Janet Salguero
Aaron Hillyard
Writing 121
Video Essay
13, March, 2014
Essay # 2– “Any Given Sunday” Football has always been one of America’s favorite past time sport, a sport that has been around for 145 years and a game that is a religion to some individuals. “No guts, No Glory!” I remember my high school couch always scream out into the stands and the team cheering that same chant into the battle field. Football is a very intense and dangerous sport that young men play to hold the glorious title of “Winner,” seizing the opportunity to show off all their incredible football skills. In the movie, “Any Given Sunday” there is a famous scene were Al Pacino the head couch, gives a common but important inspirational speech to get his team all riled up and ready for battle. Giving the opposing team a run for their money and fight for every last inch they need to get to be victorious in the game. In every great sports movie there is always that locker room scene that gets the team pumped up for the win or lose game, with inspirational heart pumping background music. Making you feel like you are right there in the locker room, living in the moment and thinking it’s all or nothing at that very instance. The head coach reaching into each individual player’s soul and heart giving them that push to leave everything on that field to give everything they have, like it was a life or death situation. How many times have you seen that famous locker room scene and how does it make you feel at that moment? When I saw that scene it made me feel like I was ready for war, like I was ready to put down my life for that victory and the sweet taste of glory. It’s funny how every sport movie gives you that feeling or sense or readiness when you aren’t actually at that particular event. One simple but very inspirational speech, along with the right back ground music, sense of alertness and readiness sets the perfect locker room scene. Also the quotes they always use in these types of movies, “It’s all or nothing” or “This is the biggest battle of our lives , all comes down to today” and the famous one, “we rise and fall as a team,” very needed quotes in the movie industry. The quote that really stood out that entire movie scene was when Al Pacino says, “…Life or football, the margin for error is so small,” that quote is practiced everyday by each individual. Although it’s a quote from a sport movie it is used every day by individuals making that one wrong choice and regretting it for the rest of their lives. Sport movies inspire teams to work and operate as a single unstoppable unit. Teams are your support system through all the hard times you phases during a game, they are you rock you can lean on. They are your partners in crimes , who you share the locker and playing field with, whom you will share the taste of glory or the taste of defeat. As Al Pacino says “Heal now as a team or die as individual, that football gentlemen,” that goes for every sport and not just football. Any Given Sunday was an inspirational movie that touched the heart and soul of every football fan out there and gave one of the most incredible motivational speech ever shot on screen. In life you have to give it your 100% if you want the same positive result in the end. Life is a gamble and you have to take risks to achieve your goals but the margin of error is too small to make a mistake.