Ted Lasso Supports the U.S. Men's Soccer Team with Messages on Billboards in Their Hometowns
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Ted Lasso has brought a little bit of his world-renowned good sportsmanship back home.
After the U.S. Men's National Team announced their roster last week for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the fictional character played by Jason Sudeikis signed his name on personalized messages to each player on hometown billboards in 24 cities across the country.
The yellow signs with blue handwritten font appeared on bridges, schools, farms and city skylines in locales like Chicago, Dallas, New York, Seattle and San Diego.
"Lasso's personal messages to each individual team member will encourage local support for the hometown hero and build on the excitement for Team USA!" the show shared in a statement.
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Ted Lasso's Twitter shared photos of the signs this week, which started going up almost immediately after the lineup was announced. "Like most M. Night completists, I believe in signs. Go get 'em, boys!" the Apple TV+ show posted in the blissfully optimistic voice of its protagonist.
In addition to the massive signs, personal messages to the athletes will appear in local newspapers ahead of 2022 FIFA World Cup, which will be played from Nov. 20 to Dec. 18 in Qatar.
Meanwhile, Sudeikis' co-creator and costar Brendan Hunt is preparing for the World Cup with his and Rebecca Lowe's new Apple podcast After the Whistle, which premiered Thursday.
Sudeikis, 47, stars in Ted Lasso as the titular happy-go-lucky U.S. college football coach who is unexpectedly recruited to lead an English Premier League soccer team, despite having no experience with the sport. A fish-out-of-water, he soon wins over the local community of soccer fans.
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After originating the character in a series of 2013 commercials for NBC Sports, Sudeikis was tapped to reprise the role for his own series, which premiered on Apple TV+ in 2020.
Writer and costar Brett Goldstein previously told the Sunday Times that the upcoming third season is intended to be the show's last. "We are writing it like that. It was planned as three [seasons]," he said, joking: "Spoiler alert — everyone dies."
Sudeikis discussed the three-season plan in June, explaining on the Today show that it was their "negotiation tactic" to get the show made. "I thought it was super cocky of us to think we'd make it to three. That was just swagger that has now manifested into actually having to do it. It's frightening," he said.
Seasons 1 and 2 of Ted Lasso are now streaming on Apple TV+.
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