Lessons from Lasso — ‘Bury’ or ‘Bathe’ In Work

Episode six (season 1) opens with Coach Lasso dealing with the after shock of an official ‘separation’ for wife, Michelle. He finally takes off the wedding ring which has gained some camera prominence up until this point. The ensuing day is fraught with struggle for Lasso as he looks to cope. His response? He decides to ‘bury’ himself in his work. No, correct, that — bury is too morbid…’bathe’ is better. What do we do when things aren’t going well at home, or at work? Men, especially tend to retreat and dive more fully into places where they believe they can experience achievement or success or receive praise to compensate for the hurt and loss. But does that form of coping really help? Today, I look at the ancient words of Isaiah as he gives God’s word to a people who were struggling with loss. They are words of exhortation and hope at the same time. Ted Lasso, the immensely popular streaming TV show in its second season on Apple TV+ features the antics and quirky, Coach ‘Ted Lasso.’ Lasso first appeared a number of years ago as a comedic character as NBC purchased the broadcast rights to the English Premier League. Played by Jason Sudeikis, Lasso (as a coach) brings change to the difficult football (soccer) team that he has traveled overseas to coach. In the ‘Lessons from Lasso’ series, I (Rev Brad) look at some of the different life learning points brought up in the show from a chaplain’s point of view. From the Touchline is a short-feature (usually 10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer). Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd, in the Apple and Google store.