According to GQ, the character Ted Lasso was initially drawn for a different purpose.
The original promo video aired in 2003, right after NBC acquired the television rights to the Premier League and was working towards generating American intrigue in a so-called "European" sport.
The promo was built around the look and feel of an SNL sketch to deliver a pretty straightforward idea: an American football coach is hired to coach a beloved English football team. Mind you, English football here means soccer.
Naturally, Lasso had no idea about the sport he was about to coach, and he was in England, a place he had no idea or understanding of. The comic punch here was that Lasso was an amicable buffoon in short shorts.
