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DEL.ICIO.USTake 10: The best motivational speeches in sports movies
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
These are dark times for most of us. We at Take Ten are no exception. The economy is failing. Gas is proving more and more difficult to find. Things just aren’t easy.
It’s during these moments, the trying times, that we find it helpful to hear a good motivational speech. You’ll find several in “The Express,” a film coming out Friday about Ernie Davis. He was the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy but had his professional career cut short because of leukemia.
We at Take Ten were lucky enough to see an early screening and enjoyed it. It got us to thinking, though. What are the best film-based sports motivation speeches? OK, so maybe we had to include some that were not high school-related. But we don’t think you’ll mind. Maybe you need to hear these. We sure did.
Photo vote: Pick or pan our top sports movie motivational speeches!
Click on the bolded movie titles to see the film clips of our fave speeches.
Here are the 10 best motivational speeches in sports film:
10: Coach Taylor in “Facing the Giants” — This is as simple as it gets. We’re not supposed to be here. They’re bigger than you. Have faith in who you are. Extra point: Mark Richt made a cameo in this film. This is the exact same halftime speech he gave to his team against Alabama.
9: Coach Gaines in “Friday Night Lights” — We’ve always enjoyed this speech. It’s the classic mold of “Look, we’re going to lose, but you’re winners in my book” monologue so many coaches have given. Extra point: The film and TV series were based on a book by H.G. Bissinger called “Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, and a Dream.”
8: The Rock in “Gridiron Gang” — We can’t relate to being in detention and trying to field a competitive football team. But listening to the Rock in this speech makes it seem OK. Extra point: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was a member of the 1991 University of Miami national championship team. He eventually played for the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League but was cut after two months.
7: Coach Brooks in “Miracle” — Hockey isn’t our first love, but listening to Kurt Russell in this film makes us want to fight communism. Extra point: The “Miracle on Ice” wasn’t actually the championship game of the 1980 Olympic games. It was the semifinal and allowed the USA to advance and face Sweden for the gold.
6: Fortune in “Rudy” — There is another speech in this classic film that is more to the point, but Charles S. Dutton knows how to push Sean Astin’s buttons. Listen to the janitor. Extra point: Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger’s sack was against Georgia Tech. The movie depicts Notre Dame coach Dan Devine as a villain, not wanting to put Rudy in at the film’s conclusion. It was actually his idea.
5: Coach Boone in “Remember the Titans” — This was a tough decision. Coach Yoast has another motivational moment we enjoy, but this speech with Denzel Washington is the better of the two. Extra point: The film was shot in various locations around metro Atlanta including Druid Hills High School, Shamrock Middle School and Paulding High School.
4: Gale Sayers in “Brian’s Song” — We acknowledge this is a little sad for a motivational speech, but Billy Dee Williams channeling Gale Sayers is what loving a teammate is all about. If you felt this way about the guy next to you, you’d block better, run harder and play faster. Extra point: Brian Piccolo was not drafted but tried out for the Chicago Bears. He worked his way from practice squad to back-up for Sayers before ending his four year career.
3: Coach D’Amato in “Any Given Sunday” — Classic Al Pacino. If this speech can’t help you erase a 10-point halftime deficit, nothing will. Extra point: Are we the only ones who notice that fake professional sports uniforms look ridiculous in any movie? It’s like they don’t even try. Watch this film and let us know.
2: Coach Dale in “Hoosiers” — Gene Hackman plays the perfect coach. He did the same in “The Replacements.” The movie itself is inspirational enough. Our high school basketball coach must have played it 74 times. Extra point: We have no idea what a Hoosier is. We know it has something to do with Indiana. Please help.
1: Coach Wallace in “Braveheart” — Sure, this isn’t a sports movie. But we challenge you not to be fired up by pre-crazy Mel Gibson. We almost quit our job once after watching this. Not smart, but we were certainly motivated. Extra point: Gibson played a baseball player in his first feature film “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden.” That’s as close to relating to sports as we could get.
Go on. Take Ten. What are the motivational speeches in film you remember? How was our list? Did it inspire you? Here’s your chance to voice your opinion.
