HOLLYWOOD—Released April 4, season 3, episode 4 of “Ted Lasso” paid tribute to Grant Wahl. “Ted Lasso” is a TV show on Apple TV that follows fictional London soccer club AFC Richmond being coached by a former American college soccer coach Ted Lasso. Greg Wahl was an American soccer journalist who died of an aortic aneurysm while covering Argentina Vs The Netherlands on December 9, 2022 at the Qatar World Cup.
Wahl contributed to season three of the show. Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso) and show co- creator Brendan Hunt previously appeared on Wahl’s podcast. Wahl was covering his eighth world cup and had previously worked for Sports Illustrated and Fox Sports. Two months before his death Wahl wrote a blog about a visit to the “The Prince’s Head” the fictional sports bar depicted in the show.
He is also the author of 2009 New York Times Bestseller “The Beckham Experiment: How the World’s Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America.” Author Jeff Pearlman states “Far more than merely a soccer book, The Beckham Experiment brilliantly explores—and exposes—that odd place where sports and celebrity collide.”
The episode featured Wahl’s book on screen and “RIP Grant Wahl” read on screen as the episode ended. Wahl’s widow Celine Gounder tweeted “1/ S3E4 of@TedLasso It ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe… Thank you,@jasonsudeikis, @brendanhunting, @brettgoldstein. This episode means so much to me and my family.”
