By Andy Brack
We’re pretty late to the national party celebrating the Apple television show Ted Lasso, but we’ve been making up for lost time with some major league binging.
Mainly, we didn’t want to pay Apple, already too rich, any more money. But after being assaulted in social media with common sense clips from the show and with a new season reportedly in the works soon, it seemed like time to figure out what all the fuss was about.
And we’re glad we did. The show about an American football coach hired to lead an English football (soccer) team is hilarious and heartwarming. It’s filled with aphorisms and advice, zingers and zest. Its characters jump off the screen. If Mark Twain or Will Rogers were around today, either would have made a similar show years ago.
This is a comedy that all politicians should watch, if they haven’t already. It highlights how to deal with people better in modern society. Instead of everything between political parties being confrontational and too negative, the show is a lesson in how people can get along and work together, despite differences of opinions.
To get an idea of kinds of the sayings in each episode, here are some insightful, inspiring lessons from America’s coach:
Inquire: “Be curious, not judgmental.”
Possibilities: “You say impossible, but all I hear is ‘I’m possible.'”
Potential: “I do love a locker room. It smells like potential.”
Success: “For me, success is not about the wins and losses. It’s about helping these young fellas be the best versions of themselves on and off the field.”
Look ahead: “You know what the happiest animal on Earth is? It’s a goldfish. It has a 10-second memory. Be a goldfish.”
Challenge yourself: “Taking on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse, isn’t it? If you’re comfortable while you’re doing it, you’re probably doing it wrong.”
Put in the time: “As the man once said, ‘The harder you work, the luckier you get.'”
Gut check: “Just listen to your gut, and on the way down to your gut, check in with your heart. Between those two things, they’ll let you know what’s what.”
Opportunity: “I think things come into our lives to help us get from one place to a better one.”
Ethics: “Doing the right thing is never the wrong thing.”
Hope: “It may not work out how you think it will or how you hope it does. But believe me, it will all work out.”
Now: “Living in the moment, it’s a gift. That’s why they call it the present.”
Keep at it: “Isn’t the idea of ‘never give up’ one of them things we always talk about in sports? And shouldn’t that apply to people too?”
Also recently in the news, though not as inspiring as any episode of Ted Lasso:
Junket
S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson’s jaunt to the U.S.-Mexico border was little more than a political stunt, notwithstanding denials by the wannabe governor obsessed with illegal immigration.
Sue Berkowitz, director of policy at South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, described Wilson’s stunt as a dog whistle to The Post and Courier: “America is a safe haven. People are coming here because they’re trying to do what’s best for their children, because they’re facing crime in their country, not because they want to come here and commit crimes in our country.”
Wonder how many advertising agency cameras the GOP had at the border for Wilson and the two other junketing Republican attorneys general?
Poem
With the deadly killing of four people at a Georgia high school, you might want to check out a 2016 poem by British writer Brian Bilston, which opens:
“England is a cup of tea.
France, a wheel of ripened brie.
Greece, a short, squat olive tree.
America is a gun.”
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send it to feedback@statehousereport.com.