Permalink | Comments (25) | Post your comment | Categories: Take Ten
Comments
By Chris Whitfield
October 8, 2008 11:50 AM | Link to this
What? No GOLDIE HAWN from “Wildcats”?
By Glenn LaFollette
October 8, 2008 12:15 PM | Link to this
Chris,
I considered that. But she’s with Kurt Russell and I wanted to avoid any fighting in that household about who was ranked higher or lower. That and I wanted to avoid any references to “U.G.L.Y. You ain’t got no alibi, you’re ugly!”
By AJC Sports
October 8, 2008 12:20 PM | Link to this
Or Buttermaker’s speech to Timmy Lupus in the original “Bad News Bears”?
“Listen, Lupus, you didn’t come into this life just to sit around on a dugout bench, did ya? Now get your a— out there and do the best you can.”
By Burnsy
October 8, 2008 12:40 PM | Link to this
I might put Kurt Russell in Miracle at #1. He was outstanding!
By JJ
October 8, 2008 2:09 PM | Link to this
I have heard - Hoosier is colloquial for “Whose your….”
By 1bighammer
October 8, 2008 4:13 PM | Link to this
James VanDerBeek as John Moxon in “Varsity Blues”. His Heroes Speech.
By AndyW
October 8, 2008 4:17 PM | Link to this
The team meeting in Major League needs an honorable mention.
By Smokey Bell
October 8, 2008 4:29 PM | Link to this
I hear you bighammer, Mox should be on there. Probaly Voigt too for his rant on the woop de woop alignment.
By RT
October 8, 2008 4:47 PM | Link to this
Glenn
Don’t blame me. You asked.
In use since 1828, the origin of “Hoosier” is not universally agreed upon.
Some possibilities:
In frontier days when approaching a man’s home you shouted “Hello the cabin!” to avoid being shot. The inhabitants shouted back “Whos’ere?”. As the term got slurred over time, these country folk became known as Hoosiers
The poet James whitcomb Riley suggests the fierce brawling that took place in Indiana involved enough bitten of ears that the question “Whose ear?” became common enough to be notable as a possible source.
A contractor named Samuel Hoosier preferred to hire workers from Indiana during the construction of the Louisville and Portland Canal (1826-1831) in Louisville. Thus “Hoosiers men” and finally just “Hoosiers”.
Interestingly tidbits:
Thomas E. Murray wrote that in Indiana Hoosier is a neutral, or more often, positive” term.
He continues, and I paraphrase, “In St. Louis, Hoosier, the cities number one derogatory expression when name calling begins, means a lazy, slow moving, irresponsible derelict”. (Sounds like some people around these parts doesn’t it?).
Elaine Viets, Post-Dispatch columnist, says that in St. Louis a “Hoosier is a low-life redneck, somebody you can recognize because they have a car on concrete blocks in their front yard and are likely to have just shot their wife, who man also be their sister. (Again, sounds like sumpin’ around here).
As there is no physical embodiment of a Hoosier, Indiana University doesn’t “really” have a Mascot other than letters and colors.
Serial killer Carl Panzramms last words were reportedly, “Hurry it up you Hoosier b*******! I could hang 10 men while you’re fooling around”
So. There you go.
By jawjadude
October 8, 2008 5:34 PM | Link to this
this is one of the best motivational speeches of all times. I went to www.imdb.com to make sure I got it right. it is not a sports movie, but it would sure make me want to get out and kick someone’s…well, you know. it is from The Outlaw Josey Wales, the classic Clint Eastwood western
*Now remember, things look bad and it looks like you’re not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. ‘Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That’s just the way it is. *
By shaun
October 8, 2008 10:01 PM | Link to this
Goldie Hawn in Wildcats wins hands-down!!!!!
By Chris Whitfield
October 8, 2008 10:13 PM | Link to this
Ok, for those who haven’t seen the U-G-L-Y, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoXORtIibwQ]
It is HI-larious.
By JAYBO
October 8, 2008 11:55 PM | Link to this
Wow you guys really need to get your technical problems worked out on the AJC high school football blogs….second or third time you have had problems less than a week!!!
