Tony Arcuri: "Be the intangible tonight', Indian Hill Braves High School - 2007

Most of you guys know I'm trying to be a spiritual guy. I'm not telling you what to believe, I'm not telling you how to believe, but everyday at some point during the day, I open up a book that I believe in, and I just pop to a page and I look through it, okay? Sometimes that page gives me great insight. I'm going to tell you what I opened up to today. It's [inaudible 00:00:24]. You don't have to be a historian of this to know what I'm telling you, okay? The first thing I opened to is the story about David, all right. David was the son of Samuel, one of the greatest kings of Israel, all right. What happened with David, he had eight brothers. When Samuel's time came to lose power, everybody was looking to his sons. He had eight. David was the least likely for the one chosen. He was the youngest, the smallest, the weakest. He was the one selected.

You may say, why am I telling you that tonight? Why do we need to hear that? Here's why. I'm telling you one. He was the least likely candidate. There are a lot of people out here tonight who think you are the least likely candidate to be successful. David was chosen back then because he had an intangible. His intangible was his heart, all right? They're bigger, they got athletes ... they got guys going to Division One schools, all right. We can see that, and so can everybody else. But nobody can see the intangible with us, all right? There's a reason why I opened up to that passage. We got to make that happen tonight. Be the intangible tonight. Here we go. Lord ...

Team:           Lord.

Arcuri:           I will be one.

Team:           I will be one.

Arcuri:           I am one.

Team:           I am one.

Arcuri:           I do not do everything.

Team:           I do not do everything.

Arcuri:           But I can do something.

Team:           But I can do something.

Arcuri:           [inaudible 00:01:53].

Team:           [inaudible 00:01:53].

Arcuri:           Which I'm about to do tonight.

Team:           Which I'm about to do tonight.

Arcuri:           With your help.

Team:           With your help.

Arcuri:           I will do it.

Team:           I will do it.

Arcuri:           Thank God I play for [inaudible 00:02:01].

Team:           Thank God I play for [inaudible 00:02:03].

Coach Flowers: 'I am a champion', Leland High School JV football team - date unknown

Date unknown, Leland High School JV football team, California, USA

I will conquer what has never been conquered,
Defeat will not be in my creed.
I will believe where all those before me have doubted.
I will always endeavor to uphold the prestige, honor and respect of my team.
I have trained my mind and now my body will follow.

Who am I? I am a champion!

I will acknowledge the fact that I am an elite warrior,
Who arrived at the cutting edge of battle by any means necessary.
I accept the fact that my team expects me to move further, faster and fight harder than our opponents,
Never shall I fail my brothers.
I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong and morally straight.
I will shoulder more than my share of the task, whatever it may be,
One hundred percent and more because I have surrendered me for we.

Who am I? I am a champion!

Gallantly will I show that I am a specially selected and well trained warrior.
My heart and my soul will be the fuel to carry my body when my limbs are too weary.
Although I may falter, I will never lose focus as long as there is hope in my mind and my heart is still beating.
I will never give in to the evil that is weakness and I will fight that evil with my dying breath.

Who am I? I am a champion!

Energetically will I meet my enemies, many will challenge me, but none will stop me from my goal.
I am not the strongest, I am not the fastest,
I am good because I have found something worth fighting for, and I will fight with all my might.
Surrender is not a champions word.
I will never leave a brother to fall at the hands of an enemy,
And under no circumstances will I surrender, for my ears are deaf to the word cant.

Who am I? I am a champion!

Readily will I display the discipline and strength required to fight on to my objective,
And I will complete my mission.
I will rise when I have fallen to rip the heart from my enemy and leave it beating on the ground.
My enemy will both fear and respect me.
If he does not, I will make him respect me with all that I have to give.

Who am I? I am a champion!

History will remember my name but he does not have to be kind,
For I have denied his criticisms and put in my own praise.
Nobody will define me, and nobody will tell me what I cant achieve.
None will say that I havent given all that I have to give and none will take my glory.
For those who have stood by me I will fight for, and for those who have deserted me I will crush.

Who am I? I am a champion!