Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees said farewell to Yankee Stadium on September 21st, 2008. Yankee Stadium was home to the most iconic franchise in sports history for 85 years. The New York Yankees are a universally re known franchise winning 27 World Series Championships (26 during their time at the Old Stadium), producing some of the most well-known athletes and icons of all time, all while playing in the world’s biggest city New York. The closing of Yankee Stadium was like losing a significant New York monument or tourist attraction. In honor of all the memories, Yankees captain Derek Jeter took the microphone to address the Yankees stadium crowd, and the entire world of sports delivering one of the most iconic sports speeches in recent memory. Derek Jeter proved to be the perfect man for this speech due to his poise, confidence, and passion in which he spoke with. In New York, you need to be darn near perfect to be remembered. Derek Jeter’s speech always will be.
Public Speaking is not a natural skill. It’s not easy to get in front of a classroom of 20 fellow students to give a speech. Now try giving a speech in front of 54,610 New Yorkers saying goodbye to one of the most iconic attractions in New York City. That’s what Yankees Shortstop Derek Jeter did on September 21st, 2008. For many New Yorker’s being a Yankee fan is like a religion. In 2008 the team played their final game at Yankee Stadium after 85 years in the same ballpark. The New York Yankees won 26 World Series titles during their time at the old ballpark making them the most successful franchise in American sports history. Thus the closing of the stadium was a big day in history. After the game team, Captain Derek Jeter took the microphone and addressed the crowd in what became one of the most iconic speeches in sports history. Jeter one of the most highly respected, and talented players in team history was the perfect man for this speech delivering a speech for the ages.
Derek Jeter had quite the audience to impress in his farewell address to the old Yankee Stadium. Not only did he have the full attention of a sold out crowd filled with 54,610 fans, but he also had the attention of a worldwide television audience and hundreds of journalists. With such a diverse crowd both in front of Jeter’s face, and tuning in on television to watch there had to be lots to consider. Jeter first had to consider what type of tone he’d use. Would it be a more emotional address? Perhaps uplifting advertising the team’s new ballpark, or something else. Part of what made this speech uniquely harder than comparable speeches in sports history is the toughness of the physical audience Jeter presented in front of. New Yorkers are dubbed as some of the hardest people in the world to impress. They expect perfection nothing below it. Thus Jeter had to step to the plate and deliver an outstanding speech. He also had to take into effect that not only would people tuning into the speech live on television or streaming the speech but rather, it would be posted online for countless future generations to see. With that, all said it was critical.
Throughout Derek Jeter’s stadium address Jeter was very effective when it came to confidence and diction. Throughout the speech, Jeter did not stumble once. He did not use any filler words like um, or uh. He also was able to make eye contact with the crowd. In a stadium with over 50,000 people, it would be impossible for Jeter to make eye contact with every single person in the crowd. However, he was able to keep his eyes moving around, so he hit different sections of the stadium which was very effective. By making great eye contact, and not using filler words it was clear that Jeter was confident in his public speaking skills and confident in his message to the crowd. Another factor of Jeter’s speech which was effective was the word choice of his speech. Jeter delivered powerful and passionate remarks to the crowd at Yankee Stadium. Talking about the tradition, pride, and passion the fan base and organization has. Perhaps the most iconic and compelling line of the speech was when Jeter said “Although things are going to change next year. We’re going to move across the street. There a few things about the New York Yankees that never change that’s pride, tradition, and most of all we have the greatest fans in the world”. What made this line so effective, was the fact that he turned the upset mood about moving into a new stadium leaving the memories of the old into a positive one. Talking about how the tradition of the Yankees never will change. He also spoke directly to the fans in the crowd calling them the greatest in the world. The iconic line made every Yankee fan both in the audience, and watching on television feel important and cared about thus making Jeter’s diction very effective.
As outstanding as Jeter’s speech was there truly is no such thing as a perfect speech. The one aspect of this speech that could have been improved was preparation. After giving this speech, Jeter was quoted by the media saying he completely winged the speech, and never practiced before hand. The one time during the speech it was evident Jeter lacked preparation was the very beginning. It took him a few try’s to get the audience’s attention. Before delivering the speech, he said “excuse me” a handful of time to try to quiet the crowd down so he could speak. This was a sign of a lack of preparation by both Jeter and perhaps the public relations folks with the Yankees because it seemed that no one knew for sure that Jeter was going to speak and when he was going to. When it comes to Public Speaking preparation is key. Preparation takes nerves away because of practicing, builds confidence that one will be able to deliver an effective speech, and overall makes for less room for mistakes. The lack of preparation in this speech wasn’t always clear but at times was to Jeter’s confession.
If I were to rate this speech on a one to ten scale, I’d give it a nine and a half. This speech goes down as one of the most iconic in baseball history. Derek Jeter was the perfect man to give a farewell address to the ballpark that had the most history in American sports. His message was uplifting, positive, and made everyone in the crowd that night and all fans of the Yankees world wide feel special and apart of the history. The only part of the speech that keeps it from a ten was the slight lack of preparation.