“Do You Believe In Miracles” It was 1980 during the winter olympics in Lake Placid in New York. It was an interesting year for the United States hockey team. They were being coached under Herb Brooks, a new coach who was a former player of the 1962 world hockey team. He went to college at the University of Minnesota. He coached at the University of Minnesota after his years of being an athlete. But playing professional hockey wasn’t his highest accomplishment, nor was it his dream at that point in his life. It was Herbs Brooks dream to win the Olympics for the United States. He had everything he needed to it. He had the courage, hope, talent, and most of all the faith, and desire to win. He didn’t care about how big the obstacle was in front …show more content…
of him. He cared about the reward behind it. His biggest obstacle he was put up against was the Soviet Union. They were the best hockey team in the world, Olympic winners of the 1968, 1972, and 1976 olympics. But when the U.S who was a brand new team filled with players of young age, with nobody older than the age of 25 was paired up against them in the semi-final game it wasn’t just a fight about hockey. It wasn’t just about a game, but a war. A war that brought fear and anguish upon the people of the United States, so winning this game wasn’t just for the himself, or the players, but the whole country. That year the U.S were the underdog. They weren’t even expected to make it to the medal round. With that being said in order to accomplish what seemed like the impossible Brook’s had to prepare his players, and what better way to do that than a speech to put the team on a whole new level. In possibly the biggest pre-game speech in U.S sports history Brook’s demonstrates a believing tone along with 3 rhetorical devices. He uses repetition, pathos, and an allusion. Brook’s kicks off his speech by telling the players about the opportunity they have in front of them and how big it is, Brook’s informs his players “great moments are born from great opportunity,” this grabs the attention of the players as he leads into his first rhetorical term.
He uses repetition with the word “tonight” as he says it countless times throughout his speech. In the beginning of the speech as an example he states, “That’s what you have here, tonight boys. That’s what you’ve earned here tonight.” Another time in the speech is when he is telling his players about how tonight they will give it their all. Even though they aren’t the best, they’re going to do it. He states “not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them.” By using repetition on the word tonight, and saying it at the end, or beginning of most sentences emphasizes a lot on the players. It’s telling them, and engraving in them how big this is. That this is a one time opportunity, and that this is the only chance they’ll get at something this big. It doesn’t make them think that they’re the best team. It makes them believe that they don’t have to be. All they have to do is get it done tonight, one time. On the audience this gives the audience hope. It makes the audience feel that it is possible, and also that they are capable of achieving what most people believe is
impossible. During a certain point of the speech Brook’s steps away from the talk about faith and hope. He brings in the emotional standpoint. This is where he demonstrates pathos. Brook’s Inspires the players from deep down inside them when he states, “You were born to be hockey players, every one of you. And you were meant to be here tonight,” by saying this he is speaking to every player individually, but out loud for all to hear. He gives them purpose tells them this is what you were meant for. He makes sure they know that playing that game is their destiny. This raises their hearts and puts them in an emotional mindset to win the game. At the end of the speech Brook’s is telling the players how he is done with the Soviet’s and that it’s their time to shine. He exemplifies with emphasis “this is your time. Now go out there and take it.” when the players here this, and also this being the last thing they here it makes them ready. Emotionally they want it as much as their coach does for maybe the first time throughout the whole olympics. From the inside they are ready. With thoughts rushing through their head. They are ready for war. Now they have such a big heart, and a high head they feel nothing can stop them, and that they won’t let anything, or anybody get in their way from being champions. As for the audience, this pulls them out of their seats. When they hear that with the tone that was used to say it, they now know and believe that they will do it. The way Brook’s tells them. With no stutter, no shortage of breath, but boldness that It’s their time. There isn’t a vein running through their body that doesn’t believe. Right in the middle of the speech Brook’s introduces an allusion. This rhetorical device is only used once but it may just be if not the one, but one of the most important things those players heard that night in that locker room to make them believe. Herb Brooks stands tall, with straight posture, and a high head and looks his team in the eyes and boldly informs, “Tonight, We are the greatest hockey team in the world.” He says that to them and persuades them with his tone. He doesn’t say that they’re a better team overall. He tells his players that TONIGHT they will be the best. He makes them feel like they have the ability to outplay their opponent. To outskill them, outscore them, skate along, and beyond them. Herb Brooks gives his players the ability to be the better team and roll up to a faceoff. Eye to eye with the enemy, and pull the puck back to the red, white, and blue. That can’t be broken. After brook’s says that; it didn’t matter who was stepping in front of them because in their head they were the best, and that they couldn’t be broken. This allusion was strong enough to hold up in their head through 3 periods, and bring them back from behind against the Soviet Union at different occasions during the game. For the Audience this was huge. Hearing that, and the music dropping in the background. This was the climax of the speech. It gives the people of the audience no fear. When this is heard it’s like nothing can go wrong. It makes them feel secure and that their team is the best, and that they will win the game. It’s more than faith. It’s certainty. It was the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid in New York. As for the U.S hockey team who was under new coaching by Herb Brooks, they weren’t predicted to do well at all. Not even make it to the medal round, but Brook’s had something more in mind. He hand crafted a team who he thought could bring home the gold for the U.S.A. Although his team was young he believed in them, and had them all picked for a specific reason. After teaching, and hard work his team was in shape. By the time of the opening game they were ready. They pulled off upset after upset as they were the huge underdogs in the tournament. Then it was time for the medal round. The United States were to play the Soviet Union, who at the time was the best hockey team in the world for the semi-finals. One thing was for sure. The U.S wasn’t going to go out there and win without a boost. That is when Herb Brooks gave his inspiring memorable speech. His pre-game speech to the team is remembered as one of the greatest sports speeches of all time. In this speech he gets his players ready for the probably the biggest moment of their careers using rhetorical devices such as repetition, pathos, and an allusion. Using these devices he gets his team inspired, as well as the audience for a battle of not just hockey, but a battle to put us up against the Soviet Union in a political fight as well. These rhetorical terms from this speech didn’t just win the U.S the game over the greatest hockey team in the world, but guided them to pull off something that didn’t seem remotely possible. A miracle.
