A passionate heart never forgets…and don’t you forget it!
May 10th, 2007 by Julie Napieralski
This time of year really gets me thinking about the fact that when it comes to passion, the pendulum swings both ways. Maybe I feel this way because the NHL playoffs are upon us. My hometown team, the Buffalo Sabres, have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year. Lord Stanley is so close I can feel him!
See, I’m passionate about hockey. Maybe it’s my Buffalonian roots. I love my Sabres. I follow them religously, I cheer loudly, and most of all, I defend my team to anyone who puts them down. Any marketer would drool over the level of brand loyalty I exude.
Enter Brett Hull. Now if you’re a Sabres fan, I need not go on. The name speaks for itself. But for the rest of you, just know that he stole the Stanely Cup from the Sabres in 1999. Hull scored the game winner in triple overtime, but the replay clearly showed that the goal should have been disallowed. Most Sabres fans I know will agree that they have some healthy disdain for Brett Hull (read: passion).
Hull knows this. Now a commentator for NBC’s coverage of the NHL, the topic of that infamous goal came up last weekend. The comment he made in reference to Buffalo fans was less than compassionate. He crassly told viewers to “get over it.” Now understandably, after nearly 10 years, one would hope that all would be forgotten. However, I don’t think Hull considered the fact that passionate hearts never forget. And this case is no different. Hundreds of critics hit NBC’s Sports forum after the game to share their perspective of Hull. I could share a few of my favorite posts, but that could take awhile. It’s time for me to get to my point.
It’s important to drive passion for your brand, and for your organization. But never forget that passion is not always a positive thing. Despite your best efforts, you’re going to find people (or they’ll find you, but I’ll save that topic for another post) who genuinely dislike you. And this group will go to great lengths to share their negative energy with others, posing a real threat to your reputation. Add a simple blog or bulletin board to the mix, and that negative energy will spread faster than you can react.
The best thing you can do is keep the dialogue open. Talk to your friends, and especially talk to your enemies. Creating a mutual understanding of perspectives, and some compassion on your part, will go miles in keeping that negative passion in check.
Go Sabres.
This entry was posted by Julie Napieralski on Thursday, May 10th, 2007 and is filed under Public Relations, Rants and Raves. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
