It was Super Bowl Sunday, 2003, and the Raiders were down by 17 points.

My mother had bet me five dollars the Buccaneers would win and boy was I nervous. My tiny hands clutched the bill like it was all I would ever have. It was ice cream money after all.

There was a pause in the game and the commercials came on. And in the midst of all of that in-game anxiety there was peace. Laughter erupted and all the tension resolved. That was the first time I realized I loved the art of holding attention.

I "lost" my five dollars that night (my mother gave it back), but afterwards she asked me which was my favorite commercial. There were so many to choose from, and so many in which we shared deep moments of laughter. This went on for many years.

I remember those formative times, not because she was asking me to see the ads, but because she was asking me to pay attention to the moments around the big story, that made the stories what they were. I've been paying attention ever since.