Ted Lasso Season 3 Makes West Ham Into A Good Team, But They're Terrible In Real Life

TV timing is a funny thing. In the heyday of network TV, shows were cranked out quickly, and popular sitcoms with speedy production schedules like "Seinfeld" got the chance to comment on current events within a matter of days or weeks. If a pop culture reference on prime-time didn't feel current, it at least arrived just slightly late to the water cooler. But in the era of streaming, TV production has changed. Seasons of streaming shows are made all at once, often across many months, for an eventual airdate that comes long after their scripts were written.

This change may not be an obvious one for most viewers, but every now and again, it leads to a glaring discrepancy, like a reference to a recently-passed celebrity, or an out-of-date political reaction. Most recently, that unlucky sense of irony has come for "Ted Lasso," the Emmy-winning sitcom and crowning jewel of Apple TV+. Because "Ted Lasso" season three looks like it's shaping up to be a showdown between Ted's (Jason Sudeikis) fictional team, AFC Richmond, and their competitive rivals, West Ham United. Only, West Ham is a real team, and they're not doing so hot these days.

Viewers haven't seen too much of the actual West Ham team in "Ted Lasso" yet, but their fictional management has had plenty of screen time. This is, after all, the team that Rebecca's (Hannah Waddington) ex-husband Rupert (Anthony Head) bought after the pair's acrimonious divorce. It's also where Nate (Nick Mohammed), Richmond's former kit man turned assistant coach, ended up at the end of last season after going full villain mode. The new season of "Ted Lasso" spends plenty of time at both teams' headquarters, indicating that it may be headed for a big showdown between the two.

In real life, though, West Ham isn't having an easy go of it this season. The Premier League team hasn't finished low enough to face relegation — the league demotion that Richmond endured during season two — since the 2011 season. According to Sporting News, the team is currently on its longest Premier League campaign yet, having managed to rank among the top 17 teams in the entire English league (the bottom 3 of 20 get relegated) for 11 years and counting. And while it's AFC Richmond that's predicted to place dead last in the league in the new season, in real life, West Ham United currently ranks 18th, putting it in real danger of a downgrade.

With about a dozen more matches left this season as of publication time, West Ham still may have time to turn its record around and make an AFC Richmond-style comeback. They're still no match for their "Ted Lasso" counterparts, though: while all the British newspapers in the show predict AFC Richmond will finish 20th, the fictional pundits also put West Ham United in the top 4. Fans may be gunning for a big Richmond win in the show, but the "Ted Lasso" cast actually donned West Ham colors last year to attend a game in support of their fake rivals. Actors including Cristo Fernández, Charlie Hiscock, David Elsendoorn, and Kola Bokinni all cheered for West Ham during a match last April, ScreenRant reported. Let's hope this season turns out to be a case of art imitating life, with the real-life West Ham gaining some of their fictional counterparts' good luck soon. We'll keep our fingers crossed and our bubble blowers at the ready.

"Ted Lasso" streams on Apple TV+ with new episodes premiering each Wednesday.