Herm Edwards: "You Play To Win The Game!"

00:00:13 Speaker 1: Among the vast landscape of memorable speakers in sports, few can claim that their greatest skill was that of speech. Many of the players were too good at something they did on the field or court, and many coaches were too good at tactics, play calling, or game planning. So on today's episode of Sports Dot m P. Three, we'll be diving into the story of Herm Edwards, a man whose greatest skill was his words, and they all culminated and is unforgettable. You play to win the game quote during a press conference as head coach of the New York Jets. So, without further ado, let's get right into it. On October thirtieth, two thousand and two, Herm. Edwards was the head coach of the New York Jets. It was a Wednesday, and he was set to attend his regularly occurring midweek press conference with the media. One of the media members in attendance was Judy Bautista, a sports reporter for the New York Times. Years later, she recounted that particular press conference and the context surrounding it. Quote the Jets were two and five at the time, and they had just lost to Cleveland. I mean it was bad and it was the Wednesday after that game during his regular press conference. We were asking questions, and my question that sort of set him off was do you have to talk to your team about not giving up on the season? And he took it from there end quote. It was Herm. Edward's second year as the coach of the Jets, and since the team had made the playoffs in his first year at the Helm, expectations were clearly set on returning to the postseason, so a two and five start to the regular season was not a good way to get there. To make matters worse, the Jets lost to the Browns was particularly brutal, as they were leading at halftime to one, tent one to six before giving up eighteen straight points in the second half and scoring zero for themselves. The team needed a spark, a source of inspiration, something to turn their season around, or else it might just fall apart, and when Judy Battista asked Edwards, do you have to talk to your team about not giving up on the season, he saw the perfect opportunity to provide that very spark the Jets were in desperate need of, and he did it with one of the most iconic soundbites in NFL history. Take it away, Coach Edwards, this was. 00:03:35 Speaker 2: Great about sports. This is what the greatest thing about sports is. You play to win the game. Hello, You play to win the game. You don't play to just play it. That's a great thing about sports. You play to win, and I don't care if you don't have any wins. You go play to win. When you start telling me it doesn't matter, then retire, get out because it matters. 00:04:11 Speaker 1: The clip is absolutely electric, and it's hard not to feel like the way he said it was just as important as the words he was delivering. There's almost a poetic quality to the whole thing. And if you're wondering why Edwards seemed so offended, so taken aback by that question, a question that, compared to many of the questions that have led to other viral rants and soundbites we've covered, was pretty reasonable. You have to understand who Edwards is. He's a man who has lived and breathed football his entire life, never uses curse words, and takes the idea of quitting as a personal insult of the highest degree. When you listen to it now, it seems obvious that it went viral, but at the time no one actually gave it much thought. Many of the other quotes from head coaches that I've covered in prior Sports at NP three episodes immediately went viral, like Denny Green's they are who we thought they were and we let them off the hook, or Jim Mora's playoffs we're talking about playoffs. Unlike those, Edward's passionate rant about playing the game to win went under the radar well until everyone realized his message was the pivotal turning point to the Jets season, a moment that, when looking back on it years later, would come to define it and Edward's legacy itself. Speaking things into existence is a concept that's existed for thousands of years. The idea is pretty universal. You can create your own reality with your words and thoughts. Even in modern times. There's been a lot of spin offs, like Oprah Winfrey promoting the Secret about how if you think positive thoughts, you'll create those later in your life. The concept is also central to themes of things like alcoholics, anonymous, and lots of other philosophies and movements that you wouldn't think about. Edwards. He seems to encapsulate the concept as well, and it started long before he became a coach. One particular story about his early playing days really resonates and shows how he used his words to create his own reality, not with some mystic power, but just by living up to his claims. In nineteen seventy seven, Herm Edwards was a defensive back not picked during the NFL Draft, so he was an undrafted free agent looking to try out for different teams, which took him to the Philadelphia Eagles. During training camp, while trying to get a spot on the team, he asked a veteran defensive back how many dbs they take on the roster, and the veteran replied they take eight. Herm Edwards immediately replied, who are the other seven? Now, let me clarify, a lot of athletes and sports AARs can be cocky, and there's a reason. It's because they've been the best their whole lives. Edwards, however, is slightly different. Obviously, he loves making bold, lofty claims as evidence by saying who are the other seven? As a undrafted rookie, but you can tell he truly believes in what he's saying when he said, who are the other seven. It wasn't a cocky quip. It was a statement of truth in his mind, and one that he would live up to. He not only made the Eagles roster as a defensive back, but started every single game that season and led all rookies, yes even those that were drafted, in interceptions that year with six. So, to borrow a popular phrase, he put his money where his mouth was. Long after his playing career ended and he'd laced up his cleats for the final time, Edward's greatest weapon, his words remained sharp as ever, so it's no wonder he ended up as a coach on both the collegiate and professional levels. But no single quote or SoundBite of his has lived on for as long as his Wednesday press conference rant, and while it didn't make waves in the media at the time, it certainly made an impact on his own players. After the Jets lost to the Browns and Edwards unleashed his iconic quote, the Jets ripped off a four game winning streak and by the end of the season held a record of nine wins and seven losses, good enough to make the playoffs for a second consecutive season. Edwards first as head coach the team had lost their first game in the playoffs to the Raiders by fourteen points. This time around, the Jets were set to face the ten and six Indianapolis Colts in the wild card round, a Colts team that, by the way, was led by future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning and legendary coach Tony Dungee. To summarize how the game went, I'll borrow some more of Edward's own terminology. The Jets they played to win the game, the Colts they did not. The final score saw the Jets win forty one to zero, while they would go on to lose the next round. The jets emphatic win against the Colts, paired with the fact that they went seven and two after the Browns loss, might just solidify edwards rant as the most successful viral rant from an NFL coach during a press conference ever. But if you disagree, send me a message telling me why on our socials at Sports Underscore MP three. And that does it for today's episode of Sports Dot MP three. I hope you learned something new and enjoyed the show. As always, I'll be back next week with a new episode, so stay tuned and In the meantime, enjoy life, and if you're ever playing a game just for fun, make sure Herm Edwards isn't playing with you because he's playing to win. See you next week. Piece. 00:11:09 Speaker 2: It is don't don't, but it doesn't have a contract. 00:11:14 Speaker 1: Don't don't, don't,