#RVA, two teams. Our one shining moment.

So there I was about half way through the second half last night, with most of this blog post already written in my head and my wife's uncle, a huge college basketball fan, sent me this email.

"Jon, can Richmond handle two teams in the Sweet 16???   A lot of hype and PR for a small city?

Well, can we?

Given our lack of success in the professional sports arena, there will perhaps be no other time in modern history that the mainstream sports world will focus its eyes on Richmond, VA.

Usually, just one Cinderella in the Sweet 16 would make this glare close to unbearable, but two?

Elite Eight matchup?This is our time Richmond, let's make the most of it. Let's celebrate our diversity.  A diversity exemplified by the school themselves.  One, a small liberal arts school on one of the most beautiful small campuses in the country.  The other, a prime example of how a large state school can lead the redevelopment of a once-blighted downtown area.

Let's celebrate our creativity.  Let's use the media spotlight to promote our neighborhoods, our restaurants, our tourism attractions, our museums.

Let's speak in one voice.  The welcoming voice of possibilities, the voice of our future with a nod to our past.

Let's urge our politicians and leaders to be aggressive in seeking this spotlight and for once be on the same page.

Let's for once agree.  Let's root for each other (at least until the two schools meet in the Elite Eight), and put aside out differences at least till next weekend.  It's time for a moratorium on mean.

Yes, Uncle BK, it is a lot of PR hype for a small city.

This is our ultimate PR opportunity, it is Richmond's true and rare "One Shining Moment."

The eyes are on all of us, will we seize it?

Jon Newman

In 2002 Jon cofounded The Hodges Partnership and has helped to grow it into one of the country’s largest public relations firms (based on O’Dwyer’s annual rankings). Jon has taught communications as an adjunct professor at VCU, speaks regularly at conferences and meetings and blogs and tweets about public relations and marketing issues.

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