#it’s not just about football it’s about Ted changing the attitude in the locker room

[gottagobackintime]

Trent going from “Is this a fucking joke?” to “And though I believe that Ted Lasso will fail here…” to excitedly running up to Ted saying “It’s going to work!”

[infiniteeight8]

So I was re-reading This Wave will Bear my Weight, by TheGoblinMatriarch (excellent fic, I recommend it), and there’s a bit in there about Trent’s formality in the press room and how none of the other reporters do the stand to speak thing, or start with their name and affiliation, and now I am having Thoughts.

Trent really is the only one who does that. (I think one other reporter does it early on, but I think only the once.) And now I am imagining a world in which the other reporters think he’s stuck up for standing on ceremony like that when they’re all reporting on football. And maybe the press room was kind of a chilly place for Trent, but he never let it bother him because he’s not there for the other reporters.

And then there’s Ted, and the whole feeling of the room changes. He teases Trent about his introductions, but not in a mean way. By the start of season two, you can tell everyone in the press room is enjoying the joke, including Trent -- they all chorus his affiliation together, and Trent smiles over it. It’s become a more friendly place, despite the questions they may need to ask.

And that’s something that Ted changed when, in my opinion, he wasn’t even trying. The team and the locker room and Rebecca’s relationship to the coaching staff--I think he was actively working to adjust all those attitudes. But I think the mood of the press room changed just by Ted being Ted.