OK, let's talk about football. My dream was to play in the National Football League. And most of you don't know that I actually — no. [laughter] No, I did not make it to the National Football League, but I probably got more from that dream and not accomplishing it than I got from any of the ones that I did accomplish. . . . [The coach] showed up for practice the first day, and you know, there's big hulking guy, we were all scared to death of him. And he hadn't brought any footballs. How are we going to have practice without any footballs? And one of the other kids said, excuse me coach, but there's no football. And Coach Graham said, right, how many men are on a football field at a time? Eleven on a team, twenty-two. Coach Graham said, all right, and how many people are touching the football at any given time? One of them. And he said, right, so we're going to work on what those other twenty-one guys are doing. And that's a really good story because it's all about fundamentals.

Question

—“The Last Lecture,”
Randy Pausch

Why does Pausch talk about football?

He wants to tell the audience that he did not achieve all of his goals.
He wants to let the audience know that mastering the basics is key to achieving goals.
He wants to explain how to be a good football coach to people who are interested in football.
He wants the audience to try playing football so they can enjoy a similar experience.

Answer 1

Randy Pausch talks about football to illustrate the importance of mastering the basics and focusing on the fundamentals, rather than just the end goals. He uses the anecdote about Coach Graham to emphasize that while the football itself is important, it is the teamwork and skills of the other players that matter most. Therefore, the correct answer is:

He wants to let the audience know that mastering the basics is key to achieving goals.