March 1990

Chiropractic's million‑dollar minute

by Barbara J. Bigham

Ninety million people turned their TVs on late last January to watch the Super Bowl, and learned about chiropractic.

During a minute‑long spot for the 1990 pre‑game show, football superstar Joe Montana praised chiropractic, and Nicholas J. Athens, D.C., revealed that 35 of the 47 team members had come for treatment before the game. It was a 60‑second spot that would have cost well over a million dollars for an advertiser.

Athens had worked the media room before the game, trying to generate interest in chiropractic but reporters weren't biting. "I went to each of them, asking if they'd like to do an article on chiropractic. They all said no," Athens explained. "I kept getting rejection after rejection. I couldn't give up, though. I knew I could get the message out to the public if I could get them to write about chiropractic."

Despite the rejections, Athens went to the press conference the next day. He roamed past the tables where each of the players sat giving interviews. Over 2,500 press people converged on the area.

"I was still determined to get them to write about chiropractic," Athens told The Chiropractic Journal. Attention was focused on the players and Athens knew that to get the reporters interested in chiropractic, he had to get the players to talk about it. "I got a pad and pencil and acted like I was a press guy," he explained. "I went up to one of the players I had been treating and asked, "How does the body feel after a 17‑game season?"

The player looked up, recognized his doctor, and started laughing. "I've been seeing this chiropractor, Dr. Nick Athens, and he's really been helping me out a lot and chiropractic care has been a big part of my game." The reporters scrambled to take notes.

Athens went to Jerry Rice's table and repeated his reporter routine. Immediately, Rice understood what Athens needed, and started bragging about his chiropractor. Within minutes, the room was buzzing with questions from reporters who wanted to know more.

Shortly afterwards, Athens approached CBS Sports and, promising an appearance by quarterback Joe Montana, was scheduled for a televised spot. The rest I history.

If nothing else, Athens thinks this experience shows the value of persistence. "Just because you do one thing that doesn't work, you shouldn't stop," he said. "A lot of chiropractors say, 'well, I gave a talk and no one showed up so I guess that's not going to work.' Then they move on to spinal screenings, and when that doesn't work, they try something else. They have to find something they feel comfortable with and keep with it. If, after about 20 or 25 times, it doesn't work, okay change it, but give it a chance to happen."