Phil Collen Weighs in on the ‘Ted Lasso’ Greatest Classic Rock Guitarist Debate

Phil Collen, the longtime guitarist for Def Leppard, is uniquely qualified to weigh in on a funny moment from an episode of Ted Lasso.

In the season three episode titled "La Locker Room Aux Folles," viewers see Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt) take part in a chaotic press conference. However, instead of talking about AFC Richmond, Beard is ranting about classic rock guitarists. The room of reporters is taking him to task over saying, "Joe Walsh is a better guitarist than Jimmy Page." Beard pushes back saying, " ... What I meant was that Joe Walsh, underrated. Jimmy Page, overrated! I mean, Joe Walsh is a poet. Jimmy Page is a f---ing court stenographer on Adderall." (The whole scene can be viewed here, but there is some NSFW language.)

Collen recently appeared on WCSX's Big Jim's House when this Ted Lasso debate came up. Collen began, "First off, Joe Walsh is underrated. He's amazing. I learned to play slide guitar listening to Joe Walsh."

He continued, " ... There was a ten-minute tutorial on YouTube. It's Joe Walsh going, 'You should on that guitar like this. You get this straight. I learned it from Duane Allman,' and all of this. And it's like, 'Oh my God, it works. I can play slide. Thank you Joe!' I love his playing. He's underrated."

As for Page, Collen says, "Jimmy Page is a genius, and he's underrated for being a composer, if this makes sense. It's apples and oranges. They are two very different [guitarists.] So, Joe Walsh is underrated as a guitar player. Jimmy Page is underrated as a composer, as an icon, as a pioneer. And there wouldn't be so much of Joe Walsh if there wasn't people like Jimmy Page."

Collen adds, "Jimmy Page, there's a real depth there, so it's not as easy as just comparing oranges to oranges, because they're not. So, it's oranges and apples right here. So, I think they're both underrated, but for different things."

He concludes saying, " ... [Page]'s a composer/arranger. Those Zeppelin things are outrageous! And let's not forget, Joe Walsh gave Pete Townsend the Gretsch guitar that he played 'Won't Get Fooled Again.' So when you hear that, that's a guitar that used to belong to Joe Walsh. So, if that puts any perspective into anything, I don't know. But there you go."

Phil Collen turns 66 today (December 8), but if you’ve ever seen Def Leppard live, you certainly wouldn’t know it. Why? He’s in better shape than most men half his age.

The guitarist rarely performs with a shirt on, and frankly, who among us wouldn’t do the same if we were equally as ripped? Of course, such a killer physique doesn't just happen. Collen puts in a lot of work to stay in shape, especially before heading out on tour. However, when touring was put on hold this year, even Collen enjoyed a little too much R&R. So, what's a rockstar to do? Start a 30-day fitness challenge on YouTube.

Back in July 2021, Collen launched his 30-day fitness challenge on Def Leppard's YouTube Channel. During the weekly videos, Collen shared his various workout routines, diet changes and his favorite workout playlists.

In honor of his birthday (or maybe to kick any New Year's Resolution off a little early), embedded below are all of the videos from the Phil Collen 30-Day Fitness Challenge. Enjoy!

In week one, fans saw Collen get his diet back on track after indulging a little too much during the pandemic. If you zoom in on his workout notes in this video, you can see where he writes to drink a gallon of water every day. Let's face it, most of us should consider doing the same, because most of us are dehydrated.

In week two, fans see Collen focus more and more on weight training and cardio in the form of squats, chin-ups and pull-ups.We also see him put together one of his quick, go-to salads, which features avocado and two chopped veggie burgers.

In week three, Collen adds heavier weights to his workouts, where he's keen to build up his chest, shoulders and arms. He also shares that he loves to start his day with some oatmeal with berries and peanut butter to help fuel the start of his day.

In week four, we see Collen do some unique circuit training that utilizes kickboxing and traditional calisthenics. He also revealed that before his 30-day fitness challenge, he gained 13 pounds in a month, due to basically eating whatever he wanted and not really exercising very much. During his challenge, Collen lost eight of those 13 pounds and reminded viewers that it's much easier to put on weight than it is to lose it.