Anyone who knows the history of Lou Lamoriello will know that this was not a carefully planned social play by the Islanders this past week, but even the legendary NHL President of Hockey Operations and GM, who always pushes to keep distractions down…way down…with the teams he runs, can’t be all that upset with the play that Anthony Beauvillier received during the past few days with Anna Kendrick.
For those who haven’t followed, Beauvillier posted a fairly innocent flirtatious post toward Kendrick, and during the quiet period around the holidays, it got a lot of play from some teammates and various other social “wingmen.” It also caught the attention of the Twitterverse and of Kendrick herself, who both observed and engaged in the back and forth over the past few days.
For the rising Islanders and their disruptive co-owner John Ledecky, the exposure that the give and take brings beyond the ice is tremendous, with little output or effort from the team. The opportunity to grow the expansion, like getting Kendrick some gear, getting her to a game, creating some fan-based efforts tying Kendrick to the team, doing in-game themes around some of her films with trivia etc., even maybe some fun Anna Kendrick lookalike promos, is pretty strong. The issue will be keeping the exposure to a non-distraction for the close to the vest organization which is all about performance vs the frills away from the game.
For the most part the give and take really was a case of right place, right time and right push. It was authentic and not contrived by the 22-year-old Beauvillier and literally took on a life of its own once it started. It’s great for the NHL at a time of year when the NBA always seems to amp up its social push, and in a crowded New York market with a team split between two home arenas in Brooklyn and Nassau County, it put the Islanders in a position which most teams covert; storytelling away from the game that has little to do with performance.
Again, the GM may not be loving it internally, but externally it’s hard not to give the social play a thumbs up.
The Kendrick islanders story also reminded me of another viral opportunity from back in the day, way back when social media was not a thing. It came up with the passing of legendary shock jock Don Imus on Friday and involved an opportunity that we were able to exploit in 1989 at Fordham University.
In the late 1980’s and early 90’s the Fordham men’s basketball team was among the best Mid-Major programs at least in the east, if not the country. That put the University into some great storytelling opportunities, especially given the position of some of its alumni in sports media. One of them was, and is Mike
Breen, who at the time was part of the morning show on what is now WFAN with Imus and his other regulars. In 1988-89 Breen would regularly fold in Fordham scores, much to the chagrin of Imus who loved to tweak anyone and everyone. In December the Rams beat Seton Hall on a last second shot, a game which Imus said Fordham would never win, and as a result, “The I-man” gave FU a stage to exploit. On several occasions throughout the winter, the team made several cameos on the show, both via phone and in studio, and the give and take became a bit of a cause celebre in the city. The loss of the best on the Seton Hall game also presented Fordham with the opportunity to have Imus be a guest coach for a sold-out game against nationally ranked LaSalle University and their star Lionel Simmons, 
which led to even larger exposure for all involved. Imus was genuine in his engagement, Fordham rolled with the punches, and the program was elevated by taking advantage of the time and place. Yesterday as I was looking for photos from that day I came across a literal footnote to history; a mention of it on the Imus wiki page.
“Later in 1989, Imus accepted an invitation to become an honorary assistant coach for a basketball game between the Fordham Rams and La Salle Explorers the following January.[27]”
Much of that period of success at Fordham is sadly lost to history, but the ability to ride a wave, even in a time before social media, and grab ancillary exposure as it arose, was fun and unique and really not dissimilar from what the Isles experienced the last few days.
The window of opportunity for both was limited, but the ability to listen, watch and engage at the right moment for both is infinitely valuable, especially for those who need to cut through the clutter and have an interest in expansive diverse storytelling.
Imus and the Islanders…two viral story examples that worked, almost twenty years apart.