A main part of this story is about picking the Olympic team and how they became as strong as they were. Before beginning the tryouts, coach Herb Brooks scouted every player that was trying out. He watched film on them, talked to old coaches, and in some cases watched them play in a game or practice. It is important that he did this because then he did not come in to the tryouts not knowing any player and it showed that he already had in mind who he wanted for his team. As tryouts approached all the players and coaches were preparing for a week long tryout. Herb Brooks sat by himself in a booth and watched the first day of tryouts and picked his team on the very first day. This stunned all the othe...
Sometimes you just have to watch the movie. Some people were not even alive, some forget, some just do not know the story of the Olympic hockey glory experienced by everyone in the U.S. in 1980. You did not have to be a fan of hockey on that faithful day when the U.S.S.R. and the United States played that extraordinary game. One man’s vision and leadership brought one nation to its feet. Herb Brooks was the head coach of the 1980 U.S. men’s hockey team. In this brief report I will discuss the man, his visionary and ethical leadership, and his success.
The founders death is described a "solitary tear" in a "cold black sky." It can be inferred that his
In the Miracle speech, the coach is using pathos to get to the player’s heart and wanted them to win by saying : “ Tonight, we are the greatest team in the world. You were born to be hockey players--every one of you, and you were meant to be here tonight” . He puts pressure on them for being the best team that they can be, for them to shut down the Soviet’s team. He speaked aggressive so the players would want to push their capability of playing, and for the players to put in their head that they’re the best so that they won’t give up in the game. Moreover, the coach want to put the team in the situation that they have to beat the Soviet’s team by using pathos when he said: “ This is your time. Their time is done. It’s over. I’m sick and tired
Saul Indian Horse is an Ojibway child who grew up in a land which offered little contact with anyone belonging to a different kind of society until he was forced to attend a residential school in which children were being stripped away of their culture with the scope of assimilating them into a more “civilized” community. Saul’s childhood in the school, greatly pervaded by psychological abuse and emotional oppression, was positively upset once one of the priests, Father Leboutillier, introduced him to the world of hockey, which soon become his sole means of inclusion and identification, mental well-being and acknowledged self-worth in his life. It is though universally acknowledged how, for every medal, there are always two inevitably opposite
Mothers always want the best for their daughters, it’s a given feeling for a mother. Amy Chua’s Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom is written in her perspective as the mother. In The Joy Luck Club, Amy tan writes the novel through her eyes as the daughter of the relationship. Both passages portray the harsh emotions between the mother and her daughter. These emotions are caused by the mother pressuring her daughter to achieve expectations. The two excerpts have similar stressful tones but Amy Tan’s novel is much more intense and displays a uglier relationship.
When Finny trains Gene for the 1944 Olympics, Gene becomes more mature. Through Finny's coaching of Gene, Gene acquires many characteristics of the already grown-up Fi...
At what age did you learn to read? Were you younger or were you older? In “Superman and Me”, Sherman Alexie describes the importance of learning how to read at a young age and how reading saved his life. Sherman Alexie’s “Superman and Me” uses rhetorical analysis effectively to show that by reading he became an example for Indians at the reservations by beating and conquering all of the stereotypes that were against Native Americans.
