An intriguing billboard has gone up near Grand Avenue and Bayard Street in Pacific Beach.
It pictures a letter from the star of the Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” — a fictional soccer coach and actor Jason Sudeikis’ alter ego — to San Diego native Luca de la Torre.
Written in Lasso lingo, the message congratulates de la Torre for being one of 26 players selected for the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) competing for the World Cup in Qatar.
Calling the athlete “Luca De La Torrific,” Lasso writes, “…my studies show this city’s about to crank up the happy once you stroll onto soccer’s biggest stage. You’re gonna give them something to smile about from the top of the podium.”
The sign-off reads: “Best of Luca, Ted Lasso.”
Apple TV+ is behind the campaign, confirms a streaming service spokesperson, noting that it worked in partnership with the U.S. Men’s National Team and each of the players.
More billboards are rolling out over the next week in the hometowns of all 26 players and Coach Gregg Berhalter, who is from Chicago.
Not all are billboards. Kellyn Acosta’s sign is on a ranch building in Parker, Texas, and Brenden Aaronson’s is on a barn in Medford, N.J. Two Lasso letters (for Christian Roldan in Pico Rivera near Los Angeles and Matt Turner in New Jersey) are mounted on the walls of high schools. Others are posted on the exteriors of various buildings.
The messages, written in blue ink on a yellow background, are all different but have one thread in common: They are Lasso’s personal pep rally notes geared to building local and generating buzz for the hometown heroes.
Additional messages, will pop up in local newspapers and on the @tedlasso Twitter site. On Monday, Luca’s billboard was pictured with a Tweet from Lasso: “I believe in signs. Go get ’em, boys!”
His Twitter also has photos of other signs that started appearing shortly after Nov. 9, when the U.S. squad was announced.
The TV series, about a U.S. college football coach recruited to lead a British soccer team (to defeat), won Emmy Awards in 2021 and 2022 for outstanding comedy series.
The billboard campaign has attracted the attention of sports media outlets, including ESPN, where critic Adam Snavely blasted it for making light of a serious sports competition. “How many DMs and texts is Luca de la Torre going to receive for the rest of his life that sign off with ‘Best of Luca’,” Snavely asked.
David Chamberlain, president of the San Diego chapter of a U.S. soccer group, the American Outlaws, spied the Pacific Beach billboard posted on social media.
He lives in Pacific Beach and teaches at the Crown Point Junior Music Academy so he hopped on his bike and rode around until he found the billboard.
He then posted a photo of himself below the sign on the San Diego Outlaws’ website. Chamberlain believes the ESPN critic missed the point of the sign. “A lot of people are trying to find out where the billboard is,” he says. “They think it’s great. … I love it.”
of Chamberlain’s fan group plan to watch the U.S. team battle Wales on Nov. 21 at the sports bar they call home, O’Brien’s Pub at 4646 Convoy St.
Over Thanksgiving weekend, the San Diego Loyal soccer club is partnering with the San Diego Symphony to offer local fans a free screening of two FIFA World Cup Qatar matches at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park: the U.S. team against England and Mexico playing rival Argentina.
De la Torre is the son of prominent San Diego medical research scientists: Anne Bang and Juan de la Torre, who was born in the Spanish Canary Islands.
Anne is director of cell biology for the chemical genomics center of the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. Juan is a professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at San Diego’s Scripps Research Institute.
Their son attended Torrey Pines High School as a freshman, then enrolled in London’s Fulham Academy soccer program (soccer referred to as football in the U.K.) to work toward becoming a professional player. Last July, he signed with the Spanish league’s Celta Vigo team.
De la Torre’s U.S. Soccer profile notes that as a youth he enjoyed visiting the San Diego Zoo, Legoland and Westfield UTC shopping mall. His favorite local restaurant is Urban Plates in La Jolla, and he is fond of the Mexican food at Roberto’s.
The midfielder grew up playing for local clubs, Nomads Youth Soccer and San Diego Surf. He also played for the Carmel Valley Sharks and the Carmel Valley Manchester Soccer Club.
Another San Diego County native, Paul Arriola, from Chula Vista, had high hopes of being selected for the U.S. national team. He posted on Twitter that, while heartbroken not to be included on the final World Cup team roster, “I will be rooting for my teammates when they play, and I hope our country comes together to this amazing group.”
Aside from soccer fans, San Diego Tourism Authority officials should be beaming. Ted Lasso’s billboard heaps praise on San Diego, saying there must be something in the water to make it one of the happiest cities in the U.S. …
“Or maybe it has to do with the sunshine. Or all the surfing. Or the surfshine. Or maybe it’s the iconic folks born here that’s bringing ’em joy. They got a legendary skateboarder. A legendary children’s poet. A legendary anchorman. And, of course, a legendary soccer player …”
Ted Lasso has done his homework.
