Rey Berrones

This is a response to Tess Townsend's tweet asking, "Would I be a better person if I were committed to watching a particular sport and felt a visceral pain when things didn't go my team's way?"

The short answer is no.

Your friend is upset because they identify with that sport, team or a player in some way.

There is not much difference between a comic book fan dressing up as their favorite character and going to a premiere of a movie, or an Oakland Raiders fan dressing up in their favorite player's jersey and going to a game.

They have some sort of background or life experience that makes them empathize with the team. Either they played the sport and they understand how difficult things are, even when the outcome is a loss. Or, the player has a background that is similar to their own, and the player has gone on to achieve things that they would have loved to have done.

My son and I just watched the Judo Paris Grand Slam tournament, and to be honest, we were completely bummed because the player we were rooting for, Hannah Martin, broke her finger in the Belgium Open, and was unable to compete. Some of our other favorites, like Travis Stevens, or Kayla Harrison are no longer on the circuit, so we are less invested in the tournament than we normally would be.

However, my son and I compete in judo tournaments, and it won't be long until we find other players that we identify with and root for, because we play their sport.

All that to say, that it is the relatable human element that makes a sport compelling, not the sport itself. I know tons of people that don't like MMA, but will watch every fight that Holly Holm does because she is New Mexican, and fellow New Mexicans can identify with her. Conor McGregor is a superstar because people can relate to his background.

This post is inspired by a conversation that my wife and I had over dinner recently. She asked, "Does wearing the safety pin make you afraid?"

My short answer was, "No."

However, my long answer is what follows, because it isn't a simple no. It is easy to answer no, because I walk around in brown skin, and like it or not, there are times that I have been marginalized, or have had situations escalate because of my skin. I don't consider wearing the safety pin as being any worse than being in my own skin.

But that isn't the point here. The point is, there are lots of people that may be putting on the safety pin without understanding what that means to the people around them. Nuances that are clear to marketers that understand branding.

You are your brand. Your skin color, your choice in clothes, your actions, and the causes that you get involved with, how you interact with people, all the things that form an interaction with you are your brand.

Some of these you make by choice, and some of these you are born with. Some of these people can see immediately without asking, and some of these things don't come out until a situation reveals your character.

Putting a safety pin on display is a symbol to show solidarity between marginalized people who are facing increased harassment in the wake of the changed political climate. People that are not already in a marginalized group, are adding something to their brand that they may not be used to dealing with.

They are putting themselves forward for potentially marginalized people as a safe, supportive person.

You may have strong feelings on the matter, but unless you are already a person that has been harassed for being who you are, you may not be prepared to deal with some situations.

In my case, I have a brown belt in Judo, and I teach a weekly class to school age children on self-defense. The children are taught how to handle bullies, and how to de-escalate physical encounters as their first option.

So, when I put on a safety pin, I'm displaying something, and in essence 'branding' myself to those people I interact with, and they can expect certain things from me, and by extension, people that brand themselves like I do.

I understand the possible situations, I have the capability to defend myself, and I have developed the interpersonal skills to de-escalate hostile situations.

All this to say that there is more to consider than just putting on a safety pin in order to support a cause. Remember, when you put on the safety pin, you are also adding to your brand. You are marketing yourself as someone that will get involved. You are marketing yourself as someone that can help bring a positive outcome to someone's tense situation.

Recently on the Kevin and Bean show, there was a letter where the writer asked who Steve was, and not long after that, there was a Bean makes us guess that posed the question of who people would like to see still alive. One of Kevin's answers was Steve.

It occurred to me that there are many people that don't know who Steve is, thus this post.

The phrase "Hit It Steve" refers to Steve Clark. Steve Clark died on January 8, 1991.

As for the origin of the phrase "Hit It Steve," it comes from Joe Elliot, lead singer of the band Def Leppard. This is one of the variations of the phrase that he would say as he introduced a Steve Clark guitar solo during the middle of a song.