A Game Ops Dream
Branding
Personal Time
New Year’s Resolutions
Custom Pencil Top Eraser
Punch List
Enjoy the Ride
To be honest, I was having a tough time deciding on a topic for this column. There are a lot of things going on in the sports world…it’s the one time of year when virtually every sport is playing, whether they are starting a new campaign, in mid-season or crowning a champion.
Yet with all of this sporting action, I found myself in a gloomy mood. I looked in the mirror and asked “Self, has the weather got you down?”…maybe a little, but the sun is still shining a few days a week, so I can’t complain.
“How about your alma mater having its worst season of football in school history?”…now that’s a good point, but not quite it.
“Perhaps the stock market?”…sure, we’re all watching wide-eyed at the daily ups and downs, but I figure things will be alright in the long run.
“What about your fantasy football team delivering less than stellar performances?”…seriously, I’d have bigger issues if that was the source.
And then it hit me in such obvious fashion that I was surprised the reasoning had eluded me up to that point. For the first time in my life, an NBA season was beginning and my team, the Seattle SuperSonics, was not there for me to be a part of and support. This was the team that I began following at eight years old, despite spending the second half of my youth living in Northern California. This was the organization that I had spent seven years entertaining the fans and developing lifetime friendships. 
It was in plain print on the sports page of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in a story leading up to the NBA Opening Night…legendary Sonic play-by-play man Kevin Calabro was quoted, “I feel like a man without a country.”
Up to this point, Walk & Talk has primarily been a technical column, providing advice on game operations tactics and entertainment elements. But sometimes you need to put functionality aside and appeal to emotions.
The point of my story is to remind everyone to stop and smell the roses, remember why you enjoy working in this industry. Remember why you put in countless hours ensuring the “show” is of the highest quality and remember to enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a big win. Most importantly, remember to enjoy the ride along the way, because the sports industry provides unique opportunities that are not replicated in the “normal” working world.
Working in sports is very demanding, where long hours and hard work are a must. It’s an environment where you can only control certain elements, the result of the games are rarely in your control. It’s one big roller coaster…sometimes up, sometimes down…but always back at the station ready for another ride before each game and each season. 
For now, the Sonics roller coaster has been shut down until it can be repaired. It’s a roller coaster that I started riding as a young kid and after taking in all the ups and downs; I’m disappointed that I won’t be able to ride it for the foreseeable future. But the good news is that there are other rides out there…the MLS Sounders are opening next year and I hear there’s a good ride nearby in Portland, designed by a Seattle guy named McMillan.
Whatever your favorite roller coaster is, I encourage you to enjoy every moment of your ride. Not only for your professional career, but for the kid inside you as well…because you never know when it might shut down.
Pat Walker
Patrick Walker is the President of Pat Walker Productions, a Seattle-based event production group. Pat shares over a decade of expertise in Game Entertainment and Operations in a monthly column called Walk & Talk and blog posts on Gameops.com.
[patwalkerproductions.com] [LinkedIn - Pat Walker] [Follow Pat Walker on Twitter]Enhancement or Annoyance
Around the Horn
Faces Behind The Fur
Branding
NBA All-Star by the Numbers
Eco Friendly Coffee Mug
