Words: Harry Shukman
Matthew McConaughey is such a big deal in his hometown that they invite him to commentate on American college football games. He lives in Austin, home of the Texas Longhorns, a university team who play in a stadium with capacity for 100,000 spectators. Once in a while, they bring him in to coach the players. When McConaughey spoke to the team in 2014, he drawled encouragement and sporting platitudes. But now that he is mulling a run for Governor of Texas, it sounds like the beginnings of a stump speech.
“I was gonna ask you all, man, why do you play football?” he says in front of an army of enormous young men. “Ask yourself when you look in the mirror tonight, ‘why do I play this game? Why am I out here, bustin’ my ass in the middle of the heat, every day?’ It feels good going out on Saturdays when it’s the big show, right? Hell yeah, it does. It feels much better after a W than it does after an L. I’ve found that when I’ve done my best work as an actor, it was only when I pushed myself to be better than I even thought I could be.” And he’s off talking about motivation, playing for yourself as well as for your teammates. The players – and even the coaches – are hanging on his every word.
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