Admiral Bill McRaven is apparently a huge fan of “Hoosiers.”
During an interview with Turning Point USA, former SEAL Team 6 operator Rob O’Neill revealed that McRaven told the SEALs before departing that he’d just watched “Hoosiers,” and he quoted the famous part about measuring the rim to hype the team up.
You can listen to O’Neill break down the situation below.
For those of you unfamiliar with the iconic scene from the hit movie with Gene Hackman, you can watch it below. It’s pretty awesome.
I don’t know why, but I love the idea that right before a team of highly-trained operators flew into Pakistan to kill Bin Laden, they were hyped up using “Hoosiers.”
Are the reports about Osama Bin Laden’s head being blown completely apart true?
I asked the man who pulled the trigger and his answer didn’t disappoint. ENJOY: pic.twitter.com/K7uiL2HcKR
— David Hookstead (@dhookstead) October 23, 2021
First off, it’s a great movie. If you’ve never seen “Hoosiers,” you’re missing out. It’s arguably the greatest basketball movie ever made.
However, I’m pretty sure ST6 operators didn’t need any extra motivation in order to take out Bin Laden. America had been hunting him for years, and when it came time to punch his ticket to hell, O’Neill and the rest of ST6 didn’t hesitate to get the job done.
What was @mchooyah thinking right before he killed Osama Bin Laden?
I asked and his answer was incredible. God bless our incredible military. pic.twitter.com/FkKDzo7FLW
— David Hookstead (@dhookstead) October 23, 2021
Still, it’s stories like this one that definitely fire me up and remind people that it’s not constantly super serious round the clock. There are some moments where things are unusually laid back, despite the stakes.