Al pacino inspirational speech on Football : Any Given Sunday

A very inspirational speech by Al Pacino. One of my favorite actors. He’s a terrificactor, talented, and you just get glued to the screen whenever he’s on…

Enjoy this scene, because this is why people play sports. This is why we watch sports. This is why we are passionate about sports.

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 finger nails 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?

Cliff Young : One very different athlete

Sixty one year old Cliff Young became a household name in 1983 when he beat all of the starters and won the first Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon. He wasn’t known before the race -- but was certainly know after that. Apart from winning the inaugural Westfield Run, Cliff also achieved many other brilliant performances in his ultra career which included several Ultra age records. He was also the “Boy from the Bush” with a larrikin wit and a heart of gold. This endeared him to many people over the years

Jack Canfield : The Cliff Young Story

Cliff Young, A Farmer Who Inspired a Nation - The whole nation thought he was a crazy old man to undertake an almost impossible feat. Most feared that he would die trying. But this humble old man proved all the critics wrong.

Cliff Young, at 61 years of age, participated in 1983's Sydney to Melbourne race. Considered to be the world's toughest race, with the distance of 875 kilometers and took at least 6 to 7 days to finish, Cliff Young entered the race against world-class athletes. Read how he achieved the unthinkable and inspires the whole nation.

Jason McElwain : The Autistic Teen of Basketball

A year to the day after he stunned everyone by coming off the bench to score 20 points in four minutes in a high-school basketball game, autistic teen-ager Jason McElwain says he hopes his story is still inspiring others to set goals and achieve their dreams.

"What more can you want?" the 18-year-old Rochester, N.Y.-area boy said in an interview on TODAY Thursday morning, as he recounted his year in the spotlight, which included a meeting with President Bush. "My life has changed from going to just an ordinary kid with autism to someone who is a hero."

Jason, then 17, was thrust into the spotlight when Greece Athena High School basketball coach Jim Johnson decided to send him onto the floor for a little play in the team's final regular season game against Spencerport on Feb. 16, 2006. Jason had never made the team but stayed on as team manager, and Coach Johnson thought a little playing time would be a fitting show of gratitude for his dedication.

Jason set the crowd into a frenzy when, after missing his first shot, he sank six three-pointers and a jump shot in the final four minutes. His achievement, captured on videotape, made him a national sensation.
Jason, known as "J-Mac" to friends in his upstate New York suburb, made appearances at the ESPY awards, the NCAA Final Four and the NBA finals. In addition to the president, he got to meet Oprah Winfrey, Peyton Manning and Jessica Simpson.
Letters still pour in from all over the world. People with autism write to thank Jason for serving as a beacon of hope for others.

"Can you look back at all and tell me what is has been like, Jason, to live in your shoes?" TODAY's Matt Lauer asked.
"It's been fun and amazing," said Jason.

Still playing basketball
In addition to his part-time job at a supermarket, Jason still plays in nightly pickup games at the "Y," but admits he has never been able to repeat the feat that got his name in newspapers and magazines from coast to coast.

"When you play with your buddies, do they kind of expect you to make every single shot?" Lauer asked.
"The expectations are really high, but not exactly," Jason said, laughing.

His parents, David and Debbie McElwain, who appeared on TODAY with Jason and his older brother Josh, said they still can't believe all of the attention Jason's performance has received.
"After that game when he scored 20 points, I thought, 'Gee, his name might be in the paper,' " David McElwain said.

Now there are even discussions about turning his life story into a book and movie. (Jason said that he thought Matthew McConaughey should portray him on film.)
'On a roll'

Debbie McElwain admitted that Jason sometimes can get "cocky" about his fame, but she and Josh bring him back down to Earth. She said she hopes Jason's story will encourage other families with autistic children to identify the symptoms early and get treatments designed to foster communication skills before it is too late.
"I never thought he would come this far," Debbie McElwain said of her son's disability, which was diagnosed when he was 2 1/2. "When your child is diagnosed with severe autism, you just want him to speak. Jason had most of the autistic symptoms of severe autism. It was just one hurdle after the next ... You just want him to say one word, because wants an autistic child says the first word, you are on a roll."

Jason's been on a roll ever since the big game, which his team won.

