Rhetorical Analysis

Anders Bjork
Professor Bain-Conkin

Miracle Speech Rhetorical Analysis

"Great moments are born from great opportunity, and that's what you have here
tonight, boys. This opening line of Herb Brooks infamous Miracle speech that he gave
to a group of about 20 young men before one of the most famous upsets in sports
history, did not only apply to the semi-final game they were about to play against the
seemingly invincible Soviet Union Olympic hockey team, but also applied to Herb
Brooks speech itself. Pre-game speeches are a crucial part of a coaches job and the
higher the stakes of the game, the higher expectations that the coach has to get his
team fired up yet focused. Herb Brooks had a great opportunity in the locker room that
night and from it he created a great and memorable moment. Brooks used many well
thought out and powerful speech tactics to inspire his team to win one of the
greatest games in sports history. In this speech Brooks uses confidence statements,
honest but realistic belief statements, inspirational statements, and an effective
introduction and conclusion to inspire his team to victory.
One of the main speech tactics that Brooks uses is confidence statements.
Confidence is a very important part of sports especially when a team is the underdog in

a game (and the USA was definitely the underdog in this game against the heavily
favorited Soviet Union). Toward the beginning of this speech Brooks says, "That's what
you've earned here tonight. This is a powerful sentence in which he is telling his
players that they put in the work and effort needed to make the most out of the
opportunity that has been presented to them. The players obviously look to him as an
extremely knowledgeable coach who is serious and means what he says. So, by saying
that these men have earned the opportunity to accomplish something great he meant
that they really did earn it, thus giving his players confidence through his belief and
assurance. Brooks goes on to increase the confidence of these men and instill belief
that they can win when he states, "Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight we stay with
them, and we shut them down because we can. This sentence screams of Brooks
belief in his team to give them confidence. He truly believes that these men have the
ability to skate with and shut down the Soviet Union. He tells his team that the reason
that they will skate with them in this game is because they have this ability. Brooks
again uses this tactic in the second half of his speech. He starts off the second half
saying, "You were born to be hockey playersevery one of you, and you were meant to
be here tonight. This statement speaks about the lives of the men of this team. He is
telling his players that this is their destiny or what they were born to do. He is basically
telling them that they were destined to make history through this single game. However,

he doesnt say it in a way that will make them nervous to make mistakes and instead
says it confidently and reassures these young men that they were not only meant to be
here but also deserved to win. Brooks uses the speech tactic of confidence statements
very effectively and with the combination of another speech tactic that he uses, he
assures his team that this belief and confidence is realistic for this game.
The second speech tactic that Brooks implements is honest but realistic belief
statements. In the first half of his speech Herb Brooks says, "One game; if we played
them ten times, they might win nine. But not this game, not tonight. While some may
argue that the first part of this is taking away confidence from his players, I disagree.
Instead, I feel that Brooks is supplying his team with realistic belief. Him being realistic
shows that he understands the situation at hand and is not denying that on paper the
Soviet Union is a better hockey team. The Soviet team had beat the NHL All-Star team
6-0 and crushed the United States in an exhibition game right before the Olympics 10-3.
They also were on a hot streak in the Olympics and had won five games in pool play
with a combined score of 51 goals for to only 11 goals against. These overwhelming
statistics make it silly for Brooks not to acknowledge that the Soviet Union is a great
hockey team. However, his truthfulness and understanding of the situation also proves
that he is being truthful in telling his team that the Soviets can be beaten and that this
U.S. team can win this one game. Brooks is being a realist here. He turns what could

be negative realism into giving his team confidence by saying that it is realistic that they
can win this single game which is all the only game that matters. While the odds might
be one in ten, Brooks knows his team is ready and able to get that one win in the game
that they have the opportunity too and he does this in a realistic but inspirational way.
Brooks uses another speech tactic to spark inspiration for his team through
inspirational or spark statements. In the first half of his speech Brooks states, "Tonight,
we are the greatest hockey team in the world. Here, Brooks uses assertiveness and
tells his team that while their past doesnt prove they are the best team in the world, that
is irrelevant because the outcome of the game tonight is not effected by the past but
only by what will happen in the sixty minutes of play in this semi-final game. This
inspirational statement energetically motivates and excites his team. Near the end of his
speech Brooks again uses this tactic when he says, This is your time. Their time is
done. It's over. Brooks hints at the current situation of the world in this statement as
well as the hockey game. This game was being played during the Cold War and spread
of communism. Saying that their time is done has dual meaning in that the Soviet's
time as being the world power in both the hockey and social realm is over. This is a very
inspiring and deep statement that really rallied the troops for battle. Brooks uses
inspirational or spark statements (as well as the previously mentioned speech tactics) to
realistically motivate his team. Brooks combines these tactics in both his introduction

and conclusion to make his speech even more persuasive.

Brooks speech starts and concludes in a very forceful way. Herb Brooks grabs
the attention of his team with a powerful and famous statement, "Great moments are
born from great opportunity, and that's what you have here tonight, boys. He tells his
team that they have been given the opportunity to make history with this game. He
does not use words that are hard to understand or confusing language but simple words
of much meaning instead. At the end of this opening statement he addresses the team
as boys. This is a common word used in the locker room in many sports especially in
hockey. I feel this was a very effective way to make the team feel comfortable as well as
show the unity of the team. This introduction is simple, but caused a sense of
brotherhood among the players making them know that there closeness and oneness
was more powerful than any amount of skill that the opposing team might have. In his
closing statements, Brooks says, "I'm sick and tired of hearing about what a great
hockey team the Soviets have. Screw em. This is your time. Now go out there and take
it! This is a powerful ending to a powerful speech. Brooks repeats what he said before
and tells his team that this is your time which reemphasizes his confidence and belief.
Then he orders them to "take it!. This final sentence is very impactful as it shows his
assertive belief that this game is truly theirs to take and that they are not just hoping to
upset the Soviet Union.

In conclusion, Herb Brooks does a fantastic job using well thought out and
powerful speech tactics to inspire his team to an unexpected victory.
He uses confidence statements, honest but realistic belief statements, inspirational
statements, and an effective introduction and conclusion to get his team ready for this
historic game. Brooks' speech is not too long or confusing, yet is concise, clear, and
filled with deep meaning. Each word is chosen with care and he uses powerful phrases
to rally his team. Brooks uses repetition such as the word tonight or the phrase this is
your time to add emphasis. Although, he is just a hockey coach, this speech is a work
of art as it built the confidence and provided the energy needed, while still getting the
team focused and determined which ultimately lead to victory.