentary focusing on the football club in Welcome To Wrexham.
West Ham's Kurt Zouma Abuses His Pet
Now, here's a really weird one. New wonder striker, Dani Rojas misses a penalty and kills Richmond's mascot, Earl Greyhound, with a stray football. That opening scene of Ted Lasso's second season airing on the 23rd of July 2021, while on the real life pitch, West Ham defender Kurt Zouma is seen badly abusing his Bengal cat in a video in February 2022. Seen grotesquely kicking, slapping and generally hounding the animal as the camera man laughs (his brother - also a footballer) is just vile. Kurt Zouma paid £9,000 in court costs and was ordered 180 hours of community service and banned from keeping cats for five years.
Following the new appointment of the team psychiatrist in Ted Lasso, Dani is given the much-needed therapy to address what happened on the pitch and properly move on. Are we saying that Ted Lasso influenced real life footballer and general piece of human garbage Kurt Zouma to assaults that animal? No. But the coincidence and timeline is eerily close all the same.
Ted Lasso Name-Checks Jurgen Klopp, Who Responds in Kind
In a post-match interview from a 2-0 win against Athletico Madrid, a journalist mentions that fellow managers the world over should emulate Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp for his man-management prowess, to which the coach can't help but bring up that the fictional Ted Lasso had similarly mentioned him on the show earlier that week. Giddy, Klopp goes on to say how much better it is than a real world Manager of the Month trophy.
Liverpool would go all the way to the final of that competition, where they lost 1-0 to Real Madrid.
Jesse Marsch & Leeds
While the US may have an extremely successful setup with its Soccer League, in the UK, Americans who play "football" come as something of a rarity. With the major exceptions of a talented handful, such as Tim Howard (who would also show up in a commercial with Ted himself) and Clint Dempsey, it's an even quieter place for yanks behind the scenes.
The Premier League has had exactly three American managers, most recently with the appointment of Jesse Marsch for Leeds this year. Only six games in, Leeds currently sit at 11th in the table. Finishing as the last team above relegation, Marsch has a lot to prove this season. Taking it in stride, Marsch would directly address the likeness of his reality and the television show also featuring an American coach managing an English team in an interview with Sky Sports:
Ted Picks Up Tips from Jose
A hapless Ted Lasso gives proven winner Jose Mourinho a call to pick up some tips. The commercial aired during the real world Champions League final between Bayern Munich and PSG, with Ted commenting on the "cup of champions" directly in the spot.
Ironically, Mourinho was managing Spurs when these ads aired — the club that Ted was originally introduced as coaching for the whole of a single day when we first met him in the NBC promos, and long before the show existed.
Jason Sudeikis Supports Jadon, Marcus & Buyako
Following England's final loss through a penalty shoot out in their heartbreaking Euro's run, certain England fans stormed the stadium, rioted, and then racially abused certain players online for missing their chances. At an event in Hollywood celebrating the series' second season, actor Jason Sudeikis rocked a simple black jumper with white font that read: "Jadon & Marcus & Bukayo" - the first names of three young players who missed their penalties and were ultimately sent vile messages online.
Sudeikis said that he'd opted for the sweater “just in support of the three fellas from the English team in the Euro final. They’ve caught a lot of unnecessary guff from unnecessary people." He continued, “I’m just giving them a holler, letting them know that even over here in the States we have our own issues with what they’re going through and let them know that they’re not alone.”
Incredible marketing, or genuine humanity? Honestly, both.
Ted Lasso and Richmond FC in FIFA 23
Move over Super Mario, there's another mustached man in video games! In such a bizarrely brilliant creative decision (and an amazing play in marketing from everyone involved), the latest FIFA game is to have the fictional team of Richmond, its manager, players and stadium featured as a playable entity.
In their statement EA wrote: "One of the game’s great motivators, you’ll be able to select Ted Lasso as your playable manager in Career Mode, or you can manage AFC Richmond by swapping them into the Premier League or any other playable Career Mode league."
The mind boggles at seeing fictional Jamie Tart speeding past Arsenal's forever inept defenders, nutmegging Harry Maguire, or Roy Kent assaulting Lionel Messi with a two footed challenge. You can watch the official promo video below and see just how much Ted Lasso has blended into real football.