"I just hope more people are aware of autism, the disease autism," he said, "and that people know more about it and get the treatment they need with their children, early in life like my loving mother [did]."

Marked primarily by impaired social interaction and diminished communication skills, autism is a developmental disability believed to be caused by both genetic and environmental factors. Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued a report estimating that one in 150 children born in this country are autistic — much more prevalent than previously thought.

Jessica Cox : The Woman Pilot Without Arms

 Filipino-American Jessica Cox is an amazing achiever who is touching many lives with her moving story of strength, courage, and sheer determination.
Born without arms, Jessica flies airplanes, drives cars, plays the piano, and lives a normal life using her feet as others use their hands.

The second daughter of a retired American music teacher and a Filipina nurse from Samar province, Jessica holds the distinction of being the first woman pilot in aviation history to fly with her feet.
“It wasn’t easy,” Jessica, 25, said of her flying lessons. “I was a little nervous at first, but then I remembered my favorite words of wisdom: Never let fear get in the way of your opportunity.”
The light plane she flies is called an Ercoupe (pronounced air-coupe) and it is one of the few airplanes to be made and certified without pedals. Without rudder pedals Jessica is free to use her feet as hands. It took her three years instead of the usual six months to complete her lightweight aircraft license. She had three flying instructors and she logged 89 hours of flying to get the license.


Supportive family
The second of three siblings, Jessica said her parents and her older brother Jason and younger sister Jackie have always been supportive of her. Her father, William Cox, is a retired music teacher; her mother, the former Inez Macabare, of Bobon, Samar is a nurse.
Jessica said she visited the Philippines in 2004 and she is planning to visit again with her parents this year to meet her mom’s folks and her brother Jason, who is studying at the Ateneo De Manila University.
“I’m really excited to be back for this coming visit,” said Jessica, who takes pride in her Filipino heritage.
According to her mom, Jessica was an active child growing up, who participated in many activities like swimming, gymnastics, and tap dancing.
Jessica was introduced to Tae Kwon-Do by her parents when she was ten to further develop her self-confidence.

At the age of 14, she earned her first black belt at the International Tae Kwon-Do Federation. In college, she resumed her interest in martial arts, joined the American Tae Kwon-Do Association and secured a second black belt. She is the first woman without arms to achieve that feat in the United States.


Media celebrity

Her many achievements did not go unnoticed in the American media. She has been featured in the popular afternoon program “Ellen” hosted by Ellen Degeneres, “Inside Edition,” and TV networks like CNN and Fox News.
Videos showing her flying a plane, demonstrating martial arts stunts and replays of her television and public speaking appearances are proliferating in YouTube and the Internet. Many of the videos and inspiring emails are posted by Filipinos who are proud of her extraordinary accomplishments.

A psychology graduate from the University of Arizona, Jessica is pursuing a career as an international motivational speaker.
Articulate and a gifted speaker, Jessica is changing people’s lives by the inspiration she brings with her key messages of creativity, persistence, and fearlessness. Recognized internationally as a motivational speaker, she has spoken before various groups such as students, teachers, and corporate audiences.
Jessica’s speeches are inspiring as they are humorous. Her keen sense of humor comes to the fore as she relates her trials and triumphs. And her critical approach and insights dealing with life’s difficulties provide her listeners an alternative view of coping with their own challenges.


Overcoming shyness

She recalls how she overcame shyness as a little girl when she was to dance before an audience for the first time as part of her dance school where she took dancing lessons.
“I used to feel shy about being different. I remember the first time I was on stage. It was my very first at our dance studio presentation,” Jessica said. “I was so scared that I asked my dance teacher I wanted to be put me in the back row. She told me there was no back row.”
To her great relief, she added, “All I heard was cheering and clapping when the dance number was done. I couldn’t wait to go out for a second time and perform. I danced for 12 years after that.”
Nurtured by a loving family and convinced that a positive outlook has a greater impact on life than physical constraints, Jessica chose to pursue a degree in psychology at the University of Arizona.
As a student at university, the gutsy young woman took notes with her feet. She typed out her papers at 20 words per minute, with a regular computer keyboard on the floor.
When first learning to drive, Jessica was encouraged to use special modifications in her car. But even after her car was modified, she decided to remove them and drive without the changes. She holds an unrestricted driver's license.
The doctors were baffled why Jessica was born without arms. Sonograms and other prenatal tests did not reveal this rare congenital condition, according to her website. From infancy her feet became her hands. Like all children, she went through the various stages of development. She learned to feed herself and write with her feet.


