Not much “I” in “Team”: Content analysis of pregame speeches in American football

Although researchers have explored the effects of coach pregame speeches, little is known about the actual content, delivery, and environmental context of the speeches themselves. This study was a descriptive analysis of 127 (n = 77 intercollegiate, n = 37 high school, and n = 13 cinematic) American football pregame speeches. The speeches were viewed, transcribed, coded, and analyzed via the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC2015) software program. Actual speeches were compared with natural speech norms and speeches appearing in movies pertaining to American football. In general, the pregame speeches were characterized by use of confident, analytical, motivational, emotionally tinged language that is collectively oriented and present and future focused. The speeches delivered to high school teams were substantially similar to those delivered to intercollegiate teams. The actual speeches differed from natural speech on numerous variables and from the cinematic speeches on some descriptive variables. The findings suggest that actual American football pregame speeches are fundamentally similar to cinematic American football pregame speeches and constitute a distinct form of communication that is tailored to the unique demands of the situation.