Any Given Sunday Speech

In Any Given Sunday, the head football coach, Al Pacino, gives his players this motivational speech at the halftime of a big game. Their team is losing and players are injured, so second-string players have to step up and bring the team a victory.

Al Pacino's ethos comes from the fact that he is the football coach. He is someone who these football players and the audience trust. Not to mention, he is wearing a suit so that adds to his credibility. Obviously, the topic of his speech is relatable since they're at a football game and from watching the movie, so is the audience. Pacino also moves around in the front of the locker room, uses a lot of eye contact with the football players, and uses his hands well.

The football players can connect with Pacino because he makes himself vulnerable by admitting, "I pissed away all my money...and lately, I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror." He then tells them that life is a game of inches and relates the idea to football: "One half second too slow or too fast, and you don't quite catch it."

Next, he starts yelling at the players and getting them fired up (notice the guy whose eyes are practically bulging out of his skull). But then he brings his voice back down and ends by asking, "Now, what are you gonna do?" This was his call-to-action.

His speech was well organized. In the beginning, he gives the team two options: 1) to heal as a team, or 2) crumble. They can either stay in "hell" or "fight [their] way back." Throughout the speech, he references distance, specifically inches, and this is the repetition aspect of the speech. There is also good flow in the speech. Al Pacino seems as if he's just casually talking for most of it. In all, this speech is very effective and has many qualities of a good speech.