It’s just a little sleepover, right?
The next 138-188 words (maybe more) will not be a personal quest to say what is right (having turned Sandusky in) or what is wrong (kneeling in prayer in front of Paterno’s house prior to today’s game), but rather a journey discussing three major themes (Anger, Legacy, and Healing) and the role of social media in this “scandal.”
Anger on behalf of those whose institution is now disgraced;
Legacy left by and on all parties involved;
Healing in part of the institution; fans; Nation; and, of course, the victims.
Quick breakdown of the situation:
Old dude, little boys, touchy-touchy game.
Allegations, “situation handled”, continued touchy-touchy game.
Investigation, everyone fired and pissed, new (older) touchy-touchy partners.
Anger. People are pissed. No duh, an institution was shamed, a nation was shocked. I know I wouldn’t claim going to Penn State right now.
Legacy. “[W}ith one phone call, he (Paterno) could have sealed his legacy...” Oh it did, it did. For all parties involved, this was far and wide not an isolated incident- there were many times someone could have said something that mattered.
Healing. Duh, many individuals are gonna need to heal, and with that comes the helping role social media is playing.
Social Media. One cannot escape social media. It’s everywhere. Let’s use our three pre-chosen hashtags (#PSU, #Paterno, and #Penn State) to watch the healing start. Oh wait, social media keeps the feasting alive. I personally could care less about Kardashian and (insert name) this week, or whatever (insert name) and (insert name) are doing, but with their issues, it’s old as soon as another crappy story come along to steal our attention of 15 minutes. Much to the same effect as the RUIMUS issue, this situation will linger on longer than it has to in order for every talking head (and blogger and social media “expert”) to chime in.
Social media will continue to expose those who need the healing the most- the families.
As sport managers, the use of social media should not be to perpetuate the non-important. Yes, feel free to chime in on whatever the topic for these 15 minutes is, but remember we should be the barriers for our respective companies and the general public. Keepers of information, social media should be the outlet to improve our customer relationships (CRM).
As Uncle Ben said, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
-E.L. Storrie
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