We Are Marshall !

There have been many polls or lists on the greatest Sports movies ever. ESPN complied a list of their top 25 Sports Movies in 2002. On the list were Rocky, Hooisiers, Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, to name a few.

If ESPN did a list now (2008), I would hope "We are Marshall" is near the top of the list. The movie is about the 1970 Marshall University football team that was wiped out in a plane crash during the 1970 season. The plane crash killed all but 3 of the players, all the coaches (except one), and many of the school's boosters. The movie stars Matthew McConaughey as Jack Lengyel, who took over as head football coach of Marshall after the crash. The film is historically accurate and contains some very realistic football scenes.

The speech Lengyel (McConaughey) gives to his team in the cemetery prior to the Xavier game in 1971 is one of the best ever.....in the movies or in real life.

For those of you who may not know, this is the final resting place for six members of the 1970 Thundering Herd. The plane crash that took their lives was so severe, so absolute, that their bodies were unable to be identified. So they were buried here. Together, six players, six teammates, six Sons of Marshall. This is our past, gentlemen. This is where we have been. This is how we got here. This is who we are. Today, I want to talk about our opponent this afternoon. They're bigger, faster, stronger, more experienced and on paper, they're just better. And they know it too. But I want to tell you something that they don't know. They don't know your heart. I do. I've seen it. You have shown it to me. You have shown this coaching staff, your teammates. You have shown yourselves just exactly who you are in here. (Thumps his chest).

When you take that field today, you've got to lay that heart on the line, men. From the souls of your feet, with every ounce of blood you've got in your body, lay it on the line until the final whistle blows. And if you do that, if you do that, we cannot lose. We may be behind on the scoreboard at the end of the game but if you play like that we cannot be defeated. Now we came here today to remember six young men and sixty-nine others who will not be on the field with you today, but they will be watching. You can bet your ass that they'll be gritting their teeth with every snap of that football. You understand me? How you play today, from this moment on is how you will be remembered. This is your opportunity to rise from these ashes and grab glory. We are...Marshall !.....Jack Lengyel, 1971.

This move has been out for a couple of years now. If I had a list (which I do on my Blog frontpage), We are Marshall would be at the top.