Football Opening Day Stories
With anticipation at an all-time high, college football opening day has arrived. In the latest episode of Knox Talk, Paul Sickmon and Brandon Parks discuss the optimism that comes as every team starts off undefeated. But they also reflect on the rollercoaster of emotions that comes with the kickoff of the season. Throughout the episode, they share stories of their most memorable opening day experiences.
Sickmon starts the podcast by sharing a story from a hopeful opening day in 1988 that took a turn when both the team he worked for, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and his favorite team, Florida State, took a disappointing defeat. The day started as he flew down to Miami to watch the Hurricanes take on the Seminoles, in which Florida State lost 31-0. He then flew home to work the Buccaneers opening day, against the Philadelphia Eagles. He describes his experience standing on the field in rainstorms, followed by terrible humidity and a loss for the Bucs (44-16). Parks then shares a similar experience from opening day in 2019 when the team he works for, the University of Tennessee, lost to Georgia State. These personal experiences demonstrate how the reality of sports is the unpredictability that it shows.
Selling Hope
The unpredictability of sports may be a reason we all love it. However, it is this unpredictability that affects sports professionals. For those who work in sports, high expectations with a failure to deliver can create difficulties in managing client relationships. Parks and Sickmon address how they must separate their fandom and look through a different lens for each and every game. They describe how even as these letdowns can happen, at the end of the day people will always still root for their team, and so this market still holds value for clients.
“And that was the answer. It is that people still care, no matter what happens, no matter how bad you get beat, no matter how bad the team looks, everyone cares about them. And as long as people care, and they’re still coming to the games, and they’re still paying attention with whatever you did from a media perspective, then your sponsorship still holds weight” Paul Sickmon said.
Sickmon explains how you can’t always sell greatness, but you can always sell hope. There is no one game that is going to make fans not follow their beloved teams anymore. As a marketing professional, you can send the message of keeping optimism.
What Makes Sports Special
To end this podcast, Paul and Brandon share more stories from the duration of their careers in the sports world, including technical mishaps and timely challenges. Parks finishes out the podcast by explaining how the biggest improvement you can make as a sports professional is learning from game to game. While the results of sports may always fluctuate, that is arguably one of the reasons it is so loved. The thrill that sports bring is a feeling that cannot be replaced for most. Sports allow us to witness moments of greatness, and they allow us to witness moments of triumph.
The last story told by Parks, paints the picture of opening day at the University of Tennessee. Just before they go on air, the Pride of Southland Band makes their march across campus. Once they arrive, they do a salute to the hill right behind his show site.
“And every year that I've been here, it’s a really special moment for our team because we can look at one another and say one, this is why we do what we do. And then secondly, we've made it” Parks said.
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