Ted Lasso cleaned up at the Emmy’s last night and rightfully so — the show is great. It won Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and both Outstanding Supporting Actor and Actress in a Comedy Series. And of course soccer / sports Twitter was buzzing about the wins.
There was a considerable amount of discourse inspired by this tweet from one half of the Men in Blazers Roger Bennett.
Jason Sudeikis wins Emmy for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Hard to exaggerate what Ted Lasso has done for profile of men’s football in the United States. Our women have won World Cup after World Cup but few American men have done more for the game than Jason and his Team pic.twitter.com/XKrcM7dmfY
— roger bennett (@rogbennett) September 20, 2021
Most of the commentary about it was negative — that it was dumb, that it was too much, that it ignored other things that contributed to the growth of soccer in the U.S. I wanted to check outside my Twitter bubble. It’s important to step outside that echo chambers that we’ve created for ourselves on social media because otherwise, we’re just going to reinforce our own opinions and the same views.
At first blush, it seems benign to me. A bit over the top, sure. Hyperbole? Probably. But that’s part of their brand. I think Ted Lasso likely has broadened the appeal of soccer in this country. Anecdotally, I know of tons of non-soccer people who absolutely love the show, watch it religiously, and try to convince their friends to watch it too. Whether that vigor translates into following actual soccer is another question, but there is no denying the show’s impact.
What do y’all think of the tweet (and the show?!)?
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