 Guys, holy shit, guys, guys, guys, guys, fucking hell. Emergency, emergency, emergency, oh my god, I want to cry almost. Guys, a tragedy, a complete tragedy has fucking happened. I mean it might be a first world problem, but it's still a tragedy. This guy, Bob Murphy, sent me a mystery package, a small envelope, nothing much to it. Look, I opened it about three months ago, there was nothing in it. It was just an unopened movie, We Are Marshall. It said J. McDonnell, PO Box 8763 Alice Springs, from Murphy. It didn't even say a first name. I couldn't track him down, I didn't know who sent it. So I thought one day I'm going to talk about it on camera, but I hadn't done it yet. Lo and behold, I put it up there with my other DVDs, my other PlayStation games. This fellow Bob has been watching my movies, watching my videos like a hawk. Guys, I'm doing this on the fly because I have just found, guys, I feel so terrible. It's a white envelope, there was a massive letter, handwritten letter, okay, that this fellow has told me he spent three weeks on, but I had no idea it was in there. Tucked in here, I thought, I didn't see the white paper against the white envelope, and I had no idea that there was a letter in here. No idea, I just thought it was a movie. Guys, he's just hit me up via email saying that he'd spotted his DVD on my cabinet and said, and felt hurt because I didn't even make any type of video, I didn't say anything, I didn't thank him or anything because I had not got this letter yet. That's the only reason, mate. Bob, my man, I haven't read this yet and I have to go, I'm at work, I'm on my break. I've just come here quickly to check. I've literally just opened this envelope, I've looked in here probably three or four different times, I've not seen this. Fucking hell. My apologies, mate, my apologies. Holy shit, had some problems with pens. Hope it's readable, he says. Look at it. Is this not the most beautifully written handwriting you've ever seen your entire life? Five pages worth. Mate, what can I say? We're here now, let's roll the intro and I'll see you in a minute. Mate, you know what? Guys, I'm not going back to work, fuck that. I'm going to read this letter. Five pages, Bob. I emailed him back. He mentioned something about the letter, I emailed him back and said, Bob, finally, I found who in Murphy triggered in my mind. I remember seeing Murphy, but I don't remember seeing Bob or B. Anyway, guys, I emailed him back saying, you're being sarcastic about the letter, right? There was no letter. And he's come back and said he's been autistic for his entire life. He's 65 years on this earth and he has troubles with pens and no, he wasn't being sarcastic about the letter. He was just genuinely hurt that I hadn't said anything for six months. But here we go. Okay, hold on a sec. Okay, so I'm assuming there's going to be some sort of reaction and I have not done a reaction for a subscriber in a very long time, so this is going to be special. Anyways, guys. Okay, are we ready? Hello, Jacob. I want to start by saying how much I enjoy your videos. Now, bear with me, I have been sick the last three days. So my voice is a little bit croaky. Okay, I've just been to the gym as well. My heart rate's going through the roof. Hello, Jacob. I want to start by saying how much I enjoy your videos. Thank you. Bob. Having the chance to watch someone bring a fresh pair of eyes and a fresh eagerness to a game that you have known and loved all your life and almost hate for granted is a special thing. Seeing you out there alone on that rugby pitch reminds me way too much of myself as a boy in the backyard, figuring out how to pump the ball straight up so I'd be able to catch it. So I'm with you in spirit all the way. Thank you, man. That's funny. You know, sometimes I do feel pretty alone out there on the rugby pitch, running around, passing it to myself, kicking it to myself. So for you to think that is pretty cool. You know, I'm not the only one. You've been learning about the teams and the great players of yesterday and today. You've been learning about the fans and the rituals that bring the game to life. You've been learning the rules of the game and working to acquire the skills to play it. But what you haven't really got an into yet, except for the video about the rivalry, is the lore. The historical backstories surrounding football that make it more than just a game. Stories that you won't find in highlight reels or lists of the greatest. Most are small stories that you might only hear if you are having a few beers with old-timers. But some of the biggest stories have been considered worthy of retelling in Hollywood movies. And of course Hollywood likes to embellish stories to make them more dramatic and compelling. But what may be the biggest of those stories didn't need embellishment because the reality could not have been any more dramatic or compelling. Most of the college teams seeing playing on TV and that produce NFL talent are from big universities. Often in big cities. But the heart and soul of college football is really in smaller schools, in smaller cities and towns. Where the players know that they really don't have a chance at the pros and play for the love of the game. Where the college team is considered the hometown team. And most everyone in that town turns out to the stadium on Saturday afternoon to watch the game and cheer on their beloved team when we lose. That sounds absolutely amazing. Whoops. Better watch myself. Marshall University. We are Marshall. Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia is one of those schools. And their thundering herd is one of those teams. Their slogan is, at some places they play football. At Marshall it's who we are. At some places they play football. They play football. At Marshall it's who we are. But for a lot of their history it was like Marshall didn't play football. They were perennially one of the worst teams in the country. They decided to change that back in the late 60s and hired a head coach with a proven record of producing winners. But it was soon discovered that his methods weren't entirely ethical. That sounds extremely interesting. If it's about that, I definitely want to win it. I definitely want to watch it, sorry. There were recruiting violations and some players were secretly being paid hundreds of dollars even though they fired the coach. Marshall was kicked out of the mid-America conference and had to play as an independent. Late in the 70s season, Marshall was having a good year for them. With a three and five record and a chance for a break-even season. On November 14th, they had an away game against the Pirates of East Carolina. I've got a Pirate's Jumper, Jersey. Not Jumper, Jersey. Don't know. A purple one. East Carolina Pirates. On November 14th, at three and five for the season, they had an away game against the Pirates of East Carolina University and suffered a narrow disappointing 17-14 loss. On the way home that evening, when their chartered airliner went on the approach to the Huntington Airport, flying through the dark and rain and fog, it crashed into a hillside just two kilometers short of the runway. All 75 people on board, 37 players, five coaches, seven staff members, 21 prominent team supporters, we call them boosters here, and five flight crew lost their lives. I was not expecting that. 70 children lost at least one parent. 