US players are winning more respect on the pitch, but
Apple TV’s recent
comedy shows the ridicule reserved for their coaching counterparts is still alive and well
The joke is a familiar one. A tired one. “AFC Richmond is gonna give you everything we got, win or lose,” the fictional,
American soccer caricature Ted Lasso explains in the first episode of the Apple TV+ series of the same name, at which point he is reminded by a reporter that this is a sport with draws. “Right, y’all do ties here,” he responds, the punchline presumably being Americans know nothing about the sport.
There are countless moments like this throughout the show based on a character first portrayed by Jason Sudeikis in a series of promos for
NBC Sports’
Premier League coverage. The notion of American ignorance towards soccer is the comedic crux of the whole thing. It’s what draws the majority of the laughs.