The Beekeeper, The Big Pitcher and the Everyman Coach…Reminders of the Value And Immediacy of Storytelling…

It’s not often you think of a beekeeper, an oversized athlete and an accomplished but grumpled NBA head coach in the same vein, but we do today. Why? They exemplify the storytelling of sports, two of them embody what smart, quick storytelling in the moment can do, and the third reminds us of the value of the grind in our business.

So, here’s to Matt Hilton, beekeeper, Tugboat Wilkinson minor league pitcher, and Tom Thibodeau, Knicks coach.

First on the Arizona beekeeper. Now bees at ballparks happen from time to time. You are outside in the spring or summer (or inside with an open roof in Arizona) and the buzzy pollinators find their way in. Usually, it’s not on live TV during a game, with a guy who finds a subtly way to embrace the moment. It wasn’t on the to do list of Matt Hilton that morning, or on the minds of the Arizona Diamondbacks players or announcers as they made it to Chase Field that day for a midweek game.

But it happened. That was part of the story. The beekeeper arrives, dons his uniform and leaves to a standing ovation. In years past that’s part of the story. Now when you weave in the social smarts of the Diamondbacks, the entrepreneurial mind of the folks at Topps to seize a moment, and the pause for a second in the rituals of the long season of baseball you have combined magic…a personality savvy enough to play along, a tremendous visual and a marketplace that enjoyed fun. The result…Steve Hilton beekeeper got his day in the sun, the bees got saved, Topps found a way to create relevance and interest in a story by producing a card for a limited time that fans could use to embrace a moment, and everyone leaves happy. We can’t always plan or see the viral moments, but when you take the time to realize and nudge, opportunities happen.

They bring great buzz.

Second point. Oversized talent. This past weekend the social world was also abuzz with the success and size of a young pitcher nicknamed “Tugboat.” Matt Wilkinson is a young star with tremendous potential, and he showed that potential at the lowest rung of baseball by striking out 15 players in just six innings. What made it even more of a moment was his size…he is almost 270 pounds, hence the nickname. Why did it work? He embodied…no pun intended…the potential we see for the aspirational in sports. Aaron Judge or Patrick Mahomes, we can’t see ourselves being. Steph Curry or Tugboat…maybe we can because their size, big or smaller…is something we see as we go through the day. In Wilkinson’s case, we understand the struggle of the big guy, we know quietly that he will face issues as he moves up through the ranks, and the social space, both good and bad, will keep us abreast of his challenges and his successes. The social space again brought us images that were timely and well placed, and helped this young athlete go from footnote to front and center, something that could not have happened too long ago. Now can young Matt use it to his advantage with the personality of say, Matt Hilton? We will see. Baseball is a grind starting at the lowest level. But for now, we literally see the potential, understand the struggle, and embrace the joy, because it is literally at our fingertips.

Then we have Tibs. A great piece by our colleague Will Leitch this week laid it all out for us. Tom Thibodeau, who we have had the pleasure to spend seasons with at both the Sixers and the Knicks, is helping us through a moment, and he hasn’t changed. Now yes, he has been part of great success in places like Chicago, Boston and Minnesota, but there is still something about the bright lights of New York, and the potential of what those challenges bring, that remind us of the mountain to climb. Like a beekeeper, or a young, large pitcher, Tibs is the everyman. He is the guy toiling through, the lifer, to help get the job done in his own grumpy style. He is us!  Relatable, challenged, tired, maybe not as happy as our other two, but he is the lifer, and we love seeing the lifer getting rewarded. Now he is not the viral in the moment sensation of the other two, but he represents the old school now getting another chance at the rise of the light to success.

The others grabbed a moment, he is the long-term hauler. We get them all, and we can relate and enjoy their rides. It’s what makes real life storytelling in sports work, and how at least in two cases, the immediacy of social helped amplify the story, with the right support team needed to grab the moment. Raise a glass to all three and keep engaging on the ride.