As Jimmy Valvano took the podium during the 1983 ESPY awards, after a forty five second applause, the crowd hushed to a unanimous silence, and something amazing took place shortly after. Jimmy V captivated the audience with his instinctual, off the cuff speech and his smooth, comforting tone. His presence was made known as he fascinated the crowd talking about how life should be taken advantage of, and the power to help other people by sacrificing a little bit of yourself is one of the most satisfying things one can do. It was on of the most legendary speeches in the history of American sports. Jimmy V dedicated his life to helping people; he was a hall of fame material coach, a mentor, and his legacy will live on and on forever.
The ESPY awards stands for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly. In the sports world, this speech is one of the most incredibly moving and inspiring sports speeches ever given. Jimmy Valvano is a legendary college basketball coach who took the N.C. State basketball team to the 1983 NCAA Championship and won against very high odds. He won the ESPY Courage award, this award is given to someone who has stared adversity in the face, and Jimmy V certainly has. Two months after giving this speech, ten years after he won the NCAA basketball tournament and ran up and down the sideline looking for someone to hug, he died of cancer. The sports world was absolutely devastated after it’s loss of such an amazing ambassador. The impact of his speech was due to his stature in the sports world; everyone knew who he was, what he stood for, and what he was fighting against. His credibility as an amazing coach and mentor created a sense of a personal affiliation, he made the audience feel like they were a part of his family, or a group of people that he knew well enough to pour his heart out and open himself up. At the same time, he makes the audience feel at ease; joking about his illness and putting a smile on peoples faces, “I’m gonna speak for longer than anyone else has spoken tonight, I’ve got tumors all over my body, what do I care about a guy in the back holding up a sign that says thirty seconds”. This kind of playful tone lets the audience sit back, relax a little, and really listen to what he wants to say.
Jimmy Valvano addresses the crowd in a way that they can almost feel his pain and try to understand where he is coming from. That is one of the reasons it makes this speech so affective, the audience is able to relate to him because they want to help people they love who are suffering from what he is suffering from. Jimmy V gives them a way to help their loved ones and try to do something for everyone or anyone who is suffering from cancer. In his speech, he tells the audience that there are three things we all must do we all must do everyday, “number one is laugh, you should laugh everyday. Number two is think, you should spend some time in thought. And number three is you should have your emotions moved to tears, in happiness or sadness.” Jimmy Valvano is trying to tell the audience how to take full advantage of life, because no one in that room sees life from the way he now does. He sees life in a way, “you don’t know what you got till its gone”. He evokes something from the audience that causes them to feel sad, and want to help, and as an orator, that’s all you can ask for.
Throughout this speech, Jimmy V is speaking from the bottom of his heart, and when people know someone is speaking from the bottom of their heart with passion, it is one hundred percent more effective. Jimmy V is basically on his last leg, he is in his last stage of life and he announces that at the beginning of his speech. He sees life in a completely different way. He asks the audience take full advantage of what’s in front of them and cherish the time you have on this earth, because you never know when it could be taken from you.
Since his death, the Jimmy V foundation has raised over 70 million dollars for cancer research; this just goes to show what a difference people with money can create when they are convinced and driven by someone they love like Jimmy V. Jimmy Valvano is a legend. Even without life, Jimmy V continues to help people every single day because of his passion, peace of mind, and motivation. “I’ve gotta go, I’ve got one last thing and iv said it before and I’m gonna say it again, cancer can take away all my physical abilities, but it cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul, and those three things are gonna carry on forever”(Jimmy Valvanos, 1993 ESPY awards)
No comments:
Post a Comment