photo: touchstone pictures
One of my very favorite TV shows of all time was the late 90s ABC dramedy called Sports Night. I am not a ‘sports fan’ in any real sense of the word. But I was a Josh Charles fan (he was one of the leads) and I would go on to be an Aaron Sorkin fan (he was the show’s writer) and so was my friend, Amy. We were new teachers and new friends and we loved talking about Sports Night together. Turns out, our friendship would deepen as we talked about many tv shows and saw many movies and ate many buckets of popcorn and planned many birthday dinners and went on many trips and… the list goes on.
According to grammarly.com, “The word trope has evolved and expanded in meaning over time. Originally it came from the classical Greek concept of rhetoric—the art of effective communication. Tropes in that context are all the ways that a writer or speaker can use nonliteral language to get their ideas across and evoke the response they want.
More recently, however, the word trope has come to describe certain conventions of fictional genres in narratives such as books, movies, and television shows.”
One of the effective tropes used in the above mentioned fictional genres like Sport Night is referred to as “the reason you suck” speech.
The folks at tvtropes.org say “This speech is given by someone who’s just frustrated with the other person. This is not an attempt to bring down or break an opponent. This is not an exchange between heroes and villains (heck, they might even be friends). This is someone, tired of everything they have to deal with, giving a frank and brutally honest assessment of the person they’re dealing with, often in a ‘What the Heck, Hero?’ moment.” And, done effectively, can motivate a designated hero to become a real hero.
Let me set up a scene from Sports Night in which Casey McCall, the sportscaster, has been interviewed that morning by Star Jones on The View. Ms. Jones makes a comment about him being a snappy dresser and Casey heartily takes the compliment. Later that day, Casey gets a visit to his office from a staff member. She asks Casey if he knows her name.
My name’s Monica. I’m the assistant
wardrobe supervisor for Sports Night
as well as two other shows here at
CSC. I think you hurt the feelings of
the woman I work for. Her name is
Maureen and she’s been working here
since the day you started.
CASEY
I know Maureen.
MONICA
Can I ask you another question?
CASEY
I’m sorry I didn’t know your name.
MONICA
(HOLDING UP A NECKTIE) Do you know
what color this is?
CASEY
It’s grey.
MONICA
It’s called gun metal. Grey has more
ivory in it, gun metal has more blue.
Can you tell me which of these shirts
you should wear it with? (HOLDING UP
SHIRTS)
CASEY
I don’t know.
MONICA
No you don’t. There’s no reason why
you should. You’re not supposed to
know what shirt goes with what suit or
how a color in a necktie can pick up
your eyes. You’re not expected to know
what’s going to clash with what Dan’s
wearing or what pattern’s gonna bleed
when Dave changes the lighting. Mr.
McCall, you get so much attention and
so much praise for what you actually
do, and all of it’s deserved. When you
go on a talk-show and get complimented
on something you didn’t, how hard
would it be to say “That’s not me.
That’s a woman named Maureen who’s
been working for us since the first
day. It’s Maureen who dresses me every
night, and without Maureen, I wouldn’t
know gun metal from a hole in the
ground.” Do you have an idea what it
would’ve meant to her? Do you have any
idea how many times she would’ve
played that tape for her husband and
her kids?
(BEAT) I know this is when it starts
to get busy for you, and I hope I
didn’t take up too much of your time.
Please don’t tell Maureen I spoke to
You…
Casey is left dumb-founded, and more than a little humbled.
Later in the episode, Casey and Dan get permission and spend time on-air mentioning crew members who work behind the scenes – including Monica and Maureen – and giving credit where credit is due.
Amy, who has now been my friend for over 25 years, celebrated her 50th birthday this week by throwing a party and where she verbally – in true Sports Night fashion – told the crowd gathered how every one of the invited guests had impacted her life. She graciously and earnestly went through the whole list with specific examples of those people’s influence on her life. She tried to let each one of them share the credit for her accomplishments and successes.
I’m confident that her gratitude reminded everyone of why she’s the real hero of her story.
I can’t wait to hear about the ways you’re giving credit in your life where credit is due. And if you need help figuring out how you can be the hero in your story, I’d love to help.
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