Lessons from flying
According to Jessica, learning to fly an airplane has had a “significant impact” on her life.
“I have never known the true meaning of determination and persistence until I started my flight training,” she said. “Due to airplane logistics, it not only took me three years to do what some people could accomplish in six months but it also required four Ercoupes, three certified flight instructors, 89 hours of flight training in three different states (Florida, California, and Arizona) to become the first person to be certified to fly an airplane with only my feet.”

Defining creativity as a person’s ingenious way of dealing with a problem, Jessica said:
“Creativity is something I use every time I step into the airplane. The first challenge of flight training was learning how to buckle my seatbelt. Through creativity and recognizing there is more than one way to do something, I figured it would be best to buckle the seatbelt first before sitting down, then loosen the straps, stand on the seat and slip into the seatbelt. Once seated, I used my right foot to pull the seatbelt tight, securing it around my hips.”

Jessica said she is thankful to God for allowing her to do the things she has accomplished.
“It feels great being told by people that my life experiences have somehow inspired them. It’s really cool, and it motivates me to keep going,” she enthused.


Book project
Her mom Inez told this writer in Filipino that Jessica is scheduled to fly to Washington DC to meet with a prospective publisher for a book Jessica is writing.
“It’s actually a work in progress,” Jessica demurred when asked what the book is about. “I’ve been working on it for sometime. Its title is ‘Disarming Prejudice.’”
According to Jessica, being different physically from other people has taught her to be strong and persistent. And in an imperfect world where many people are dealing with their own handicaps -- real or imagined -- she wants to make a difference by helping them deal with their limitations.
Said Jessica: “I want people to think, ‘Hey, if she can do so much without arms, then I can do so much more with my life.’”

Ted Williams : The Homeless Man with an Exceptional Voice

Meet Ted Williams,a.k.a The Golden Voice) a Brooklyn-born drifter from Columbus, Ohio who became a YouTube sensation after getting filmed on the street by Columbus Dispatch reporter Kevin Joy. The footage shows Williams panhandling narrating a radio promotional segment in the most soothing voice of a radio announcer.

Team Hoyt : A father's love to his Son

Rick was born in 1962 to Dick and Judy Hoyt. As a result of oxygen deprivation to Rick's brain at the time of his birth, Rick was diagnosed as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. Dick and Judy were advised to institutionalize Rick because there was no chance of him recovering, and little hope for Rick to live a "normal" life. This was just the beginning of Dick and Judy's quest for Rick's inclusion in community, sports, education and one day, the workplace.

Nick Vujicic : No Arms No Legs No Worries

Nicholas James Vujicic (born 4 December 1982) is a preacher and motivational speaker who was born without arms or legs due to a rare disorder known as Tetra-amelia. He struggled throughout his childhood to come to terms with his disability, and at seventeen started his own non-profit organization Life Without Limbs. After graduating from university, Vujicic began his travels as a motivational speaker. At present, he regularly gives speeches on subjects such as disability, hope, and finding meaning in life.

Randy Pausch : Living while Dying

Randy Pausch was a professor of Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University. From 1988 to 1997, he taught at the University of Virginia. He was an award-winning teacher and researcher, and worked with Adobe, Google, Electronic Arts (EA), and Walt Disney Imagineering, and pioneered the non-profit Alice project. (Alice is an

innovative 3-D environment that teaches programming to young people via storytelling and interactive game-playing.) He also co-founded The Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon with Don Marinelli. (ETC is the premier professional graduate program for interactive entertainment as it is applies across a variety of fields.) Randy lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on July 25th, 2008.

On this video,Dr. Randy Pausch delivers his farewell lecture at Carnegie Mellon University. Probably the last public speech he will give. The 46-year-old professor and father of three preschoolers has incurable pancreatic cancer. Yet, Randy did not focus on impending death. Instead, he celebrated the chance he had been given to live the life he always had dreamed of. An inspiring talk that should be shared. This video is from the Post-Gazette's web site.