The V Foundation for Cancer Research was founded by ESPN and legendary basketball coach Jim Valvano with one goal in mind: to achieve victory over cancer. Since its start in 1993, the V Foundation has awarded over $170 million in cancer research grants nationwide and has grown to become one of the premier supporters of cutting-edge cancer research funds.
Less than two months before he lost his battle to cancer, Jim Valvano delivered one of the most impactful and timeless speeches about living life to the fullest. My words can’t do it justice, so be prepared for some laughter, tears, and thought.
Jim’s 1993 ESPY Speech
Transcripts of the Video:
0:52
thank you
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thank you very much thank you
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that that’s the lowest I’ve ever seen
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dick Vitale’s since the the owner of the
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Detroit Pistons called him in and told
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him he should go into broadcasting thank
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you
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I can’t tell you what an honor it is to
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even be mention the same breath with an
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author Ashe this is something I
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certainly will treasure forever but as
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was said on the tape I and also I don’t
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have one of those things going to cue
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cards so I’m going to speak longer than
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anybody else has spoken tonight but
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that’s the way it goes
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time time is very precious to me I don’t
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know how much I have left and I have
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some things that I would like to say
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hopefully at the end I’ll have something
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that will be important to to other
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people too but I can’t help it now and
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I’m fighting cancer everybody knows that
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people ask me all the time about how you
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you go through your life and how’s your
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day and nothing has changed for me as
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Dixon I’m a very emotional passionate
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man I can’t help but that’s being the
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son of Rocco and Angelina Valvano at you
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comes with the territory right we hug we
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kiss we love and when people say to me
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how do you get through life or each
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day’s the same thing to me there are
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three things we all should do every day
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we do this every day of our life you’re
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going to what a wonderful number one is
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laugh you should laugh every day number
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two is think you should spend some time
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in thought and number three is you
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should have your emotions moved to tears
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could be happiness or joy but think
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about it if you laugh you think and you
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cry that’s a full day that’s a heck of a
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day you do that seven days a week you’re
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going to have something special
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and so I can help I wrote on the plane
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up today what makes you chef Sookie my
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my good friend and a wonderful coach
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what people don’t realize he’s a ten
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times better person than he is a coach
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and we know he’s a great coach he’s
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meant a lot to me these last five or six
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months of my bail but when I look at
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Mike I think we competed against each
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others as players I coached against in
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15 years and I always have to think
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about what’s important in life is to
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think to me at three things where you
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started where you are where you going to
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be those are the three things that I try
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and do every day you know when I think
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about getting up and giving a speech I
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can’t help it I have to remember the
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first speech I have a game I was
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coaching at Rutgers University I was my
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first job oh like oh that’s wonderful
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and I was the freshman coach that’s when
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freshmen played on Freshman team and I
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was so fired up about my first job as he
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lou holtz coach old see what was it like
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the first job you had right the very
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first time you stood in the locker room
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to give a pep talk that’s a special
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place the locker room for a coach to
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give a talk
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so my idol as a coach was Vince Lombardi
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and I read this book called commitment
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to excellence by Vince Lombardi and in
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the book Lombardi talked about the first
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time he spoke before his Green Bay
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Packer team in a locker no Prao losers
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and I’m reading this and Lombardi said
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he was thinking should it be a long talk
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a short talk but he wanted to be
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emotionally so be brief and this is what
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he did he normally get in a locked room
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I don’t know 25 minutes a half-hour
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before the team takes the field you do
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your lecture notes and then you give the
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great Knute Rockne talk we all do speech
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number 84 you pull him right out you get
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you get ready get your squad right was
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the first one I ever gate and I read
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this thing Lombardi what he said was he
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didn’t go in he waited his team was
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wondering where is he where is this
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great coach he’s not there ten minutes
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he’s still not there
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three minutes before this to take the
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field Lombardi comes in bangs the door
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open and I think you all remember what
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great presence he had made great
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presence he walked in and he just walked
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back and forth like this just walk
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staring at the players and he said all
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eyes on me I’m reading this in his book
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I’m getting a picture this Lombardi
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before his first game and he said
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gentlemen we will be successful this
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year you can focus on three things in
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three things only
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your family your religion and the Green
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Bay Packers anybody and the recipe they
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knocked the walls down the rest was
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history
