Have you heard of the term “Tiger effect”? It represents the countless ways that one person (Tiger Woods) completely changed the game of golf and its industry as a whole. 

The tournaments that he played in had to prepare for quadruple the number of spectators that showed up to watch; the concession stand had to inventory additional pallets of beverages and food to accommodate for the crowd; the tournament winning purses skyrocketed; TV ratings went up; data shows that even the competing players achieved above-average results in their effort to keep up with the incredible standard he set for competitive play. Also, he made the game cool. 

So, you can imagine what the scene was like when he finally came back to play after a tragic car accident that left him permanently injured, questioning whether he’d ever play again. The crowd just went crazy. They watched his every move, recorded his every swing, and followed everywhere he went, fighting for the spot to have the best position to record him doing his magic. 

I mean come on, once you’ve got that on your phone, you can basically tell the whole world what you saw and what you captured through your Instagram or your Twitter account, right? You could be the next viral post that becomes a trending icon…who knows, maybe someone will turn your video into a meme and you’ll be a legend, passing on your digital imprint throughout the history of mankind. Who wouldn’t want that?

Meet Mark. Look at the photo taken above – Mark is the one without the phone. He’s the one who’s fully present, enjoying the moment and soaking in the awe of what that moment represents. No phone. Just Mark…and his Michelob Ultra Beer. 

I have to confess, I am not Mark. I am the other guy that always gets asked to “put your phone down” because I am too busy documenting the moment rather than being in it. The lesson I learned is that you can’t do both. Trust me, I tried. I tried to be in the moment and document it at the same time. It just doesn’t work that way. You have to choose one or the other. 

Going forward, I choose to be in the moment.

On a side note, very quickly, the marketing folks at Michelob saw the opportunity and went with it. Here’s their brilliant 15 second commercial highlighting my favorite lesson I learned. Also, see the below video of The Sports ON Tap youtube channel commentating on the entire event.

If you are like me, be Mark. Embrace the now. If you are in marketing, be Michelob and make a commercial out of it. It’s a win/win.

Joy is living in the moment. If you need more proof, let’s get together and talk about it over a Michelob Ultra sometime.

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