Lessons from Lasso — What’s the First Rule of my Fight Club?

Tensions and fights happen in football — especially in the elite side of the game. There’s a lot at stake and a wide variety of sources and causes of division and struggle and more. What happens when the emotions and passion boil over and threaten to destroy the camaraderie and unity of a locker room? Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, I look at AFC Richmond going through this particularly difficult stages of group formation — one that teams often go through. A similar situation that Jesus faced with his own disciples — his rule wasn’t “No fight club” but rather one that went deeper into the heart and ethos of a group of people that were tied together into a common purpose and goal. It’s a unifying theme and spirit that we see at work in the church even today. Ted Lasso, the immensely popular streaming TV show in its second season on Apple TV+ features the antics and quirky, ‘Ted Lasso’ character brought to life in his own TV show series. 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.