Passion. What is it? It is defined as a strong emotion and a deep enthusiam for an activity or cause. This post is about passion, not directly, but as someone who writes on the internet to hopefully covey it, I hope you can read between the lines.
I have just watched the first 3 episodes of Ted Lasso season 4, and I have thoughts. My dad and I started watching it years ago, but when he went away on a business trip and decided to watch the rest on the plane without me…
Well, I’ll tell you now… I held that grudge for a while. And by a while, I mean I flat out didn’t watch it until clips started coming up on my FYP. It reminded me of the sport that I grew to love, and why I grew to love it.
I do not own the images from Ted Lasso, I found them on google!
My First impression
After being a little late to the party, I can’t say I avoided some spoilers. It’s hard when pretty much the whole women’s football community starts talking about it. But it raises points that I didn’t think would get shown on mainstream television.
Women’s sports, like disability sports, seriously has a lack of resources. You may think that with the recent successes of the Lionesses and Red Roses, that the environment is changing. I suppose, you are kind of right.
Some clubs have heavily leant into their women’s squads, some have struggled to fund them, some have folded altogether. Take Lewes FC for example. Their women’s team is possibly one of the best in the south for equality and resources.
Firstly, both first team squads are paid equally, the only domestic club to do so in the UK (at the time of research anyway). This extends to the facilities and staff that the two squads have access to: shared training ground, same gym, same home ground. The list goes on.
Maybe you don’t know about Lewes FC, and that would be fair. Their men’s team only play Tier 7 football after all. This includes teams from across the South East, Greater London and East Anglia. Their women’s team, however, play in Tier 3, sitting directly below the WSL1 and WSL2.
To make the women’s team even more impressive, they spent 6 consecutive seasons in WSL2 (formerly the Women’s Championship) from 2018-2024.
They are one example of a success story, where the women’s team out perform the men’s, but there are so many clubs where it is not the same.
AFC Richmond
Do I think that Women’s teams should have female coaches? Yes.
Do I think that women’s teams shouldn’t have male coaches? No. Not at all.
There is not a single reason why a man can’t effectively coach a women’s team. They just need one thing… passion. Well, they need a little skill too, but Ted Lasso had none of that back in season 1. All he had was the shirt on his back and the knowledge that all he needed to do was be a good coach.
He knew nothing about football when he started, for christ sake he took the whole first season learning the offside rule. But he was passionate about it. Not about winning, not about being the best, but having the best spirit.
This image is a powerful one. You can be beaten 9 times out of 10, but if you believe in your team, you won’t let it get to you. You stick together, you work for one another. The competition becomes less about winning or losing but simply making progress.
I forgot how much I love the game
Seasons 1-3 of Ted Lasso reminded me why I love football. The team dynamic, the hard work, the dedication. Season 4 so far has reminded me why I want to go back.
Having not played for almost a year now, the familiarity of being on a pitch surrounded by your friends almost feels foreign. Of course, I have had that with my frisbee team, but there’s just something about 11 women chasing a ball around a pitch that simply can’t be matched.
I didn’t have a great time at college, but after joining the football team, I made some amazing friends. Those friends invited me back to the U18 Worthing Town squad and for that, I am eternally grateful. I would not have made it through my first season in women’s football in a team that didn’t want me.
My closest friends on the team, both at college and club, made it so I could enjoy my last season. They made me feel wanted, needed, and rather than having to perform 100% of the time, I could take a step back when I needed it.
Taiya, Annabelle, Abby, Madi, Chloe, Millie and Rachel, I really hope you are reading this. I know we haven’t spoken in a while, but I really do wish I could have had more time as your teammate. Watching you all play together last season wasn’t the easiest, I really wished I could have been there alongside you all. Selfish, I know but I missed you. Football really wasn’t the same without you.
Football and Frisbee at uni
I will be trying to play again. Moving counties with an ankle injury when you are trying to find a new club has really stunted my football “career”. I haven’t played 11-a-side in over year now, and however much I love 5-a-side, it just isn’t the same.
Granted, my surgery hasn’t helped either, so maybe I’ll go back to disability football for a bit. I will be playing again. It is a sport that I love, and Ted Lasso reminded me how much.
This season with Bournemouth Heat is going to be great. I have my ultimate frisbee family, I am on the committee with some of my best friends, and we are once again going to nationals! I have so many aspirations for the club, and having a coach will seriously help with those.
Bring it on, and I can’t wait for it all to start.
Thank you for reading, see you in the next one 🙂
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