Culture

I love all things “Ted Lasso.” I don’t go to church, but if I did, I’d go to the church of Ted Lasso. Hell, it’s better for you than most organized religions. I watch each episode as they’re released at midnight ET to stay fully abreast of the series and avoid spoilers. So I was shocked this week to see a conspiracy theory sweeping across the internet, with people legitimately wondering: Is Roy Kent CGI?

Patterns of play dictate how an attack goes about breaking down a defense. Whether it’s neat passing triangles to keep possession, an overload to gain the numerical advantage or a cross-field switch to disrupt a static backline, these predetermined moves are all integral to match-winning play.

My Spanish is a little rusty, but here is a snippet from a conversation overheard between a few El Salvadorian fans shortly before the country's World Cup Qualifier against the USMNT on Thursday:

Guy No. 1: "OK, here's the plan: step one — get a ladder. Step two — carry the ladder into the stadium."
*Pause*
Guy No. 2: "What's step three?"
Guy No. 1: "What do you mean step three? That's the whole plan, we take the ladder and bring it into the game. That's it."

Cristiano Ronaldo has been at the top of the game so damn long that it’s impossible to remember it otherwise. His first Ballon d’Or was 13 years ago while he’d already claimed the Premier League Player of the Season the year before that, so for many millennials he’s been king for half a lifetime. 

But there wasn’t always a consensus around what sort of footballer he’d become, mainly because of the singular uniqueness of his early stylings.

Warning: This story contains spoilers through Season 2, Episode 6 of “Ted Lasso.”

Season 2 of “Ted Lasso” has been a great ride. While not as much of a non-stop, feel-good joyride as Season 1, as character arcs progress, the season has provided a deeper narrative for all our favorite characters — and one character who, for a time, was one of the least favorite people on the show. And it turns out, the greatest on-field moment of the season thus far — the Jamie Tartt goal vs. Tottenham — may have actually been real.

For whatever reason, little kids don’t seem to be too enthused over the idea of watching 22 people chase around a ball, largely fruitlessly, for an hour and a half. They’re still into being carefree, happy and imaginative rather than screaming at Federico Fernández to “f***ing get rid!” every weekend. They don’t know what they’re missing out on.

But one thing that unites all sons, daughters, nieces and nephews is their love for LEGO, and let’s be honest, that also unites all fathers, mothers, uncles and aunts. 

Brek Shea shirtless, jeans barely hanging on to the footballer’s chiseled abs. A model in lingerie, eyes glassy like she just ate too much Thanksgiving dinner. And a baby donkey, half-asleep and half-aware of the brunette stroking its neck. 

It is, perhaps, the greatest photo in MLS history. I’ll also accept worst photo of all time.

The above photo conjures so many questions.

There is nothing more important to a household than the family pets. Well, maybe the humans, but Alex Morgan knows even that is pushing it.

“Dog — cats — alpacas — people,” Morgan said in her latest tier-ranking of animals, obtained exclusively by The18 thanks to an interview set up by Stella & Chewy’s, which makes food for the top two animals on the USWNT star’s ranking. 

YouTube soccer thumbnails are one of the greatest art forms to ever grace the internet. Nearly every soccer fan has found themself on their phone at one in the morning watching a “worst ever tackles” or “strangest EVER occurrences on the pitch” compilation.

The videos themselves are quality content, but the real treasure is the hyperbolic thumbnail that made you click on the video in the first place. You don’t remember the time the Lionel Messi got tackled by six players at once???

Here are my personal top 10 favorite YouTube soccer thumbnails.