Kansan Jason Sudeikis writes and stars in the Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso,” which
begins streaming Friday (Aug. 14). Lasso's former life as Shocker coach is featured
in the first two episodes.Screen shot
'Ted Lasso' TV show rewrites Shocker football history in a big way
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Paul Suellentrop joined Wichita State University Strategic Communications in 2017 after
working for 17 years at The Wichita Eagle. He writes about applied learning and covers
Wichita State athletics through his GoShockers.com blog, The Roundhouse.
When Jason Sudeikis thought about football in Kansas, he naturally turned to Wichita
State University.
Not only did he bring back Shocker football – for a TV show – he made the team big
winners in the Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso" and is happy to give a university in his home state a role in the new show.
“Ted Lasso” began streaming Aug. 14 with Sudeikis, a comedian/actor/writer with Kansas
roots, starring as the titular character. Lasso is a college football coach who moves
to coach fictional British soccer club AFC Richmond in the Premier League.
It is a fish-out-of-water comedy with Lasso as the earnest, slightly befuddled American
who is confused about soccer rules, tie matches, the United Kingdom and driving in
England.
He is not confused about Shocker football. He is shown wearing a Shocker logo in the
first episode and highlights show him dancing with the football team. He wanted a
Kansas school for the show, which explains his choice of Wichita State. In real life,
Wichita State dropped football after the 1986 season.
“We got to use the logo and everything and I like the fact that they don’t have a
football team — just like AFC Richmond is fake, too — which allows us to create this
mythology for Ted,” Sudeikis told The Kansas City Star.
He told The Star he didn’t know that the school no longer plays football.
“They do now and they went undefeated last year,” Sudeikis said. “They won the Rose
Bowl in 2019. So, if that gets on their Wikipedia page, then I think we’ve done something
very important.”
Warner Bros. reached out to Wichita State Athletics through a licensing partner in
August 2019. Wichita State granted permission to use its marks while preserving final
approval on jerseys, shirts, etc. featuring the university.
Apple TV+ is a subscription streaming service. New episodes of “Ted Lasso” drop on
Friday.