COVID Communications: SVP, the Nation's Sports Sherpa
I used to write a sports blog. Now, I write about communications. Consider this a throwback, although the comms implications and lessons are right there for the taking…
He’s there every night. As the hour hand ticks to 11, that bald domepiece graces the screens of millions. Familiar. Comforting. Dependable. Welcoming. He’s undoubtedly my sports sherpa, guiding me through this indescribable time, minus the regular distraction of our traditional live sporting events. Of course, I’m talking about Scott Van Pelt. And, during this time, I’d argue SVP is the MVP of the sports world.
Van Pelt has ingratiated himself to sports fans through radio and TV programming on the Worldwide Leader for nearly two decades. He brings a rare combination of intellect and relatability. He understands and weaves culture with charisma. He’s a deft storyteller with a snappier wit. This all from a guy you feel like you’d want to share that proverbial beer with (if bars were hypothetically open…and you knew or met him…but you get the point).
It’s never been hard for me to grasp Scott Van Pelt’s popularity, or unlock the mystery of his 2M fervent followers on Twitter. Yet, many sports personalities have lost their magic without a daily slate of games to diagnose and debate. Not that you can blame them. SVP, though? He’s gotten better.
He’s become a daily ritual for me, even more than when sports were in full tilt. Sliding into the late evening, as he mans SportsCenter solo, I’ve found him immensely…and this may seem a strange adjective…soothing. Yes, he brings a connection to sports. SVP’s nightly SportsCenter sessions are also a reminder that sports are far “smaller” in significance than so much else happening in our world. Still, we (OK, at least I) need them…regardless of the form.
SVP is bringing sports. Sports. Life. Laughs. Distraction. Routine. I’m not sure any other personality could anchor the nation’s evening sports show right now. Not the way he’s doing it. Not in the only way that looks, sounds and consistently feels right. I found myself putting on my PR hat to try figure out why. Why and how has this one sports personality adopted and embraced the role of sports sherpa for a sports-starved nation?
I landed on three adjectives.
Honest
In a “talk TV” world where hyperbole and hype is often the modus operandi, SVP is coming at this thing honest. Countless times he’s captured the exact mood of his viewers, and, often, the sentiment of a country. Will Leitch compared Van Pelt to Walter Cronkite in an early March article for the Washington Post , recounting his on-air, live reporting as the NBA literally shut down and walked off the floor in front of our eyes:
In charge of all of it was anchor Scott Van Pelt. As far as this sports obsessive was concerned, Van Pelt was the Walter Cronkite of one of the most extraordinary evenings in sports history. He was calm and measured, not exactly making me feel better, but making me feel as if I knew as much as could be known about what was going on.
There have been countless other times where I’ve similarly felt more at ease, more normal, listening to Van Pelt. Whether it’s simply throwing up his hands wondering what to do, talk about or say, or simply stating how much this all “sucks.” It’s been plain, honest talk at every turn. No spin. Nothing staged. Just figuring it out like the rest of us. Doing the best he can.
Human
It may have started with the Senior Night celebrations, but humanity has always been an SVP trademark. The “Best Thing I Saw Today,” of course, but it’s come through in so many other ways. Perhaps most notably of late in his nightly interviews. Part of what we love about sports is the personalities….coaches, athletes, commentators. But rarely do we get to see them in their “everyday” incarnation. This crisis has stripped those men and women down. And, in so doing, we’ve come to see and “know” the humans better. That experience has been made possible — and been enhanced — by Van Pelt. He makes every interview entertaining, comfortable and entertaining, even without the performances, stats, line-ups and in-game decisions to break down and rely upon.
Humorous
Through it all, he’s infused each evening with his signature humor. He’s making the regular and sometimes mind-numbingly mundane….memorable. Who else could transform interviews with Aaron Boone, Ron Rivera, Chris Long, Jeff Passan, and nearly everyone else, into laugh-out-loud entertainment?
So tonight, like every night for the past few months, I’ll tune in to SportsCenter late night. There will be no scrolling scores running across the ticker. No highlight dunks or walk-off dingers. But there will be honesty, humanity and humor. Oh, and Scott Van Pelt will be there, guiding us through with sports as a familiar backdrop. I’m grateful for that. Thank you, SVP.
