“ANY GIVEN SUNDAY”

 

I don't know what to say really.
Three minutes to the biggest battle of our professional lives
all comes down to today.
Either
we heal
as a team
or we are going to crumble.
Inch by inch
play by play till we're finished.
We are in hell right now, gentlemen
believe me
and
we can stay here
and get the shit kicked out of us
or
we can fight our way
back into the light.
We can climb out of hell.
One inch, at a time.

Now I can't do it for you.
I'm too old.
I look around and I see these young faces
and I think
I mean
I made every wrong choice a middle age man could make.
I uh....
I pissed away all my money
believe it or not.
I chased off anyone who has ever loved me.
And lately, I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror.

You know when you get old in life things get taken from you.
That's, that's part of life.
But, you only learn that when you start losing stuff.
You find out that life is just a game of inches.
So is football.
Because in either game life or football
the margin for error is so small.
I mean, one half step too late or to early
you don't quite make it.
One half second too slow or too fast
and you don't quite catch it.
The inches we need are everywhere around us.
They are in ever break of the game
every minute, every second.

On this team, we fight for that inch.
On this team, we tear ourselves, and everyone around us
to pieces for that inch.
We CLAW with our fingernails for that inch.
Cause we know,
when we add up all those inches
that's going to make the fucking difference
between WINNING and LOSING
between LIVING and DYING.

I'll tell you this
in any fight
it is the guy who is willing to die
who is going to win that inch.
And I know if I am going to have any life anymore
it is because, I am still willing to fight, and die for that inch
because that is what LIVING is.
The six inches in front of your face.

Now I can't make you do it.
You gotta look at the guy next to you.
Look into his eyes.
Now I think you are going to see a guy who will go that inch with you.
You are going to see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team
because he knows when it comes down to it,
you are gonna do the same thing for him.

That's a team, gentlemen
and either we heal now, as a team,
or we will die as individuals.
That's football guys.
That's all it is.
Now, whattaya gonna do?

Questions

How does Al Pacino's character talk about himself in his speech? 

He describes how he made every wrong choice as a middle aged man; he also says that he
pissed away all his money (he was self-demeaning). He is basically saying that he hates his past.

What effect does this have on the speech? (Use Quotes in your answer).

It has a great affect because it is very motivational and wants them to learn from his experience and tells them what not to do. Especially when he comes to the start of the climax when he says

You find out that life is just a game of inches.
So is football.
Because in either game life or football
the margin for error is so small.
I mean, one half step too late or to early
you don't quite make it.
This has a huge effect and draws them into the speech and Al Pacino is trying to make a connection with them by telling them about his personal life. Eventually this builds up and eventually gets all the audience standing.