Ready for the Unexpected?

I recently attended a WNBA playoff game between the visiting LA Sparks and the Seattle Storm.  It was Game 3 of the series, with the winner moving on to the next round…everything for the pre-game sequence had been planned out down to the second by the game ops crew. 

First would be the anthem performance, followed by the Sparks intros, allowing the Storm crowd to reign down boos on their favorite villains from the visiting squad…and then they would heroically cheer as their starting five was introduced with special playoff lighting and theatrical effects.  After that, the lights would come back up and the PA Announcer would prompt the crowd to get loud and welcome ESPN’s national TV audience.  It was all set to go with a full house and the season on the line…and then everything changed without a moment’s notice.

Midway through the anthem, the fire alarm was tripped, immediately disabling all house audio, including the anthem performer and PA Announcer’s microphones.  As the performer belted out the remainder of the Star Spangled Banner without the assistance of a microphone, the crew had 30 seconds to assess the situation and move forward.  Following the anthem, a video message flashed noting the technical difficulties and then quickly followed the crowd’s lead with a “Beat LA” prompt to support the chant that had organically begun in the crowd.  Intros were scrapped due to the need for ESPN to go live with tip-off, so they made proper adjustments until the fire alarm issue was resolved halfway through the first quarter.

Let’s face it, when you’re producing a game, sometimes things happen that are simply beyond your control…it’s how the game director and their supporting staff handle the situation that can turn a potential disaster into just another story that the fans talk about after the game.  There are a few simple rules to follow when these situations occur:

1.    Cooler heads prevail – It’s better to think objectively than emotionally when things go awry.  By remaining calm, the entire group will be able to work effectively to get the problem under wraps.

2.    Primary voice on headset – Too many people talking in this situation not only delays a solution, but increases the stress level (see rule 1).  The game director should immediately address the issue and lay out the plan.

3.    Over-communicate on time sensitive issues – In the case above, the fire alarm clearance was the most time sensitive, so updates on that item should be given at least every minute…even if the situation has not changed.

4.    Look for avenues to entertain crowd – Assuming the situation is appropriate, find ways to divert the crowd’s attention from the delaying issue…this could be t-shirts, graphic prompts or a silly mascot skit.

Now that we’ve covered the basics for handling the situations, let’s talk a bit about preparing for the unexpected.  A quick brainstorm about your team’s home venue and the elements your game ops crew produces can provide a list of items to create plans for…the shortened version may look something like this:

• The aforementioned fire alarm
• Scoreboard malfunctions – Everything from the video board losing power to the loss of the stats connection to a cyber light catching on fire,
• Loss of music source – Despite the great things technology has done for the audio libraries…computers act up at times and it’s bad timing when the dance team is posed and waiting for their music to begin.
• Overtime – This scenario is often referred to on headset as “The Extra Session which shall not be named”…while we all prefer to avoid it (assuming our team is on the winning side at the end of regulation), it’s not up to us if it happens.
• Injuries – These can’t be seen coming, but it’s extremely important to halt scripted elements until the injury has been addressed and the court cleared, which means you may need to adjust the remainder of the script accordingly.

By taking this list and creating some basic preparatory methods to handle each situation, the game ops staff will be ready when things happen unexpectedly.  Here are some resolutions to the brainstorm items:

• Graphic screens for the fire alarm – Make screens for false alarms as well as more serious situations.
• Canned PA reads for the scoreboard malfunctions – Unlike the fire alarm, you’ll likely have audio with no video in the case of a scoreboard issue.  Include PA reads addressing these items on a drop-in page in the script.
• Audibles for loss of the music source – Ensure that the dance team is prepared to audible out of their routine if the music fails.  It could be a ditty to a song from another source or turning the timeout in a t-shirt toss.
• Pre-script an overtime transition – Instead of scrambling to plan an overtime timeout with 30 seconds left in regulation, create an OT rules graphic, your favorite bump video/song and a mascot crowd prompt at the end…practice it a few times and you can call the play when needed.
• Know your potential script adjustments – When injuries occur, know ahead of time what elements you need to execute and which you can drop if needed.

In the world of game operations, we can plan everything to the finest detail…but the great separate themselves from the good in the way they prepare for and handle the unscripted.  A friend of mine in the industry once said “We are paid to be professional improvisers” and I think there is a lot of truth in that statement. 

So whether your team is heading into a new season, wrapping one up or in the middle of it all…take the time to ask yourself “Are we ready for the unexpected?”

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.

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