Ted Lasso goes looking for divorcée owner Rebecca to ask her a question during the fundraising gala — only to find that she's alone in the back alley and on the verge of tears...Rupert Manion, her ex- has shown up unannounced and "stolen the show" with his arrogant bravado. His presence and words to Rebecca remind her of the abuses suffered in the past and the threat that Rupert once warned her about — "if you leave me, you will be alone." And Rebecca fears that the prediction has come true. In today's "Lessons from Lasso" on the From the Touchline podcast, we briefly examine loneliness and its damaging effects on a person. I reference a Harvard longitudinal study on the

Rupert Manion rudely interrupts the fundraising benefit and in his mid-event introduction to Coach Lasso, he claims the love of his team that resides in his heart...you know, the lifelong love that we often have for our sports teams and clubs? Which team (or sport) has your lifetime fan-dom or passion? In today's "Lessons from Lasso" on the From the Touchline podcast, this one is aimed more at the passionate fan. We take a look at how the love and subsequent obsession may actually be a dangerous thing. What might Jesus say to us about the time, attention, energy, and money that we pour into our obsessions (sports or otherwise?). We get a simple lesson in the different kinds of

Veteran Roy Kent is fuming. Pretty boy Jamie Tartt is antagonizing. The team is divided. And Coach Lasso is struggling to repair and restore team unity. Coach Lasso's words of wisdom to Kent? "Don't let the wisdom of age be wasted on you..." In today's "Lessons from Lasso" on the From the Touchline podcast, we take a look at wisdom — how does someone gain wisdom? What's the difference between having knowledge, having wisdom, and applying it? Ted Lasso, the immensely popular streaming TV show in its second season on Apple TV+ features the antics and quirky, Coach 'Ted Lasso.' Lasso first appeared a number of years ago as a comedic character as NBC purchased the broadcast rights to the

Telling the truth is difficult in our day and age and maybe nowhere more difficult than in the football world. Today, Coach Lasso takes a minute to speak some truth into young Nathan's life as they head off for the team charity benefit gala. In today's "Lessons from Lasso" on the From the Touchline podcast, I reflect on how difficult it is for truth-telling these days and something that we can see and learn from Coach Lasso as he takes a moment to tell one of his staff members a truth that he needs to hear. The Bible tells us that those who are really worthy of being in God's house are "truth tellers who don't have slander on their

For the past couple of years, in the light of shutdowns and in-person restrictions, one area of Soccer Chaplains United that has grown has been our weekly podcast series. Entitled, From the Touchline, the podcast has been a mix of different types of listening — from interviews with guests to (my favorite) a series based on the hit TV show Ted Lasso. Beginning in 2018, we started to podcast the show with the idea that (as a chaplain) we are standing on the "touchlines" — the sidelines of the game of soccer. The role and work that we have is about cheering and encouraging and even shouting out coaching and instruction — not about the game, but about faith and about life. For