‘Ted Lasso’ Star Brendan Hunt Explains How He and Jason Sudeikis Announced the U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team

There are two things that have made Americans fall head over heels for soccer recently: Apple TV+‘s Ted Lasso and the U.S. Soccer Women’s Nation Team (or USWNT for short). The first is a hit critically-acclaimed comedy full of heart and hilarity. The second is a World Cup winning team full of some of the greatest soccer players to ever play the sport.

Last month, Ted Lasso collided with the world of real life soccer when Coach Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) himself and his right-hand man Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt) announced the 2020 U.S. Women’s soccer team in a delightfully funny seven minute video. Sure, the Today Show got the “official” announcement, but Ted Lasso and Coach Beard’s was the one that was worth rewatching and resharing.

But how did U.S. Soccer pull off this Olympics/Ted Lasso crossover event? Decider got the scoop from Ted Lasso star, co-creator, and writer Brendan Hunt.

“They came to Jason’s people, asking if he would do it. Jason, as he is wont to do from time to time, decided it would be more fun if he didn’t have to do it by himself,” Hunt said, explaining not only the simple way synergy happens, but how much Sudeikis prefers to be a team player.

“The U.S. Soccer Federation sent us a list of fun facts and things about the players on the roster. As we are currently in a very busy time of doing these things [referencing the junket], we didn’t have a ton of time to write more stuff, so the stuff they sent us was very, very helpful,” Hunt said. “But me and Jason and Joe Kelly threw in a few extra bits here and there.”

Hunt said, “We basically just riffed for an hour over the names, and so they did a lovely job curating that down to a manageable and semi-cohesive seven minutes.”

“It was super fun. It was an honor, really. I mean I’m glad that they had an official announcement that was a little more mature than us,” Hunt said with his usual humility.

But seriously, who wouldn’t rather watch Ted Lasso and Coach Beard compare soccer star Rose Lavelle’s name to a scented candle over the usual pomp and circumstance of Olympic announcements?

Ted Lasso Season 2 premieres on Apple TV+ on Friday, July 23, the same day as the 2020 Olympics Opening Ceremony.

Where to stream Ted Lasso