18 were orphaned, nine and one family alone. It remains the deadliest tragedy in American sports history. The plane's destruction was so complete that the accident's cause could not be conclusively determined. And in the wake of the investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board issued three new recommendations for the airline's safety equipment and procedures. So that didn't even get any closure. Needless to say, Marshall University and the city of Huntington were shattered and the scars of that dark night remain to this day. I honestly thought that they were going to come... I... Mate, you're a great storyteller. I'll give you that. You didn't give it away in the first bloody sentence. Look, I'm not making a joke of it, but you're a great storyteller. And I think this is going to be absolutely amazing. The movie We Are Marshall aftermath of the tragedy. It's effect on the people of the school and the city and their determination to continue the football program even against the wishes of the University Administration and of the only coach willing to take on the task of rebuilding the team from scratch. I couldn't even read that fast enough, man. I'm so excited to watch this. Of course, if this was a typical Hollywood movie, it would play fast and loose with the facts, but it's not. It wasn't even shot in Hollywood. It was shot on Marshall campus and in Huntington with real students and townspeople, some who lived through the events as extras, and they made sure that the real story was told. Yes, Marshall's new team did win their first home game in true Hollywood fashion. Oh, mate, that would... Oh, fuck, how good would that be? Mate, once again, what a storyteller. Yes, Marshall's new team did win their first home game in true Hollywood fashion with the last second touchdown pass, but that was only one of two wins in 1971. The Herd remained the worst team in the country throughout the decade of the 70s. They lost more games than any other team, but they kept working, kept fighting. In 84, they had their first winning season in 20 years and have had nothing but winning seasons ever since. And during the 90s, they won more games than any other team, making it to the Div 1 AA, now Div 1 FCS, national championship game, six times, winning the title twice. And we go on. Marshall University and Huntington and Huntington still honour the 75. And they say that when the Thundering Herd gets ready for a game, there are actually two teams that suit up. Today's team and the 1970 team. 35 players. All... the entire team. 37 players, five coaches, seven staff members, 21 prominent team supporters and five flight crew. Marshall University and Huntington still honour the 75. And they say that when the Thundering Herd gets ready for a game, there are actually two teams that suit up. Today's team and the 1970 team. And today they still play for those whose season ended one game early as all those years ago. All those years ago. There are hundreds of college football teams and each team's fans have their own shares of those fans. But I think that somewhere down deep in all of us, there are times when we also share we are Marshall. So enjoy the movie. It's a good one. I'm not even going to go into... Oh, wow. I'm not even going to go into what it took to get hold of an Australian region DVD to send you. I assume you went through some hoops at the very least. Though I grew up in mid-America conference territory and I honour the memory of that Marshall team, I'm not a son of Marshall. I'm a buckeye. Well, with that being said, now we're talking. And since you've started to watch marching band videos, you really need to see the Ohio State University marching band. The best damn band in the land. The best damn band in the land. Not only are they the largest all brass and percussion marching band in the world. For more than a century, they have been the innovators of almost every major advancement in the state of the art marching bands. In the state of the art of marching bands. If it weren't for TBDBITL, pronounced TBIDL, high school and college marching bands would not be what they are today. The best damn band in the land. Please watch and react to the video OSU, Ohio State University vs Minnesota, back to the future pre-game and halftime. It includes the traditional pre-game show and one of the animated halftime shows for which they have become world famous. It's a few minutes longer than normal because of a salute to the band's graduating members and a 50th birthday honour to the school's mascot, Brutus Buckeye. But it's one of the better shows I've watched. Thanks mate. Bob Murphy. Guys. What am I going to title this video? Bob. Bob, this was absolutely amazing to read. I hope my viewers enjoyed it as much as I did. I'm going to watch this video, this DVD. I'm not sure if I'm going to make a reaction out of it, but what I will do is watch for you absolutely OSU vs Minnesota back to the future pre-game and halftime. And that's just one college team. The stories, the history of the game. I mean this was look guys, I'm going to try and actually not put my foot in it or dig myself a hole here because I don't think anything I'm going to say is really going to you know, give any of that justice, I'm just going to take it on board and I'm really going to enjoy this because to see a team and a town come through something like that and then have nothing but winning seasons from 1990 onwards or 1984 onwards is going to be fucking amazing and Matthew McConaughey actually just got out of the gym my heart rate's come back down to normal right now so you know we got through the letter I there was no way I was going to see this, see the five pages and not read it right here right now so we've done it Bob I feel so bad, I messaged him back saying be sarcastic about the letter because I didn't think there was anything in there mate, much love wherever you are in the world, no you're in Ohio of course you're a buckeye and so am I my hat to you have a fantastic day Bob thanks very much for the DVD thanks for going through the troubles to get it for me and I will treasure it and the letter will be staying right next to it and once again thank you thank you, much love peace