The smartest things ever said about sports
Despite what Vince Lombardi said, if winning’s the only thing in sports, you’re going to be miserable a lot of the time
By Ken Reed
Originally published by Troy Media
From time to time while flipping through a magazine or surfing the Internet, you’ll run across a list of Best Sports Quotes. These lists can be somewhat entertaining, as the quotes run the gamut from inspiring to funny.
While glancing at one of these lists recently, I saw the Vince Lombardi quote that always seems to show up on these things: “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”
I’ve always thought this belongs on a Dumbest Sports Quotes list.
First, if winning’s the only thing in sports, you’re going to be miserable a lot of the time.
Second, there are so many positives that can come from sports besides winning: camaraderie and lifelong friendships, learning how to deal with adversity, the importance of teamwork, leadership, persistence, physical fitness and perhaps the reason we all initially gravitated toward athletics – fun.
After reflecting a little on this Best Sports Quotes list, I thought I’d throw together a sports quotes list of my own. Let’s not-so-humbly call it The Smartest Things Ever Said About Sports. Might as well make it a top-10 list. Here we go:
10) “Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back … play for her.” – Mia Hamm
In order to be happy and fulfilled playing sports, you must remember the reason you started to play in the first place: it’s fun.
9) “The more I practice, the luckier I get.” – Gary Player
The more prepared you are physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, the more likely things will go your way – in sports and in life.
8) “Sport should be more fun, more inclusive, more humanized, and more ethical. My hope is that you will join me not only to understand these complex social arrangements called sport but also to work for their improvement.” – D. Stanley Eitzen, PhD
We can all work to enhance the positives and minimize the negatives in the world of sports.
7) “Sports do not build character. They reveal it.” – Heywood Hale Broun
Broun, one of the greatest sports journalists of all time, nailed it here. When the competition heats up, we get to see what people are really made of. Will you cheat? Will you exhibit unsportsmanlike behaviour? Will you lose your composure? Or will you give your best effort and do it with class and sportsmanship?
6) “Sport is a preserver of health.” – Hippocrates
The father of medicine was right. Recent research has revealed that sports – especially those that require cardiovascular fitness – will make you physically and emotionally healthier, and smarter (exercise grows brain cells and makes you more ready to learn).
5) “God gives each person X amount of talents. The question really isn’t how many talents you’ve been given. That’s the sovereignty of God. The real question is what you do with the ones you have. Some of us get paralyzed when we feel we don’t have ‘as much as’ or [aren’t] ‘as good as’ someone else. But the person we really want to honour is the one who maximizes whatever it is he [or she] has.” – Joe Ehrmann
Amen.
4) “Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them – a desire, a dream, a vision.” – Muhammad Ali
Well-meaning parents and coaches can only do so much to motivate an athlete. Ultimately, it’s internal motivation that will lead an athlete to put in the extra time to be the best they can be.
3) “Sports are like life with the volume turned up.” – Mike Reid
In sports, the emotions are cranked up. The ups and down are more intense and happen faster. The highs are more joyful; the lows strike deeper. Lessons seem more lasting and friendships stronger.
2) “Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.” – John Wooden
This is the antithesis of the Lombardi quote about winning being the “only thing.” True success must be solely within an individual’s control. Giving your best effort is. Winning isn’t.
1) “You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball; and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time.” – Jim Bouton
I think this might be the most insightful thing I’ve ever read about sports. Sports can definitely hook you for life. And, if kept in the proper perspective, they’re a blessing.
— Ken Reed is sports policy director for League of Fans, a sports reform project. He is the author of The Sports Reformers, Ego vs. Soul in Sports, and How We Can Save Sports.
Sports Forum Podcast
Episode #6 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: The Need for Quality Physical Education in Our Schools is Greater Than Ever – The guest is Clayton Ellis, a SHAPE America board member, former national physical education teacher of the year, and one of our nation’s leading advocates for getting our young people to be more physically active.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Anchor.
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More Episodes on Apple Podcasts; Spotify; Google Podcasts; PocketCasts; & Anchor
Episode #5 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Youth Sports with Positive Coaching Alliance Founder Jim Thompson – Thompson started Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) in 1998 to help create a movement to transform the culture of youth sports from “win-at-all-costs” to a positive, character-building experience.
Episode #4 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: The Biggest Issue in Sports Today? Brain Trauma – The guest is Patrick Hruby, a journalist who has done extensive research and in-depth writing on the topic of brain trauma in sports, most notably football.
Episode #3 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Coaching Styles with Sports Sociologist Jay Coakley – The guest is veteran sports sociologist Jay Coakley, a former college athlete who went on to earn a Ph.D. in Sociology from Notre Dame.
Episode #2 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: College & High School Athletics: Where Do We Go From Here? The guest is John Gerdy, a former college athlete and NCAA and SEC administrator who became a sports reformer later in his career.
Episode #1: The inaugural episode of League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast. The topic is Title IX and equal opportunity in sports. The guest is long-time Title IX and civil rights activist Donna Lopiano.
Media
"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
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