PR nightmare or PR dream?
That is the question with Richard Sherman.
For the media, we know they pounce on the outlandish sound bite like they do the free buffet laid out for them prior to every game.
Richard Sherman is brilliant.
He did the Seattle Seahawks a favor. He took the “microscope of scrutiny” off of his team and pointed it squarely on himself.
Advantage, Seahawks.
Sherman is used to pressure, as he says; he’s on an island week in and week out, covering opponent’s best receivers. The island he’s embarking on now is no different, just a lot more green- horn flies.
The storylines have already been written for Sherman, but can he handle the media crush that is about to hit him like a Nor’easter?
We are days away from the biggest waste of players time on the planet.
Super Bowl media day; also called the media circus.
All players on both teams must be present under the big top for 30 minutes. This is where ex-athletes (and some current) act like reporters and beauty queens try as well.
Who doesn’t remember a year when a marriage proposal was made to a star player? And no it wasn’t Chris Berman popping the question.
It’s where Leno and Letterman fight for the funniest question and an elementary school kid can become a media star.
Enter Richard Sherman.
More reporters will be lined up to ask Sherman about his post-game implosion with FOX’s Erin Andrews after the Seahawks dispatched the 49ers for the NFC Championship, than about the Super Bowl.
Here are some tips to make this 30-minute session not drag on forever.
1) Dress up like former NFL player Clinton Portis used to for all his post game interviews. Portis would frequently wear wigs and fake glasses to lighten the mood.
2) Turn the tables. Interview the reporters by asking them questions.
3) Use the spotlight to promote “Blanket Coverage” his charity for kids.
4) Invite Erin Andrews to his podium for a light-hearted re-enactment.
5) Quote former baseball player Mark McGwire, “I’m not here to talk about the past, I’m just here focusing on the Denver Broncos,” every time someone asks about the interview. But Sherman is the anti-McGwire and for this – we like him.
The bottom line is that he needs to be himself – the Center of Attention – which will again take the pressure off his teammates so they can focus solely on the mission at hand – beating Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos and bringing home Seattle’s first world championship since Dennis Johnson wore short shorts for the Super Sonics way back in 1979.
