Rhetorical Analysis: We Are Marshall

Jessica Martin

Constance Bailey

ENG 102

September 21, 2014

We Are Marshall

In the movie We Are Marshall, Matthew McConaughey plays the role of the head football coach, Jack Lengyel, at Marshall University. Before the final game, Jack gives an inspirational speech at the cemetery of the “six sons of Marshall” from the 1970’s plane crash. Lengyel wanted the team to play with heart during the final game and not worry about the score. He also mentioned to the team that the players and staff that lost their lives in the crash were watching them as they played their final game of the season. To some players and staff members, visiting the cemetery hit home. Jack says, “This is your opportunity to rise from these ashes and grab glory.” The point of Jack’s speech was to inspire the team to focus on playing with heart to be remembered after the final game and to ignore the scoreboard.

We Are Marshall is based on the historical plane crash that took place in Huntington, West Virginia in 1970; killing seventy people including the Thundering Herd football team, coaches, athletic trainers, the athletic director, and boosters. In the movie, only a handful of people survived the crash but in reality no one survived. The team was heading home after a loss against a team in North Carolina and crashed a mile out from the airport. Due to the crash, Marshall University’s president was going to suspend the program but because of the student body, community, and the remaining players that did not get on the flight to reconsider his decision. A new coach was hired and the program was rebuilt with the returning players and others from different programs but only one obstacle still remained; the NCAA rule about freshmen playing. With a fighting chance, the university president returned with victory. Soon the Thundering Herd football team was rebuilt.

Jack Lengyel brings strong emotions to the table when he presents his speech to the team and his fellow staff. He feels incredibly...