When hype falls short

What leaders can learn from a MNF game at Bank of America stadium

A few nights ago, The B99 and I found ourselves sitting on the second to last row in the upper level at Bank of America Stadium. We had been given tickets to see the Carolina Panthers and the New Orleans Saints play, and while we were glad to be there, in all honesty, we were more excited about the tickets a couple months ago when we received them. That was well before the Panthers recent 5 (now 6) game losing streak and unceremonious fall from any realistic shot at making the playoffs.

But any chance we have to grab a night together is a win, and so we went hoping to see a good game and possibly even see the Panthers end their losing streak. After a (long) hike to our seats, we sat down in time to see the anthem, the coin toss, and then the game began.

That’s also when I started seeing some really important lessons for leaders happen. Here are a few of them:

Hype can produce energy, but it can’t sustain it.

One thing marked this game from the beginning: no energy. It wasn’t that the people in charge of the hype didn’t do a great job trying to produce it, but no matter what video they played to get the crowd into it, nothing worked. Not the “We must protect this house!” video or the uber-popular Luke Kuechly on the screen telling the crowd that it was 3rd down and “we need you!” Nothing could achieve the desired energy, and for one very important reason: hype can produce energy, but it can’t sustain it.

Hype can mask flaws, but it can’t fix them.

We all love hype, but the reality is that hype will always fall short if what’s being hyped can’t live up to it. If there’s one thing that a lot of churches have in common, this is it: a tendency to over-promise and under-deliver. It’s what the Panthers crew was doing at Bank of America Stadium even if they didn’t mean to. They were using smoke and mirrors to mask the flaws on the field, but none of the excellently produced hype could actually fix the flaws.

They were trying to hype a crowd into cheering for a team that had already lost themselves out of the playoffs, and suddenly I realized something: the videos I was watching were probably templates used by every team around the league. Team production crews probably just insert team specific players and text, but every stadium around the league was using these videos to hype the crowds. So why was it falling flat in Charlotte and probably hitting a home run in New England?

Hype can spark passion, but it can’t fuel it.

The reason why hype seems to work better in some places than others is because of one simple truth: hype can spark passion, but it can’t fuel it. That’s true in business, in relationships, in church. It’s why a bad marriage can enjoy a good date and yet still be on its way to a divorce. It’s why a business with bad morale can experience a temporary boost when a great deal comes through and yet still see employees turning in pink slips a week later. It’s why churches can produce great moments and yet struggle to develop a great culture.

You see, nothing fuels passion like winning, and that’s why it’s so important to make sure everyone on your team knows what the win is. Trust me, that third down video gets a lot more response in Kansas City where the team is winning than it did in Charlotte where the team isn’t.

So what do you do if you’re stuck in a losing season? Should the Panthers have produced and shown videos that said “it’s 3rd down and we probably aren’t going to stop them, but cheer anyway?” Of course not. You can’t throw in the towel, but you can take hope in what I saw happen at Bank of America Stadium when the Panthers went for it on 4th down from the 50 yard line with 4:04 remaining in the first quarter. Cam pitched the ball to Christian McCaffery who faked a run and then threw a pass to the tight end who rumbled the rest of the way for the touchdown.

The place went wild! No videos. No smoke. No fire. Just a bunch of crazy Panthers fans jumping up and down cheering for a team that still had a losing record and almost no shot at the playoffs. Why? Because success ignites hope, and hope can carry us a whole lot farther than hype.

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