Final Lessons Learned from NOT Playing in Front of Ten Million

This is the third in a three-part series from singer, songwriter, guitar player, recording artist Natalie Gelman about her recent experience with ESPN and the appearance/performance she thought she was going to make on “Monday Night Football.”  Go back and read the first part here.  (Natalie was the guest on Episodes 262 and 164 of “Now Hear This Entertainment.”)

So, the shoot was finished, the contract for use was signed and there was not much left for me to do except make sure I kept posting about it on social media and make sure I had a place to watch the game on ESPN come Monday night.

I also emailed everyone I knew in the business who might want to see this and let them know about this cool opportunity. It was a great chance to check in with industry people that I’ve crossed paths with over the last few years and give them an exciting update.

The producer from ESPN told me that the piece was likely going to air sometime as they came back from a commercial break in the second or third quarter and that she should be able to text me a few minutes beforehand to let me know it was about to be on. I wasn’t sure she would be able to so I was up every commercial break during the game to stand by the TV ready for my big network debut.

As the game wore on it started to get rough as they weren’t playing the clip and more time passed. The game was a pretty big blowout with not a lot of timeouts or injuries and therefore not enough time for filler pieces like what we shot.

Friends and fans were commenting on social media in real time asking if they had missed it or if it was coming up still. I was starting to wonder myself if I had missed it somehow. As the fourth quarter started and went by fast it started to become clear that there was a chance it wasn’t going to air at all. They let the clock run out for the last minute or two of the game and the texts started coming in that people were bummed for me and asking what happened. I also texted the producer trying to find out what happened but didn’t hear back.

Oddly enough I wasn’t disappointed that first night. It kind of just felt strange and I thought maybe I had done something wrong and that the legal team at ESPN thought my nonsense syllables sounded too much like lyrics. I even thought maybe my skirt was too short for network television. Kind of ridiculous when you consider what the cheerleaders are wearing but that’s where my brain went.

The next day I found out that it wasn’t anything I did or didn’t do, just that this is how it goes sometimes in live television. There is still a chance they will air the piece and I was grateful that I had my behind-the-scenes footage to share. ESPN even sent over the whole clip that they had ready to go for airing so I could share it out.

The big lesson in all of this is that that’s just how it goes sometimes. I’ve talked to lots of singers and actors who were cut from scenes in film and TV or had other similar experiences where they shot something and thought it was a done deal only to get lost on the cutting room floor and not make it into the piece. It sounds strange, but, hearing that I’m not the only person to go through something like this really helps to put it in perspective and remind me that this is part of the business sometimes.

The whole thing stung a little more the next day as I realized that it really didn’t air. Thankfully my husband had been shooting some videos of the experience, mostly my excitement during each commercial break as I was hoping that my clip was about to air. I was dancing and being silly. We even did this fake interview after one of the commercial breaks. I shared the goofy interview and how I was feeling (sad but still grateful) in a post with everyone the next day just to let them know they hadn’t missed it and update everyone on the situation since it’s easier to let everyone know than to go one-by-one.

I’m always one to make the most of a situation and I sent it to some ESPN anchors to ask if they might consider airing it on their own shows. Sarah Spain ended up tweeting it out to her 200K followers, which was awesome. I also plan on following up with the producers at ESPN to remind them that they already have this clip in the can and can use it. You never know! I’m waiting for the day I start getting messages about how people randomly are seeing me on “Monday Night Football.”

One more quick lesson to share. Before I left the ESPN shoot, I asked the producer if they still needed bands in any other cities coming up. There were a few spots left and I reached out to musician and industry friends to help line up this awesome opportunity for them and people they know. It feels good to help my community and friends and you never know when that karma might come back around to help you do something cool. If you can pay it forward, do it.

I’m grateful that I was chosen for this even though it didn’t air. I know a lot of my friends and fans are big football fans and I knew they would be thrilled, which was a big part of the reason I wanted to say yes right away. I was really moved by how they rallied around me when I announced the performance and I would have absolutely loved if it aired but it’s great that I have the clip and I still got so much out of this experience.

I know some new people discovered my music just from sharing it out on social media and the virality of those posts received. I even had two house concerts offered by hosts who already knew my music but because of the way the algorithms work they hadn’t seen my posts in years until this one.

So, I think a lot of good will come from this opportunity still. And who knows, maybe one day they will even air the clip! The last lesson I will leave you with is just to show up, do your best and move on to the next thing.

Onward.

Remember to check out Natalie's official website and her interviews on NHTE, and that you can talk about this blog with others - perhaps sharing similar experiences such as what Natalie experienced - in our Facebook group.