Last week Fox televised a Major League Baseball game that was played in the proverbial middle of nowhere – a cornfield in Iowa. And get this, it was the most watched regular season game in 16 years.
So what’s the deal? Was its success simply nostalgia for a movie made 30 years ago?
In a sport that these days can seem more about exit velocity, spin rates, and animated strike zones, this ballgame in a cornfield at the Field of Dreams went the other direction.
Baseball with a small b
This game, like the movie before it, was a storybook about the average Joe (shoeless, no less) and second chances, discovering your purpose, and the opportunity to live a dream even if only for one inning.
“You know, we just don’t recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they’re happening.”
Doc “Moonlight” Graham
“The game struck the right tone in its simplicity. Baseball with a small b is bigger than Major League Baseball, which is only a fraction of what the sport is about. The movie succeeded because it tapped into the sport’s pastoral beginnings and the simplicity of it. A game of catch is the movie’s denouement. Imagine that – from a Best Picture nominee.”
Jeffrey Becker, USA Today sports
So, what can our stations learn from this paradox from a corn field in Iowa?
“Make the big little and the little big.
Take an artist or celebrity and drill down to get to the human level. The more you make them sound like and regular person, the more relatable and likeable they become.
Take a listener, put them on the air and make them a star. Shine the spotlight on them. Empower them. Make them the hero.”
Chris Evans
What story is your radio station telling?
If it is about facts and instruction and unfamiliar music rather than storytelling and emotional connection, you are missing a bigger idea. Or perhaps a smaller one.
