Letter Thirteen | 12/2 | Russ
Cape Town
Dear Lack,
Firstly, I want to thank Peter, Miles, and Joe for contributing three wonderful pieces of writing. Peter, for your excellent piece on just how “crazy” soccer is (and the reasons we love it). Miles, for your thoroughly entertaining breakdown of the US/Iran match. I very much related to your disdain of Alexi Lalas and Henry Kissinger, although it remains unclear who has been a more despicable figure (Just kidding, it’s obviously Lalas). And Joe, my dear friend and colleague. I was touched by your recollections of previous World Cups, where you were and how much they meant to you. You’re right: The World Cup does remain special.
Let me say something that will be unpopular: I’ve never really cared for the United States’ national teams. By now I’ve spent the majority of my life on American soil. But I can’t fully get behind them. I’ve felt, at best, apathetic. My happiest memory involving the United States at a men’s World Cup came in 2010 when Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan scored the match winner against the United States in the Round of 16. An African team beat the United States in South Africa. There was something magical about that.
(Also, yesterday Morocco beat Canada 2-1, winning their group and making them the second African team to qualify for the knockout stages! I am overjoyed!)
Stars and Stripes. Red, White, and Blue. There have been countless American flags and American apparel, as it were, in the stands when the U.S. have played. This is, of course, normal behavior. But there is something different about seeing the American flag on display like this. Miles has already touched upon the political and historical points of this discomfort, so I won’t repeat them. However, in one word, it’s arrogance. There’s an inherent belief that the United States is the greatest at everything, that losing is unimaginable. And this, for all its political flaws, is also just really annoying.
But this World Cup has also seen U.S. supporters adopt another emblem: a yellow rectangle with the word BELIEVE scrawled inside. It’s from the hit Apple TV+ show Ted Lasso: the eponymous American-football coach (played by Jason Sudeikis) becomes the manager of a side—the fictionalized AFC Richmond—in the English Premier League.
When the show premiered in late 2020, I was highly skeptical. Ted Lasso was originally a character from an NBC Sports commercial that was meant to encourage Americans to follow the English Premier League. Does an entire television show based off of a commercial sound gross? Yes, it very much does.
(I’d be very curious to see if the show’s popularity has led to an increased interest in soccer. If so, that would be, considering that soccer is a sport I love, good! But that was also the goal of the commercial in the first place. Damn!)
But, incredibly, I think the first season of Ted Lasso was good. For many people the show into their lives at the right time. We were living in the height of COVID, isolated and scared. Along comes Ted Lasso, a character who is joyful, comforting, kind. It’s a show about forgiveness and the recognition of others’ pain.
When Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) comes clean to Ted about the true intentions behind his hiring—she had planned for him to fail because it was, in her mind, the only way to hurt her ex-husband—he isn’t outraged. Rather, as someone who has recently gone through a divorce himself, he offers compassion.
Of course, the show also follows AFC Richmond as they fight to avoid relegation. As the end of the season looms, AFC Richmond need to secure one point from their final match against real-world villains Manchester City. As the final whistle nears, Richmond are down 1-0. Relegation looks imminent. But then, in dramatic fashion, AFC Richmond scores in added time. The season is saved. Compassion and forgiveness are rewarded.
Except, this doesn’t happen. Manchester City score at the death thanks to a late, uncharacteristically unselfish play by former AFC Richmond striker Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster). The team is relegated.
What I love about this moment is that it contradicts the American sports narrative we’ve become accustomed to: winning is the point. It’s black and white. Nothing else matters. But I would contest that failure is not a bad thing, and that, in the case of Ted Lasso, the impact of the story is totally separated from whether the team wins or loses. It was such a refreshing conclusion.
But, of course, because the show was a massive success, a second season was greenlit. And it sucks. It’s so bad. And we’ll probably get more bad seasons. Because we know where the show is going. AFC Richmond are going to fictionalize Leicester City’s success. Losing is unimaginable.
Lack, I know that you want to write about Ted Lasso yourself. If you feel up for it, I’d love to hear what you have to say!
Lastly, because it means so much to my closest friends, I will be very pleased if the US continue to do well in the World Cup. Maybe it’s because of this project. Maybe the team has grown on me. I genuinely think they have a good chance against the Netherlands—a team that has underwhelmed—and tomorrow I will shed my apathy and support our team, no matter how arrogant they may be.
To quote the great Nigel Powers: There are only two things I can't stand in this world: People who are intolerant of other people's cultures, and the Dutch.
With belief,
Russ