Sports Quotes
Sports is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. For sports fans, sports are about those incredible moments where sheer human will and desire overcomes the odds.
Below, you will find our collection of sports quotes. We hope these quotes will inspire you to embrace the spirit of sportsmanship.
80 Best Sports Quotes & Sayings
“The five S’s of sports training are: stamina, speed, strength, skill, and spirit; but the greatest of these is spirit.” – Ken Doherty
“Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.” – Dan Gable
“When you’re riding, only the race in which you’re riding is important.” – Bill Shoemaker
“I always felt that my greatest asset was not my physical ability, it was my mental ability.” – Bruce Jenner
“Number one is just to gain a passion for running. To love the morning, to love the trail, to love the pace on the track. And if some kid gets really good at it, that’s cool too.” – Pat Tyson
“Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer.” – Ted Williams
“It’s not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.” – Paul “Bear” Bryant
“I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it.” – Sandy Koufax
“Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.” – Mike Singletary
“Champions keep playing until they get it right.” – Billie Jean King
“How you respond to the challenge in the second half will determine what you become after the game, whether you are a winner or a loser.” – Lou Holtz
“You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself, your own highest standards, and when you reach your limits, that is real joy.” – Arthur Ashe
“Most talented players don’t always succeed. Some don’t even make the team. It’s more what’s inside.” – Brett Favre
“During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at bats a season. That means I played seven years without ever hitting the ball.” – Mickey Mantle
“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.” – Michael Jordan
“You find that you have peace of mind and can enjoy yourself, get more sleep, and rest when you know that it was a one hundred percent effort that you gave–win or lose.” – Gordie Howe
“Your biggest opponent isn’t the other guy. It’s human nature.” – Bobby Knight
“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” – Michael Jordan
“If you have everything under control, you’re not moving fast enough.” – Mario Andretti
“If you aren’t going all the way, why go at all?” – Joe Namath
“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.” – Lance Armstrong
“Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way.” – Satchel Paige
“Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.” – Babe Ruth
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’” – Muhammad Ali
“A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.” – Jack Dempsey
“You’re never a loser until you quit trying.” – Mike Ditka
“Only he who can see the invisible can do the impossible.” – Frank L. Gaines
“A trophy carries dust. Memories last forever.” – Mary Lou Retton
“There may be people that have more talent than you, but theres no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.” – Derek Jeter
“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
“Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.” – Marv Levy
“If you can’t outplay them, outwork them.” – Ben Hogan
“Continuous effort — not strength or intelligence — is the key to unlocking our potential.” – Liane Cardes
“You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours.” – Herb Brooks
“Sports serve society by providing vivid examples of excellence.” – George F. Will
“What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you feel there is to lose.” – Andre Agassi
“One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team. ” – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
“I never left the field saying I could have done more to get ready and that gives me peace of mind.” – Peyton Manning
“To uncover your true potential you must first find your own limits and then you have to have the courage to blow past them.” – Picabo Street
“My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging.” – Hank Aaron
“If you don’t have confidence, you’ll always find a way not to win.”– Carl Lewis
“Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better.” – Pat Riley
“Just keep going. Everybody gets better if they keep at it.” – Ted Williams
“You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.” – Michael Phelps
“Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength.” – Phil Jackson
“Some people say I have attitude – maybe I do…but I think you have to. You have to believe in yourself when no one else does – that makes you a winner right there. ” – Venus Williams
“It is not the size of a man but the size of his heart that matters.” – Evander Holyfield
“There are only two options regarding commitment. You’re either IN or you’re OUT. There is no such thing as life in-between.” – Pat Riley
“You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky
“The only way to prove that you’re a good sport is to lose.” – Ernie Banks
“Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown.” – Ross Perot
“One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than 50 preaching it.” – Knute Rockne
“When you’ve got something to prove, there’s nothing greater than a challenge.” – Terry Bradshaw
“I’ve learned that something constructive comes from every defeat.” – Tom Landry
“People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” – Rogers Hornsby
“Good is not good when better is expected.” – Vin Scully
“What you lack in talent can be made up with desire, hustle, and giving 110 percent all the time.” – Don Zimmer
“The principle is competing against yourself. It’s about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before.” – Steve Young
“The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning.” – Pele
“Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.” – George Halas
“Leadership, like coaching, is fighting for the hearts and souls of men and getting them to believe in you.” – Eddie Robinson
“You can motivate by fear, and you can motivate by reward. But both those methods are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self motivation.” – Homer Rice
“I didn’t believe in team motivation. I believe in getting a team prepared so it knows it will have the necessary confidence when it steps on the field and be prepared to play a good game.” – Tom Landry
“Without self-discipline, success is impossible, period.” – Lou Holtz
“Win If You Can, Lose If You Must, But NEVER QUIT!” – Cameron Trammell
“Push yourself again and again. Don’t give an inch until the final buzzer sounds.” – Larry Bird
“Do not let what you can not do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden
“The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.” – Joe Paterno
“Adversity cause some men to break; others to break records.” – William A. Ward
“You’ve got to take the initiative and play your game. In a decisive set, confidence is the difference.” – Chris Evert
“It ain’t about how hard you can hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward.” – Sylvester Stallone
“The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer.” – John Madden
“If you fail to prepare, you’re prepared to fail.” – Mark Spitz
“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.” – Tommy Lasorda
“Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second.” – William James
“Make sure your worst enemy doesn’t live between your own two ears.” – Laird Hamilton
“Never give up, never give in, and when the upper hand is ours, may we have the ability to handle the win with the dignity that we absorbed the loss.” – Doug Williams
“An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.” – Emil Zatopek
“You have to do something in your life that is honorable and not cowardly if you are to live in peace with yourself.” – Larry Brown
“Age is no barrier. It’s a limitation you put on your mind.” – Jackie Joyner-Kersee