When the coronavirus pandemic started, my family went through a rough time. In April of 2020, we lost two relatives and two family friends within two weeks. By late June, my employer decided on a hybrid schedule between working from home and at the office (one week in/one week at home). On top of all that, about 10 years ago, I was diagnosed with an extremely rare neuromuscular disorder and I would discover last summer that I had lost a lot of muscle strength.
The commute was stressing because I work in New York City and it consisted of a bus ride into the city, a subway train, and then walking. I barely could step onto my bus and I often had a couple of hard falls on my commute. I made the tough decision to start walking with a cane which made me feel horrible, embarrassed, and somewhat emasculated since I also could not contribute as much with chores in my house. Thank God that I have a loving and supportive wife by my side!
In Memoriam
Herminio P. Santos
March 6, 1949 - April 15, 2020
Miguel O. Babia
May 8, 1935 - April 28, 2020
Also, with this pandemic, being Asian-American, I have had some incidents of racism directed at me during some commutes and it made me so angry. To stop thinking about that, I watched more television, read, played video games and worked more.
Brendan Hunt and Jason Sudeikis in “Ted Lasso”. Image credit: Apple TV+
So during the week of Ted Lasso’s premiere in mid-August 2020, I thought cool... I was a huge fan of those NBC promos years ago and a big soccer fan. I thought that it would be a nice silly comedy, but man was I wrong. Apple TV released the first three episodes in the first week and I already knew that I was hooked. By Episode 5, I knew that this was my favorite show in years and by Season’s 1 end, my favorite show ever.
I felt rejuvenated and it truly changed my outlook on things. Until this show, I basically embodied one of its main characters, Roy Kent, angry all the time at the world around me (and living through the vitriol of the Trump presidency). This show, as crazy as it sounded back then, made me realize that I wanted to be better and be more like Ted.
If someone was being mean or looked grumpy, I would kill them with kindness. I also found myself expressing my feelings towards things which for a man, was seen as "not masculine." I never really cared about that stereotype and Ted Lasso has taught me that, if anything, opening up more was actually more masculine. This would lead me to helping strangers, friends and of course, creating the CultofLasso social media accounts to spread the positivity of "The Lasso Effect".
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