In the final episode of Season 3, AFC Richmond are on their way to dominating the Premier League and claiming the title, with a decisive win over West Ham. Unfortunately for them, they fall short, as Manchester City earn enough points in another game to claim the title. The players are still rejoicing and celebrating because they won Ted’s last match with them and didn’t break their winning streak, but they still lost the title.
It’s the best possible outcome for the show because winning would be too clean, too easy. After all, as good as the players at Richmond are, and as good as Ted, Beard and Roy are as coaches, it’s hard to believe they’d top Manchester City, Arsenal or Manchester United like that, were it not for their vast renowned resources and personnel – all in one season. Also, they don’t need it either.
Coming second in the Premier League just after being promoted is already a huge win and a Cinderella story in itself. It’s not about American football, it’s not just about winning the Super Bowl, it’s not just about the final standings, but the overall seasonal path, history and improvement. Take ‘Welcome to Wrexham’, which follows Wrexham AFC’s push for promotion to the English Football League. Even though they missed promotion in the regular season, they still finished second in an incredible run, before finally getting that promotion a year later. It’s just as rewarding and more dramatic than just winning on the first try. After all, Rocky Balboa didn’t win the title on his first try, and Karasuno High also didn’t win the Interhigh volleyball tournament in the first season of “Haikyu”.