By mistermak
October 9, 2008 12:05 AM | Link to this
I can’t believe you even had Bravehart in the top 10!! It was suppose to be sports!! Are you sure you are not really a chick?
By Dru
October 9, 2008 7:57 AM | Link to this
Here is a definition of Hoosier:
Used as a nickname for a native or resident of Indiana.
[Origin unknown.]
WORD HISTORY We know where Hoosiers come from: Indiana. But where does the name Hoosier come from? That is less easy to answer. The origins of Hoosier are rather obscure, but the most likely possibility is that the term is an alteration of hoozer, an English dialect word recorded in Cumberland, a former county of northwest England, in the late 19th century and used to refer to anything unusually large. The transition between hoozer and Hoosier is not clear. The first recorded instance of Hoosier meaning “Indiana resident” is dated 1826; however, it seems possible that senses of the word recorded later in the Dictionary of Americanisms, including “a big, burly, uncouth specimen or individual; a frontiersman, countryman, rustic,” reflect the kind of use this word had before it settled down in Indiana. As a nickname, Hoosier was but one of a variety of disparaging terms arising in the early 19th century for the inhabitants of particular states. For example, Texans were called Beetheads, Alabamans were Lizards, Nebraskans were Bug-eaters, South Carolinians were Weasels, and Pennsylvanians were Leatherheads. People in Missouri might have had it worst of all—they were called Pukes. Originally, these names were probably taken up by people living in neighboring states, but belittled residents adopted them in a spirit of defiant pride, much as American colonists turned the derisive term Yankee into a moniker for their spirit of rebellion. Today, most of these frontier nicknames have disappeared from the landscape. A few like Okie still exist with much of their original animus. Others survive as nicknames for the sports teams of state universities—the North Carolina Tarheels, the Ohio Buckeyes, and so on—fighting words only on the playing field or court.
By Chris Whitfield
October 9, 2008 8:25 AM | Link to this
Tarheel is not a derisive nickname. It’s origin comes from the Civil War where companies from other states commented on North Carolina regiments fighting ability. It was said that North Carolina boys never gave up ground so they must have tar on the back of their heels to hold them in place.
By blazerdawg
October 9, 2008 9:01 AM | Link to this
what, you didn’t even use the best speech from Friday Night Lights…at halftime of the championship game when Ivory Christian finally speaks…that is number one on anyone’s list…here it is if you don’t know it
“What’s wrong with y’all? Y’all are playin’ like some little girls! Y’all act like you never played football before! These guys are nothin’! They bleed just like we do, and sweat just like we do. They went through two-a-days. We went through two-a-days in 110 degree heat. I want you to hit everything that move! If the ref gets in your way, you hit him! They’re cheatin’ us too! They’re against us too. This is our team. This is us! Let’s go right now! Let’s get it off now and let’s go!”
By RT
October 9, 2008 9:23 AM | Link to this
Adam Sandler’s whoup-a** comment at halftime in the Waterboy.
By George Gipp
October 9, 2008 9:45 AM | Link to this
“pain heals. chicks dig scars. glory lasts forever.”
By KRK
October 9, 2008 9:53 AM | Link to this
HOW ABOUT THE SPEACH BEFORE THE FIRST GAME IN WE ARE MARSHALL.
By RealisticEP_Fan
October 9, 2008 11:17 AM | Link to this
Great list guys: I’d offer up Russel Crowe’s words during the second intermission of the movie Mystery Alaska.
By Observer
October 9, 2008 11:17 AM | Link to this
Glenn - What about Bill Murray in Stripes? It’s not sports but he motivated a bunch of misfits to perform well in front of General Barnake. It was a classic.
By Observer
October 9, 2008 11:20 AM | Link to this
Come to think of it, how about John Belushi trying to motivate his fellow Delta house brothers in Animal House? “Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?…”
By Friday Night Lights in?
October 9, 2008 2:05 PM | Link to this
Re: Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, and a Dream.” in TEXAS, the best state for high school football in the country!! No other state is close.
By EG
December 30, 2008 11:29 AM | Link to this
CORRECTION: After defeating the Soviets, the 1980 US Olympic team beat Finland not Sweden.