Last week, Emma and I were part of Gelf’s Varsity Letters Speaking Series. There were 15 speakers in all, and we were asked to give three minutes on a defining sports-related moment.

I spent a while thinking about what I would say, then worked on what I thought was a succinct essay. When I was satisfied with my draft, I read it aloud, and it was over seven minutes! So I cut it in half and then paired it down some more. Seven-hundred-and-twenty words and it still ran long, so I went back to work. It was a fun excercise, a good challenge, and I enjoyed preparing the speech. Had and an even better time listening to the other speakers.

Here’s my speech:

Emma followed me (and she’s bust-a-gut funny as is her wont):

Click here for the rest of the speakers, including Jeff Pearlman, Jason Fry and Will Leitch.