Thanks to "Fritz" on the ACC Boards for this transcript

This is the complete speech given by Jimmy V at Reynolds.

I’m at a loss for words. Nah, not really, not really. Either that or it’s too good to be true. I have been fortunate in my lifetime to make a lot of good decisions, some bad ones, but probably the best thing that I’ve ever done in my life was the day that I said I’ve got to do something to make sure the University of Georgia doesn’t get our football coach Dick Sheridan….(applause). Because we got, as you know as well as I do, the best football coach in America..(applause). The thing I’m most happy with is that Dick told me I don’t have to still send him the checks monthly now that everything’s been taken care of. I can’t put into words…people say to me what do I miss the most about coaching….I’m going to tell you what I miss most about not being at NC State that is…I was always able to do this next thing and get a response. And I can’t do it anymore and I know I can do it now. In ’83 after we won the championship we came back, you remember those of you who were here in this building….I know…we had …yeah…we had about 45 million people that day in this building, and I’ve met them all. But I was able to at any time, anytime during my 10 years I could do this…I could go…(sings the melody of the NC State fight song)….(crowd shouts "GO STATE!"). (Laughing)..that’s power....that’s power. I miss that....I miss that. Now when I’m in airports and when I go (starts the song again) they take me away and put me in a room. I miss that. I’ve come a long way from in 1980 when Charlie Bryant give me my first red jacket, and I apologize for the blue, but ABC, I’ve been trying to get them to change their colors to red now for 3 years. But I haven’t been able to get that done yet….(applause). I’ve come a long ways from ’83 to…the Yankee coming here from New York and Mr. Bryant gave me my first red jacket telling me to go give a speech in Greenville and I …and he gave me my first red wolf tie with the 3 wolves and he gave me my red check pants and he said 300 people are waiting for you and you better be good because the first speech you give is going to be the one they remember. They’ll say this guy is good or they’re going to say we’ve hired the wrong fella and I flew to Greenville, SC for that speech….(applause). Gave one heck of a talk raised $32,000 in the airport in Greenville, SC. 300 members of the Wolfpack Club wondered what the heck we’ve got here....this Italian, but anyway. I had….nobody had more fun than I did in the 10 years that I was fortunate enough to be able to stand in that corner right before every game and thank God for the opportunity to coach at North Carolina State University…(applause). Let me tell you what the ’83 team means to me, they’re special not because they put that banner up there. They’re special because they taught me and the world so many important lessons. Number 1: Hope. What does hope mean, hope that things can get better in spite of adversity. The ’83 team taught us that. When Dereck Whittenburg went down and everybody said we couldn’t and there was no way we could win and a kid named Ernie Myers stepped in and we lost a few, then we won a few, and then Dereck came back and every sports writer in America said that…I remember my favorite quote....that trees would tap dance, elephants would drive in the Indianapolis 500, and Orson Welles would skip breakfast, lunch and dinner before NC State figured out a way to win the NCAA tournament, well …(applause)…this team taught me that elephants are going to be driving in the Indianapolis 500 someday….(applause). The ’83 team taught me about dreaming and the importance of dreams, because nothing can happen if not first a dream. If you have someone with a dream, you have a motivated person with a dream and a goal and a vision, if you have someone who never gives up, who has great hope, and that team taught me the persistence, the idea of never, ever quitting. Don’t ever give up, don’t ever stop fighting! And the ’83 team gave you hope, gave you pride, told you what hard work was about. It gave you the meaning of believing in a cause, and lastly what they taught me, which is so important…is to love each other. We don’t talk enough about that in sports, but I can’t tell you …If you ask me what was said along the line, as we went down the road, and the word love was used. Most of the time. As in coach, I love you. And me, Thurl, I love ya. And Terry, I love ya. And Whitt, I love ya. They taught me what love means. When you have a goal, when you have a dream, and when you have a belief, and you throw in that concept of never stop believing and loving in each other, and you can accomplish miracles. And that’s what the ’83 team taught. …(applause). Today I fight a different battle. You see I have trouble walking, and I do. And I have trouble standing for long periods of time, and I do. Cancer has taken away a lot of my physical abilities. I can’t run over and yell at John Monroe, the referee, like I want to right now….(applause). I can’t do the back flip I like to do with our world class cheerleaders, I can’t do those things…(applause). What cancer can not touch, is my mind, my heart, and my soul. It can’t touch those 3 things….(applause). And when people talk about the value of sports and of athletics, remember those things. Because the things that I’ve learned from my basketball team, not just in ’83, but every year. The things they taught me were those things I just spoke of, and the things that try to keep me going right now. I have hope that maybe things can get better for me. I have faith in God and in my fellow man that things might get better for me. And I have tremendous love for all of the people who care about me and my family. The thing I miss the most is that I miss the Dick Sheridans and the Charlie Bryants and I miss working with Brent when I can’t and I miss all of you people who write and care and say in such a special way…Jimmy V....don’t give up. (Crowd chants "Don’t give up".). And one final comment, and that is about the man right there…Mr. Les Robinson. It’s always easy to stick by people, to love them and to care about them when times are good and people did that with me. When times get bad, the true friends and the true supporters stick by you. I want you all to know, from one coach to another, that Les Robinson is going to hang his own banner up here in couple of years. And Coach Sheridan is going to hang his ACC and national championship banner. How do I know that? It’s because, I know what hope and what faith and what belief and what hard work and good people can do. That what I learned from coaching for 23 years and it’s going to happen all here again. And I promise you, I will never give up my fight. And I’m going to be here to see those things happen to my friends. And if by chance, the Lord wants me, he’s going to get the best damn broadcaster and ex-basketball coach that they’ve ever had up there, I’ll tell you that…(applause). One time…(sings the melody of the State fight song). (Crowds shouts, "GO STATE"). Thank you and God bless you, everybody.

Thanks again "Fritz" for the memory