A Rhetorical Analysis of “Hiding from Reality.” In today’s society the idea of “American Dream” has become a controversial and widely interpreted issue that awaked opinions and research from professionals in fields such as Economics and Journalism because of the concept that in general the American dream involves. In his essay, “Hiding from Reality,” Bob Herbert examines how the achievement of the American dream is affected by the economy and quality of education in American society, and the effect of the inadequate utilization of the sources by the politicians will impact future generations. Despite his diverse points of view to determine if the American dream is still a viable element in today’s US society, the restauration of the American
In Invisible Man, there are many instances in which rhetorical questions are brought up and one of these cases was when the narrator hears about the situation up in Harlem and asks to himself “What was happening uptown? Why should I worry over bureaucrats, blind men? I am invisible” (Ellison 528). The narrator believes that his invisibility has detached him for situations that were occurring at that time, so his responsibilities would not include having to fix or find out what was happening in Harlem. The rhetorical questioning shows that the narrator is coming to the realization that his invisibility is what makes him, him. After countless situations of being overlooked and ignored in decisions or discussions, the invisible man is able to
Before the 1980 Winter Olympics began, the US Olympic hockey team was not expected to do as well as they did. They had many powerhouse teams to beat and the team was just a bunch of college kids who wanted to play hockey. In the end, they had performed one of the greatest upsets in the history of hockey by defeating the USSR, the whom many thought of as the greatest hockey team in the world.
Terrence and Jordin Tootoo grew up in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, in Canada’s arctic region. They were like other Inuit children in Rankin Inlet in many respects: They were brought up to respect the customs of their people and they enjoyed the resources the land around them provided- they learned to hunt and fish for food like the others. However, the brothers were also different from their peers in one main respect- they were blessed with a love for the game of hockey, and also with extraordinary amounts of talent which would enable them to leave their native community to pursue the dream of professional hockey. While the brothers were growing up they were inseparable; however, after leaving Rankin Inlet to pursue the professional game their respective careers took strikingly different paths. Jordin’s journey took him to the top- he was drafted into the National Hockey League and signed a lucrative contract with the Nashville Predators. However, Terrence’s road to the professional ranks was filled with hardship and tragedy, ultimately resulting in his suicide in August of 2002. The contrasting paths taken by the brothers is an illustration of how professional sporting careers can have varying impacts on the lives of Native American and Canadian athletes and their communities. In the following few paragraphs I will outline the history of Native Americans and Canadians in sports. I will examine how successful Native athletes are able to help their communities, both financially and by serving as role models for younger Natives. Also, I will argue that their still exist barriers and challenges to Native athletes that do not confront other athletes. For example, Native athletes are often placed under increased scrutiny because of their positions as role models. I will conclude by commenting on how Native athletes fit into pro sports today, and speculate on what can be done to increase the amount of success enjoyed by Natives.
Hope, by definition means to look forward to something with reasonable desire and confidence. Hope also means a person or thing in which expectations are centered. When discussing the word hope, one must consider the core values by which the word works around. You could hope for financial success, world peace, or simply hope for some good out of your day. In 2006, Barack Obama wrote the political biography The Audacity of Hope to outline his core political and spiritual beliefs, as well as his opinions on different aspects of American culture. The Illinois senator divided the book into nine chapters, each concentrating on both his own and the United States’ successes and failures in local and state politics. While revealing great leadership attributes, life experiences, personal qualities and hard facts, largely in anecdotal method, Barack Obama offers realistic, wide and thoughtful responses to today’s current domestic controversies using artistic appeals, such as ethos, pathos and logos. Senator Obama also gives the audience an in-depth analysis of the key policies that need to be changed for both Democrats and Republicans, and delivers an inherent message to offer hope to anyone, regardless of background or experiences. In the prologue, he discusses in great detail virtually every major political issue facing the American electorate today, offering his opinions and possible strategies for reform. “My motivation in entering politics was to cut through decades of polarizing partisanship and develop a moderate, effective approach to our government.” (Barackopedia.org). Obama notes that this same impulse, an impulse of a secure, functional and sustainable administration, prompted him to write The Audacity of Hope.
This article by Greg Braxton gives us his thoughts on the change that “Black Lightning”, will bring to the television universe by telling us that this show will focus on the problems that many African Americans are facing today. Braxton appeals to the rhetorical device of pathos and he appeals to the emotions of the audience by saying, “This is personal to me,” this essay will be him appealing to the audience about why this essay is important to him, and that this show will be a change to most who watch the CW network. This article tells of the story of Pierce an African American who wants to make a difference in his community by, “combatting racist cops and a violent gang,” and this show is bringing to the attention the issues that face many
The start of the 2002 track season found me concerned with how I would perform. After a disastrous bout with mononucleosis ended my freshmen track season, the fear of failure weighed heavily on my mind. I set a goal for myself in order to maintain focus and to push myself like nothing else would. My goal for my sophomore track season was to become a state champion in the 100 meter hurdles. I worked hard everyday at practice and went the extra mile, like running every Sunday, to be just that much closer to reaching my goal. The thought of standing highest on the podium in the center of the field, surrounded by hundreds of spectators, overcame my thoughts of complaining every time we had a hard workout. When I closed my eyes, I pictured myself waiting in anticipation as other competitors names were called out, one by one, until finally, the booming voice announced over the loudspeaker, "...and in first place, your 2002 100 meter hurdle champion, from Hotchkiss, Connie Dawson." It was visions like these that drove me to work harder everyday.