The NFL Draft gets us pumped...to watch inspiring movie and television football speeches

With just a few hours left until the 2011 NFL Draft gets underway, it’s time to start getting pumped up. After all, these are the future gridiron heroes who will occupy our fantasy leagues and render our Sunday afternoons completely ineffective.

So what better way to get in the zone (that is, without actually having to play football) than by watching inspiring speeches from football movies and television shows?! Because as much as football is a brutal sport, it’s also one with a lot of heart. At least, that’s the story that we’re sticking to for crying at all these clips.

Is there anyone you’d want more as your coach (or dad…or husband…or voice of reason…) than Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) on Friday Night Lights? Everything out of his mouth pretty much sounded like an inspirational football speech, so it was tough to narrow down the best, but this one from the pilot ought to provide those classic FNL goosebumps:

Oh, Rudy, even after repeated viewings on TNT, you still slay us every time. Much like FNL, there’s a bevy of inspirational moments to choose from (the pep talk from the janitor, Rudy’s first practice), but this quiet but effective speech from the Notre Dame coach (“No one comes in to our house and pushes us around”) certainly worked for the team, and most importantly, Rudy. Who’s the wild man now?!

When you’ve got a game on the line and racial strife going on a la Remember the Titans, you’d better really emphasize certain points during your motivational speech. “YOU BLITZ ALL NIGHT!”

During his emotional pre-game speech in We Are Marshall, Matthew McConaughey tells his players that they cannot lose if they lay it on the line until the final whistle blows. But it also doesn’t hurt to have swelling trumpets playing in the background and McConaughey in a leisure suit. That’s a winning combination if there ever was one.

If Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday can’t get you fired up to go win a football game, then honestly no one can. He could have thrown in at least one “Hoo-ah” for good measure though.

Which inspirational football speech from TV and movies is your favorite, PopWatchers? Do these clips make you want to go outside and throw around a pigskin, too?