From the Principal

Believe

A dose of the flu saw me spend quite a bit of time in the term break alternating from couch to bed. In this time, like many of us, I became quite the football expert from watching the World Cup. As history now notes, Spain lifted the trophy in New Jersey on the 19th of July, beating Argentina 1–0 after extra time. Remarkably, they conceded a single goal in the entire tournament.  I must admit to having gone from World Cup fever to now World Cup withdrawal, dreaming of a European summer visit to Spain, Portugal and Morocco for 2030.  One of the things I remember most from six weeks of the World Cup isn't just the football, it was the sense of shared experience, joy, connection and belonging brought to life by a game. The noise. The delight. Strangers talking and bonding. Elation, despair, joy and laughter, essentially, organised around a ball. 

Thankfully, we will have some more football back on our screens shortly with the next season of the comedy classic 'Ted Lasso.'  Season four lands on the 5th of August Ted back in Richmond, this time helping Rebecca build a women's team from scratch, the whole enterprise built on the same premise as before: that decency and humour aren't naive, they're a discipline. The show's genius is like the World Cup, it's not always just about football. It was about leadership, learning, relationships and growth. It's about kindness, forgiveness, understanding, regrets and our shared humanity. The power of believing in something worthy building and working towards together. Unity. Commitment. Purpose. BBQ Sauce.

It was nice to see Jason Sudekais as Ted pop up during the World Cup in all sorts of ads and skits. A great cross promotion but it didn't feel like the character I had grown to love. 

What was missing? 

Well for me, it had to be the books. Coach Beard is rarely seen without one. In the new trailer he's clutching something called Soccer Women, same unreadable intensity on his face as always. Ted gives his players relevant books, gifting Rebecca a battered copy of A Wrinkle in Time. Trent Crimm writes a book about the club and, in the finest gesture of the whole series, lets Ted talk him out of naming it after himself The Lasso Way becomes The Richmond Way.

Books, in that world, aren't props. They reveal how the characters think out loud, how they hand each other a piece of themselves without having to say the soft thing directly. Of course, for young people, reading and activities like last week's 'Book Week' bring new worlds to life and help us understand our place in the larger space.

Between the World Cup, the return of Richmond AFC, and whatever reading stacked on your bedside table right now, it strikes me there's a single thread running through all of it. The oldest, least dressed-up thing we do as a species is find ways to feel less alone. Sometimes that's eighty thousand people roaring at a stadium in New Jersey. Sometimes an American coach telling a room full of cynics to believe. Sometimes it's just you and a book.

All aspects of life worth chasing. We are all so much stronger together.

Semper Diligens