As a Brit who also loves soccer (or football, as we call it over here, on account of it being played mostly with feet) one of the main reasons that I love Ted Lasso so much is how well it nails British culture — specifically football fan culture. From May the barmaid, who will literally take food and drink out of the hands of children for not supporting her beloved Richmond, to the near-perfect use of the word “wanker” in all its glorious contexts, the writers have crafted a show that does a great job of that most British of traditions, and something over-eager, painfully earnest Americans often struggle to understand: taking the piss.
Recommended VideosMany watchers of the show will know that Ted Lasso has its roots in a couple of NBC sports commercials for the Premier League, both of which starred Jason Sudeikis as the American transplant. Though these aired nearly a decade ago, the bones of the character (and Coach Beard’s, too) are clear to see (although the producers and writers of the television show have certainly fleshed out the more sympathetic elements of both characters). But, perhaps those wonderful adverts weren’t the only bit of comedic content to heavily inspire the hit Apple TV show.
Streatham Rovers F.C might seem like a real non-league club to a casual observer, and has even managed to fool famous British comedy shows and politicians into thinking that it actually exists — despite things like their main shirt sponsor being a Russian PR firm called the Internet Research Agency, or IRA for short. While Americans might hear that collection of letters and have some vague memory of Bill Clinton heading to Derry in the ’90s, here in the U.K. the acronym is much more loaded, especially with increasing sectarian violence in Ireland as a result of issues and stresses around Brexit. Then there’s the fact that the fictional club’s supporters’ group is named the Streatham Hardline Independent Trust (or SHIT, an acronym that doesn’t require a brief history lesson to understand the humor of). So, like most things online, if you’re paying enough attention you should be able to see that it’s a parody, but, as anybody who’s seen a pointless argument thread on Reddit knows, not everyone reads things before commenting on them.
Aside from the fact they’re both comedic bits of media related to soccer, you might be wondering what else Streatham Rovers has done to potentially inspire some aspects of Ted Lasso. The first and biggest similarity is the fact they’re nicknamed “The Greyhounds,” which is also the colloquial name given to Richmond in the show. Their club motto, “#NeverStopNotGivingUp,” is also incredibly Lasso-esque, radiating the same kind of positivity as the coach from Kansas that’s the anathema to British dourness and sarcasm. So far, so similar.
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We will be assisting the police in full with their inquiries. pic.twitter.com/59VouQfhMt
— Streatham Rovers Football Club (@StreathamRovers) March 29, 2023However, this is mostly where the likeness ends between Streatham Rovers and the Greyhounds. For one, Richmond consistently plays in the professional leagues, whereas Streatham is clearly non-league. Then there’s the obvious geographical difference: Richmond is a different place to Streatham, although only separated by a half-an-hour train journey if you time it right.
Streatham is also a bit more economically diverse than Richmond, which is known for being full of the sort of people who have prams that are as expensive as some cars (and is also home to everyone’s favorite nature documentarian, Sir David Attenborough). So, not quite an exact copy, but more of a mirror image in some cases.
The comedy espoused by the pranksters behind the Streatham Rovers account (and various related accounts) is also a little different in nature from Ted Lasso. Whereas the latter is all about positivity, the Rovers social media presence can be a lot more cutting, sarcastic, and frankly brutal. With that said, both bits of content have a similar political bent, albeit expressed in different ways. Whereas the television show has shown us a liberal/left-wing view on topics like the lack of humanity in the last few British Home Secretaries, debates around the ethics of nudes, and homophobia within the sport, the social media accounts that are related to Rovers are more focused on parodying elements of Britain’s homogenous political and media culture through out-and-out absurdity.
With that all said, it’s hard to say whether the Rovers social media experiment directly inspired Ted Lasso, because much of what the Twitter pranksters have done is so deeply engrained in British comedy culture that the (British, anyway) writers on the show would have been exposed to elements like it throughout their lives. Also, the thing about art is that when you’re covering similar topics — in this case the more hilarious elements of British sports and fan culture — there’s always bound to be some overlap, even if some of the similarities (like the Greyhounds nickname) seem to be directly ripped off. And, as can be seen by some of the recent Rovers content (like the tweet below that touches on men’s mental health, a huge theme in Lasso), maybe the inspiration isn’t just a one-way street after all.
Streatham Rovers Football Club have teamed up with Wankdog to temporarily redesign the club badge to help raise awareness and funds for Men's Mental Health in partnership with BALLSistic, the Men's Mental Health & Testicular Cancer Charity. #SRFC #UpTheGreyhounds #SRFCxWankdog pic.twitter.com/3Tj9GZbz1F
— Streatham Rovers Football Club (@StreathamRovers) April 16, 2023One thing’s for sure, though. No matter whether you’re scrolling on the Rovers Twitter or watching the hit Apple TV show, you’re sure to have plenty of laughs. And, really, that’s all that matters, even if your team is losing horribly.
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