The Game of life

I’d heard the buzz but had no idea what the show Ted Lasso was about. Enough people that I liked raved about it, so I watched. I was hooked. 

The show appears to be about the game of “Fútbol,” actually soccer, where Ted Lasso, an American football coach, takes the job as the head soccer coach for a UK team.

It’s a setup from the start. Rebecca, the team owner, wants the team to fail as revenge since the team was her ex-husband’s pride and joy. 

But something else happens. Ted has a philosophy and mindset about more than the game of soccer. I am officially declaring Ted the Grandfather of Healthy Team Sports Play. 

From backyards, neighborhood streets, and schoolyards, to the most elaborate muti-thousand spectator sports arenas, in every country and culture, we come together, invent games, make teams, and play. Studies who this is where we build and explore social trust.  

Playing games sets up a competition. Yet even as competitors, at the core of the game is a desire for excellence, not just as an individual but to serve the larger team.    

Ted’s philosophy, “You can’t win alone. You need to have a group of people you can rely on and trust,” builds a new context for the team he is coaching and everyone involved. 

As the show unfolds, the self-centered players slowly shift. Eventually, even the team’s game strategy shifts from a "me" to a "we" focus. Roy, Jamie, Rebecca, Ted, and almost every character struggle with their own myriad of past experiences, emotional baggage, hopes, and dreams. 

The complexities of relationships bubble and fester sometimes, as Ted stays committed to leading a culture that focuses on believing in what’s working and good in each person.

The mantra of team member Dani Rojas, “Football is life,” reverberates through many scenes of the show. The lessons emerge in sports and life as we play the game. 

The game becomes the arena where effort, challenges, acceptance, and kindness collide. It’s the space where golden threads of play build something of greater meaning, where everyone involved with the team comes together in a deeper connection, sense of belonging, joy, and love. 

Perhaps that’s what the game of football, and life, is all about.