Playing on a sports team requires more than the raw talent. It requires teamwork, cooperation, and spirit. Coaches have a great way of finding all of these qualities in their team. In the music video for “Boys Of Fall” by Kenny Chesney, there is a locker room speech by one of the coaches that shows how a coach can influence their team. Through this inspirational locker room speech, the coach uses emotional appeal, bandwagon appeal, praise, and loaded words to show his team that they can win the game.
To begin, the coach uses emotional appeal to show the team that these nights are not going to last and suggesting that they do not take them for granted. In the speech, the coach uses the statement, “You’re gonna miss that more than anything in the world.” This is to show the players that they’re not going to have another opportunity to have the same feeling of responsibility that they have on the football team. Another way that he uses emotional appeal is in the statement, “This is about you guys. This is about the guys in this room, who care about each other that know that there are only so many more of these nights left.” This statement shows that the people on the team genuinely care about what is going on and share the same love for the game as each other team mate. The use of emotional appeal helps show the team that there is something more than just a game of football going on. The feeling of being a part of a team is something that does not come very often. The use of emotional appeal gets the players focused on the game and having their heart fully in the game.
Another persuasion technique the coach uses is bandwagon appeal. When he says “I would give anything tonight to jump in one of these uniforms with you guys,” he is saying that he, as a coach, would do anything to play and do what they are doing, so since he cannot play, they should play to their fullest ability. Also, he says “That’s what I miss,” which is showing again that he misses playing, so they should play hard enough so that it’s like they’re playing for him.
Another thing that the coach uses as persuasion is tearing down the opposing side. When he says “They are a faceless opponent,” it is showing the team that they are superior to the team they are playing against. It is showing them that they have the power to succeed and dominate the competition if they put their heart into it. Another thing he says to make them feel superior is, “they just happened to draw the short straw tonight.” is showing that they’ve drawn the long straw. He’s showing them that they have come to succeed and win the game. This gives the team a sense of power and ability to do whatever they can.
Last, the coach uses loaded words to persuade the team to play hard. One place he uses loaded words in his speech is when he says, “Get your asses ready to play” which shows the team that he is superior to them and giving them a command. He understands that they need pushing so they will have to use harsh words to show them that he knows what he’s doing and knows that they need to win the game.
In conclusion, the coach of this locker room speech does a great job of motivating his team. Using the persuasive elements of emotional appeal, bandwagon appeal, praise, and loaded words, he does a great job of showing his team that the game is worth playing and should be played to their full potential. With emotional appeal, he tells the team that there are many things they are going to miss and that the game shouldn’t be taken lightly. Through his bandwagon appeal, he shares with the team that the coaches would love to be out there playing with them as well so they shouldn’t take the time for granted. When he used praise, he was telling the team that the team they were playing against was a faceless opponent that happened to draw the short straw, telling their team that they have come to win. He also used loaded words, to show the team that he is superior to them by telling them to “get your asses ready” and showing them who is in charge. Through these ways of persuading, the coach does a great job of telling his team to win the game and giving them the motivation to do so.