After winning Emmys for ‘Ted Lasso,’ Jason Sudeikis shares why KC is special to him

While the fictional soccer team in “Ted Lasso” sometimes has trouble racking up wins, the same hasn’t been true for the show.

“Ted Lasso” again was a big winner at Monday night’s Emmy Awards, as it won four trophies, including best comedy series. Show co-creator/writer/actor Jason Sudeikis won the award for best actor in a comedy.

During a news conference following the awards presentation, Sudeikis was asked by KSHB-TV’s Jordan Betts about “Ted Lasso” being loaded with Kansas City references and how he feels about the world now knowing about KC.

Sudeikis deflected the praise and noted how the Chiefs, Royals and others have made Kansas City what it is.

“Oh gosh, I don’t think I’m the one that put it on the map,” said Sudeikis, a Shawnee Mission West graduate who was clutching an Emmy Award in each hand. “I think the Royals and the Chiefs and Charlie Parker and Janelle Monáe and Don Cheadle, and many, many other artists and people far greater than myself have added to that knowledge. But much of what we talked about, Bill (Lawrence) and Joe (Kelly) and Brendan (Hunt) and I, early on was that the collective wisdom of the character and the show was a culmination of the people creating it.

“And so being someone that had a lot of influence on that, Kansas City just is part of my soul. It’s where I’m from. It’s where I was raised, it’s where my folks live and where a lot of good and bad things have happened to me and many other people. And so it had to be in there and so just like the experiences that other people brought from their hometowns, it’s just this one we have stemming from Kansas City from back home.”

The other cast members seemed happy to hear a question from Kansas City along with the “Go Chiefs” comment from Betts at the end.