The Sports Info Business

I might be the only person in America writing about Burt Lauten this morning.  He did not throw for a touchdown, rush for a TD or run back an interception for 100 yards during the XLIII Super Bowl between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals.  I have never met Burt, but as the Public Relations/Media manager for the Pittsburgh Steelers, all of his hard work just ended with a Super Bowl ring after the Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23  last night in Tampa, Florida.

Burt Lauten is a 199 graduate of Westminster College, where he majored in public relations and minored in broadcasting.   He spent the next two years at Miami University as the assistant media relations director before moving to the University of Pittsburgh, where the worked in the same position for the next four and a half years.  According to Linked In, it was in July of 2005 when he joined the Steelers and the NFL.

So many people work behind the scenes of professional sports teams.  We might see them for a second or two on the TV screen before or after a sporting event or probably not at all.  These folks in the front office put in longer hours than the players and make many sacrifices from financial to family just to be a part of history.  Yet, they have no bearing on the game itself.  They cannot catch a touchdown pass to win a football game, but are apart of an organization and often times will receive the same Super Bowl, World Series and Stanley Cup championship rings as the players do.

I tip my hat this morning not only to the Pittsburgh Steelers front office but to the friends I have worked with and those I have never met at the Arizona Cardinals.  For Arizona players and front office staff, this is a very tough morning to wake up to.  Their dreams of a Super Bowl championship have been shattered.

I know the feeling.  In 2003, as part of the Mighty Ducks, we came two periods shy of winning the team’s first Stanley Cup and suffered a seven game loss to the New Jersey Devils that still hurts.  You look back with find memories, but the pain will never go away.

The following is a list of front office personnel I copied from the Pittsburgh Steelers web site.  Names you probably do not know, unless connected to them via Linked In or another social networking site.  Congrats to all for a terrific game.

Front Office
Mark Hart, Director of Business 
Bob Tyler, Controller 
Geraldine Glenn, Human Relations/Office Coordinator 
Omar Khan, Business & Football Administration Coordinator 
Jodie Spagnolli, Assistant Controller
Dan Ferens, Business Department Consultant 
Scott Phelps, Information Technology Manager 
Dave Lockett, Communications Coordinator 
Burt Lauten, Public Relations/Media Manager
Michele Rosenthal, Community Relations Manager
Jon Pugliano, IT/Network Support Technician

Marketing 
Tony Quatrini, Director of Marketing
Rick Giugliano, Marketing Coordinator
John Wodarek, Entertainment/Marketing Manager
Kathy Wallace, Corporate Sales/Marketing Manager
Rick Fairbend, Producer/Broadcasting Manager  
Lynne Molyneaux, Marketing/Community Relations Manager
Mike Marchinsky, Youth Football/Marketing Manager
John Simpson, Events/Marketing Manager
Brian Tirpak, Production Assistant
Breanne Mueller, Client Services
Amy Regan, Client Services