Fourth Down Frenzy

There are times during almost any football game that you can pretty much guarantee a fourth down decision has to be made. A team can find themselves fourth and inches, fourth and a five with one minute left and down by six, fourth and two on the other teams 15…and so on, and so forth. There are many different scenarios that can occur that force a coach to decide when to go for it and when to just punt and play defense…or heck, pull out a fake punt and really make things interesting, why not right? With so many options having to be weighed in a short amount of time, it is possible that the outcome of the game can be decided at that very moment. Sometimes the decision is obvious, but more times than not, there are plenty of viable solutions that carry just as much importance as the next. So how do you decide which play to call in when it is NOT obvious?

I’m not as concerned with how the concept of fourth down plays relates to public relations for this post as I am how it relates to my personal life outside of public relations, and possibly other PR Pro’s. As PR Pro’s we are pretty good and evaluating all the “what if’s” of a situation and we often find ourselves playing the devil’s advocate and focus on the possible negative outcomes of the play we call in. If we go for it and miss getting the first down, we turn the ball over…can we afford a turn over with our current field position? Is it safer to kick the field goal than go for it or even punt it? What if we fumble? What if the other team sniffs out the fake punt…what if, what IF, WHAT IF? I’ve alluded to this concept before and we as PR Pro’s may not know the answer to all the “what if’s”, but at least we have discussed them and planned for them. It’s a big part of what we do, especially when so much is riding on the outcome of that one decision.

So what happens when a PR Pro’s professional approach doesn’t mesh well with their personal life approach? As a PR Pro, it is ingrained in my mind to anticipate the “what if’s” and to look for the possible negative outcomes that are lurking in the background…and to be honest, I find myself in a fourth down frenzy when I translate that same concept to my personal life. I have been taught, and I fully understand, that one cannot live their life worrying about the “what if’s” but I haven’t learned how to turn off my “PR brain” when I leave the office and approach my life with my “Tammy brain.” I guess what I am trying to say is we all find ourselves in a fourth-down situation from time to time and sometimes the best option is obvious and there is no need to weigh any others; but when that is not the case, do you just say fourth and “ef” it and hope for the best or do you weigh all the “what if’s?” The one thing I do know for sure is that a decision has to be made in a timely manner…if not, an entirely new set of “what if’s” is created.

Being a Public Relations T-Shirt Fan

Recently the concept of "t-shirt fans" came up in conversation because of people who support colleges they did not attend. I get accused of being a t-shirt fan, or according to my best friend a faux fan, because I support the University of Texas and did not attend school there. I have also recently become a supporter of TCU because it is the local college here in Fort Worth where I live, and who wouldn’t want to support such a great football program and the people who have taken it there? I started wondering why being a t-shirt fan is associated as being a negative to those who call themselves “true fans.” Wouldn’t colleges and other true fans want as much support as possible…even if it’s only people jumping on the bandwagon? Support is support and the way I look at it, the more support you have the better everyone will be.

So how in the heck does this apply to public relations? In the field of public relations we often find ourselves playing the role of “t-shirt fan.” There are times we may not agree with, or even want to support, the decisions being made my our bosses, boards, etc. Even if we council them on the reasons why we don't want to "bless their decisions" and communicate our hesitations to them, ultimately it is not our decision. So when we do not agree with what is being done in our organization, as long as it is ethical, we have a professional obligation to show support and be a “team player.” It wouldn’t be very good PR if the rest of the organization had on TCU shirts and I showed up in a Texas Tech shirt right?

So the question becomes am I a true fan or not? Maybe not initially, but on the exterior the message I am communicating to the stakeholders of the organization is that I am fully engaged and committed to the success and/or failure of the decisions, policies, etc., that have been made and I will do my best to get others to jump on board with us…again, as long as it is ethical. To me that means I am making the professional and conscience decision to blend in with the true fans to the point where they have no idea I am what they consider a “t-shirt fan." As far as I'm concerned, we are all there for the same reason, to support our team!

So with all that said, I am PROUD to be considered a t-shirt fan both professionally and personally. I am a fan of UTEP, Texas State, The University of Texas and now TCU…but my support doesn’t stop there. I am a fan of the game and if there is a team worth my support, then give me a shirt and make room for me on the bandwagon! I have learned that you may start off as a t-shirt fan, but if you invest enough time, energy and emotion into any team (professionally or personally), you become a true fan regardless of what others might say…sometimes more so than the so-called “true fans.”

Picture: My best friend Jill (Texas Tech Grad), college friend Jon (UTEP grad/UTEP football player) and me all supporting TCU in Las Vegas versus UNLV. Three proud t-shirt fans!