Blog 11

Kyle Hamilton
Blog 11
Speech or historical film
Movie: Marshall
Argument –
WATCO continuing the football program at Marshall University after a very serious tragedy on the moral and attitude of the community?
A -> B
Rebuilding the football program at Marshall University after almost the entire team passed away would provide hope to the community and would honor those that had passed away.
A -> C
Rebuilding the football program would continue the tradition the football team had left behind allowing the community to move past the loss.
C -> B
Continuing traditions and helping the community move past their loss will give the community hope and honor those that had passed away.
Target Audience –
The target audience is the community where Marshall University is located. These people were big supporters of the football team and would participate or attend all the games, even when the team would lose matches. Since it was such a small community, everyone knew all the players and would follow all the games. When the airplane crashed, the community was distressed and one player who was unable to be in the plane took it upon himself to re-boost the moral.
Goal of the Piece –
The goal of the piece was to convince the community and especially the leaders of the University of Marshall that the football program should not be eliminated from the school and that throwing together a team was what would save the community from dwelling too long on their loss.
How the Argument is Made –
The argument is very much made through pathos. The player who leads the effort to keep the football team alive speaks of tradition, honor, and having something to believe in. He brings hundreds of people to the building just outside the meeting to determine the future of the football team. In fact, as he enters the room where the meeting is taking place, the leaders try to kick him out of the room and tell him, “If you have something to say, you need to fix an appointment.” His response is, “I don’t have anything to say… they do,” and he indicated the crowd gathered outside the building. As they all shouted, “We are Marshall,” the leaders of the committee were unable to eliminate the team.
Effective –
The argument was definitely effective. The football team was put into place and it was something very difficult to accept at first. Watching the team start from zero and try to win a game was difficult for the community, but when they realized the symbolism and the actual worth of supporting the football team, they all supported the team and witnessed a miracle.