Apple TV’s Ted Lasso is a stupid sports show with a stupid sports premise: an American football coach travels across the pond to England to coach a Premier League football team despite zero knowledge of the sport. Let’s be honest; that would never happen in real life. And yet, it is one of the most cleverly engaging starting points of any piece of media created in the 21st century. 

The idea for Lasso started as an NBC Sports commercial advertising the broadcaster’s purchase of carriage rights for the English Premier League. If you’ve never seen the commercial, it’s a must-watch — the perfect prelude to a perfect series. 

Ana Sofia Meyer is a sports reporter for The Wetumpka Herald and The Tallassee Tribune. 

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