Muhammad Ali
Boxer, Activist
"I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'"
Sports quotes
Sports
8.2K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Mike Tyson
Professional Boxer
"Fighting is a sport; if you're not humble it's going to bring humbleness to you."
Abraham Lincoln
Political Leader
"If you trust, you will be disappointed occasionally, but if you mistrust, you will be miserable all the time."
Clive James
Writer
"Whoever called snooker "chess with balls" was rude, but right."
Julius Caesar
Military General, Statesman
"I came, I saw, I conquered."
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Browse quotes that often appear alongside sports — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
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Sports quotes (page 1 of 409)
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"Football is the only sport where you put people together, it doesn't matter if you are rich, or poor, or black, or white. It is one nation. This is the beauty of football."
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"The four Cs of making dreams come true: Curiosity, Courage, Consistency, Confidence."
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"I'm gonna say it one more time. We are Georgia Southern. Our colors are blue and white. We call ourselves the Bald Eagles. We call our offense the Georgia Power Companyand that's a terrific name for an offense. Our snap count is 'rate, hike.' We practice on the banks of Beautiful Eagle Creek and that's in Statesboro, Georgia-the gnat capital of America. Our weekends begin on Thursday. The co-eds outnumber the men 3 to 2. They're all good looking and they're all rich. And folks, you just can't beat that and you just can't beat Georgia Southern. And you ain't seen nothin yet!"
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"The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning."
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"School failed me, and I failed the school. It bored me. The teachers behaved like Feldwebel (sergeants). I wanted to learn what I wanted to know, but they wanted me to learn for the exam. What I hated most was the competitive system there, and especially sports. Because of this, I wasn't worth anything, and several times they suggested I leave."
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"Win or lose you will never regret working hard, making sacrifices, being disciplined or focusing too much. Success is measured by what we have done to prepare for competition."
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"When I was in high school I asked myself at one point: "Why do I care if my high school's team wins the football game? I don't know anybody on the team, they have nothing to do with me... why am I here and applaud? It does not make any sense." But the point is, it does make sense: It's a way of building up irrational attitudes of submission to authority and group cohesion behind leadership elements. In fact it's training in irrational jingoism. That's also a feature of competitive sports."
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"The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you choose, what you think and what you do is who you become."
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"You have to believe in yourself when no one else does."
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"I'd rather have more heart than talent any day."
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"Heaven is by favor; if it were by merit your dog would go in and you would stay out. Of all the creatures ever made (man) is the most detestable. Of the entire brood, he is the only one... that possesses malice. He is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain."
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"If you work for a man, in heaven's name work for him, speak well of him, and stand by the institution he represents. Remember, an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness. If you must growl, condemn, and eternally find fault - resign your position, and when you are outside, damn to your heart's content - but as long as you are part of the institution, do not condemn it. If you do, the first high wind that comes along will blow you away, and probably you will never know why."
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"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
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"Whenever the devil harasses you, seek the company of men or drink more, or joke and talk nonsense, or do some other merry thing. Sometimes we must drink more, sport, recreate ourselves, and even sin a little to spite the devil, so that we leave him no place for troubling our consciences with trifles. We are conquered if we try too conscientiously not to sin at all. So when the devil says to you: do not drink, answer him: I will drink, and right freely, just because you tell me not to."
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"I have often been asked whether I am a women or an athlete. The question is absurd. Men are not asked that. I am an athlete. I am a women."
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"It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up."
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"Think of all the girls who could become top athletes but quit sports because they're afraid of having too many defined muscles and being made fun of or called unattractive."
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"It dances today, my heart, like a peacock it dances, it dances. It sports a mosaic of passions like a peacock’s tail, It soars to the sky with delight, it quests, Oh wildly, it dances today, my heart, like a peacock it dances."
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"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships."
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"Let your workings remain a mystery. Just show people the results."
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