Using Humor in Developing the Entrepreneurial Spirit

Introduction

On January 28, 2000, Wentworth Caldwell attended the 34^th Superbowl in Atlanta, Georgia. She went with her best friend, Mary McGee Lyell to watch the Tennessee Titans play the St. Louis Rams. Mary McGee’s mother, Mary, initiated the adventure, and became the unofficial group leader. The group included Mary, her best friend; Sally, Sally’s two children from Memphis, Mary McGee, Mary McGee’s husband; Billy, Mary McGee’s brother; Clay, his wife; Stewart, and myself. In addition to our group, many other of the group’s friends were attending the game, including Wentworth’s sister and brother-in-law. Everyone in Tennessee was thrilled their team was in a Superbowl, and Mary’s group was especially ready to have a great time at the game.

Hello
Wentworth:

Margaret, you are never going to believe what happened to me at the Superbowl. Mary McGee and I got left in Atlanta.
Margaret:

What?! What do you mean you got left?

We got to Atlanta, and things were great. We had so much fun at the game even though we lost at the bitter end. Mary McGee, Billy, and I were all together leaving the game heading to our meeting point, gate E. As we reached the top of our section, Billy needed to use the restroom, and told Mary McGee and I to wait for him. After 20 minutes, Billy still had not returned. We decided to proceed to gate E and wait for him and the rest of the group. We circled the entire stadium twice. We could not find gate E anywhere!!! Finally we ask a seating attendant, and he informed us that gate E does not exist. By this time, the stadium had cleared completely, and we still had no idea how to find the rest of the group.

Why didn’t you call them on your cell phone?

Our cell phones were not working because the network was jammed. Luckily I had grabbed a business card from the limo driver. I found a pay phone and called our limo driver. I told him we were lost, and he gave us directions to the location of the limo. The rest of the group had not arrived yet. I told him to tell the group we were at gate C lost and we were on our way to the limo.

Only the two of you together could get lost and left at the Superbowl! How did Sally come up with gate E?

Turns out Sally randomly picked gate E. I can laugh about it now, but at the time no one found it funny. I am so much closer now with Mary and Sally. In fact, the three of us are going to see the Titans play the Redskins this weekend.

How did Mary McGee and Wentworth finally find the group to get back to Nashville? What options do the two girls have?

Resources

Helpful Links

www.gadome.com

Literature

by Ella Patterson

Guiding Questions

1. 
   Why was Mary’s group so mad at Wentworth and Mary McGee? How could effective communication been used better?
   

2. 
   Why is the Superbowl story funny now, after time, when at the time the group was furious? Is this a unique, or unusual reaction from disappointed group members?
   

3. 
   How did this humorous memory bring the group members closer together? What is another type of technology could have been used for communicating instead of cell phones?
   

Products

1. 
   Write a one-page essay describing a time when you learned from a mistake. What were the issues involved, and what would you have done differently?
   

2. 
   Research how to effectively communicate. First, create a list of six elements that are crucial to communicating clearly. Second, indicate the short and long term effects of poor communication.
   

3. 
   Write a dialogue, and perform a skit in class demonstrating your understanding of how to
   

solve an argument between you a close friend.

Analyze

Sandy Queen put it best, “Don’t sweat the small stuff. And everything is small stuff unless its life or death.” Mary McGee and Wentworth were fine, they are grown adults. Nothing bad happened except confusion. The group needed to lighten up, and learn how to appreciate humor. Sandy spoke about how “it’s all about attitude”. The group looked at the situation with the wrong attitude. They were angry because they were worried and unconvinced. If the group had looked at the situation from the angle: because of Sally’s crazy announcement, no wonder these girls are lost, they would have seen the humor, and laughed with Mary McGee and Wentworth.

Mary McGee and Wentworth knew they were wrong to get lost, and cause problems. They found the situation to be funny to alleviate the tension, and ease the pain. The two tested the limits of the group, and discovered what was possible. Because the two were laughing at themselves, it allowed the group to come closer as a unit in the end. After some time had passed, the group now shares the experience as a fond memory.
We have learned from Malcomb Kushner that humor is “a form of communication that manages conflict”(Clouse, 3) Humor helps manage the conflict in the Superbowl case. Humor is what broke the angered silence from Mary when Mary McGee and Wentworth finally reached Nashville.
The type of humor used in the Superbowl situation is Incongruity. Theorists, Kant and Bergson, believe “humor is expressed when incongruity exists between what an individual expects and what one gets.” John Morreall says Incongruity is a fancy name for a mismatch between what we expect and what we experience”(26). Mary thought Mary McGee and Wentworth were mature enough to be able to meet the group after the football game was over. She never imagined Mary McGee and Wentworth would get lost in the crowd of 75,000 people. In addition, she never believe considered the idea of the two girls ruining the end of the fun adventure by creating worry and inconvenience to the rest of the six people in the group. Mary pictured a fun day at a football game with a group of close friends, not total confusion and anger.
Mary McGee and Wentworth chose humor to “ride out the storm”. Humor allowed the two to “keep cool, and a sense of perspective” during a troublesome time (Morreall,33). Morreall explains how one person can be laughing in a situation, when another is puzzled, angry, and scared. He calls it, “mental distance”(37). “When we are right in the middle of a situation so that it fills our attention, we tend to be very concerned that everything goes as we expect, and that we understand everything that’s going on. In that frame of mind even small incongruities can seem threatening, and so whatever surprises us is likely to puzzle us, scare us, make us angry, or upset us in some way”(Morreall, 37). Try and step back, look at the bigger picture. This will prevent us from getting over whelmed with concern, and help us see the situation more objectively, and hopefully allow us to laugh (Morreall,37-38).

Humor is a good thing. Humor is also learning how to enjoy incongruities.

References

Clouse, Wilburn, R. “Intuitive Humor: An Entrepreneurship Style.” Oct.14-16, 1997.

“Lighten-up”, Lifeworks, Inc. Columbia, MD, N.D.
Morreall, John. Humor Works. Amherst: HRD Press, 1997.

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