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I said that’s beautiful I’m gonna do it
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your family your religion and Rutgers
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basketball that’s it I have had it
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I’m listen I’m 21 years old the kids I’m
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coaching on 19 all right
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and uh and I’m going to be the greatest
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coach in the world the next Lombardi and
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I’m Rick and I’m practicing outside La
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Coruna written two managers tell me you
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got to go in not yet not yet
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family religion Rutgers basket all eyes
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on me I got I got and now finally he
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said three minutes I said fine true
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story
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I go to knock the doors open just like
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the buddy boom I didn’t open I almost
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broke my arm I was like you always
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wanted to didn’t open now I’m down the
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players are looking coach getting a help
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the coach up help him up you know and
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now I did like Lombardi I walked back
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and forth and I was going like that my
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arm get the feeling back in it and
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finally I said gentlemen all eyes I mean
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these kids wanted to play the 19 let’s
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go
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I said gentlemen we’ll be successful
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this year if you could focus on three
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things in three things only they say
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that your family your religion and the
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Green Bay Packers I thought I did that I
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remember that
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I remember I remember where I came from
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it’s so important to know where you are
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and I know where I am right now how do
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you go from way are the way you want to
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be and I think you have to have an
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enthusiasm for life you have to have a
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dream a goal you have to be willing to
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work for it I talked about my family my
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family is so important people think I
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have courage the courage of my family is
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my wife Pam my three daughters here in
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Nicole
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Jamie Leanne my mom who is right here
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too and and the screen is flashing up
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there thirty Seconds like I care about
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that screen right now huh I got I got I
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got tumors all over my body I’m worried
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about some guy in the back go in 30
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seconds huh you got a fine avila buddy
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I get I just got one last thing I urge
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all of you all of you to enjoy your life
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the precious moments you have to spend
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each day with some laughter and some
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thought to get your emotions going to be
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enthusiastic every day I’m Ralph Waldo
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Emerson said nothing great can be
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accomplished without enthusiasm to keep
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your dreams alive in spite of problems
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whatever you have the ability be able to
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work hard for your dreams to be cut to
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come true become a reality now I I look
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at where I am now I know what I want to
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do what I would like to be able to do is
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to spend whatever time I have left and
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to give in maybe some hope to others all
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right off ashfoundation is a wonderful
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thing and and age the the amount of
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money pouring in for age is not enough
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but it is significant but if I told you
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it’s ten times the amount that comes in
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for cancer research I also tell you that
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500,000 people will die this year of
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cancer and I’d also tell you that one in
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every four will be afflicted with this
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disease and yet two somehow we seem to
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have put it in a little bit of the
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background I want to bring it back on
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the front table we need your help I need
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your help
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we need money for research it may not
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save my life it may save my children’s
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lives it may save someone you love and
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it’s very important and ESPN has been so
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kind to support me in this endeavor and
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allow me to announce tonight that with
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ESPN’s support which means what they did
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their money and their dollars that
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they’re helping me we are starting the
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Jim Jimmy V foundation for cancer
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research
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and it and its motto is don’t give up
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don’t ever give up and that’s what I’m
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going to try to do every minute that I
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have left I will thank God for the day
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and the moment I have and if you see me
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smile and maybe give me a hug because
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that’s important to me too but try if
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you can to support whether it’s AIDS or
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the Cancer Foundation so that that
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someone else might survive my prosper it
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might actually be cured of this dreaded
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disease I can’t thank ye s PN enough for
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allowing this to happen and I’m going to
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work as hard as I can you know for
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cancer research and hopefully we’ll be
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maybe we’ll have some cures and some
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breakthroughs and I’d like to think I’m
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going to fight my brains out to be back
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here again next year for the author s
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recipient I want to give it next year
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I know I’ve gotta go I’ve got to go and
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I’ve got one last thing I’ve said it
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before and I’m going to say it again
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cancer can take away all my physical
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abilities it cannot touch my mind
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it cannot touch my heart and it cannot
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touch my soul and those three things are
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going to carry on forever I thank you
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and god bless you all
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you
