As a parent, it is apparent how stories captivate your children. Whether it is in a book, something you’ve made up, or an account of a past life experience, children are captivated by tales whether real or imaginary. The more I thinking about the appeal of ‘story’, I don’t think all that much changes between when you’re a kid to when you’re adult
I find sports a great example of how the use of a story builds interest and appeal. Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes is a prime example of how people gravitate when a story is combined with a sporting event. For the first time ever the women’s Final Four basketball championship drew higher ratings than the men’s Final Four basketball championship. Why? You had a dynamic basketball player in Caitlin Clark that stood out not only in her shooting, but also in her passing. I have never experienced society having such an interest in women’s college basketball. The ratings data point aside, you can see her impact via what was trending during the time of the Final Four on social media platforms. It was her and the Iowa Hawkeyes.
On a personal note, I knew her presence was having a major impact given that a few group text messages I have with friends were discussing her. We don’t even talk about basketball and here we are talking about the mid-west phenom of women’s college hoops.
Clark bringing women’s college basketball to the forefront of mainstream thought isn’t all that different than any other sport, news story, or political figure. The story of ‘the star’ needs to be in place, and their presence almost has to transcend the activity in order to captivate the mainstream. The sports, news, or political junkie is going to tune in no matter what, but what is going to capture the wider audience? Pick the point of reference you’d like to use for an example. From Tom Brady to Connor McGregor, to Donald Trump, you have a person, and the story of them (personality included) that moves the needle in terms of viewership and clicks.
Well all want a story to captivate us, and as a rule, the story needs characters and that often means we need a leading character that we can point to as the central figure in the activity we’re reading, watching, or listening to. Some things we associate with age groups are transcendent. For the sake of us all, keep writing your story.