Quotes & Sayings About Victory Sports

Sometimes people say that coach is a winner, but everyone wants to win. You must know how to behave in victory and in defeat, to look after what is our sport, football. — Vicente Del Bosque

I looked up and saw my flag. But I didn't hear my anthem. The quotation above from 6 ft 4 inch, 286 pound Silver Medalist Ghaffari (who broke down in tears on the medal stand) summed up his disappointment after an overtime loss to Aleksandr Karelin of Russia. A win would have given Ghaffari not only the Olympic gold medal but also his first victory over Karelin, something of which he has literally dreamed about after 20 meets between the two. Karelin dominates international competition in the sport. — Matt Ghaffari

It is fair to say that insofar as sport is taken seriously by those who play it, then to that extent their conduct in play - their ability to deal with loss or victory, their ability to meld strategic thinking and brute force - can be taken as a small-scale model of how they, or others like them, might behave in life. — Will Self

Winning does not always mean coming in first ... real victory is in arriving at the finish line with no regrets because you know you've gone all out. — Apolo Ohno

Invincibility is in oneself, and vulnerability is in the opponent. Invincibility is a matter of defense, vulnerability is a matter of attack. Therefore skillful warriors are able to be invincible, but they cannot cause opponents to be vulnerable. That is why it is said that victory is discerned and not manufactured. — Sun Tzu

I run because it's my passion, and not just a sport. Every time I walk out the door, I know why I'm going where I'm going and I'm already focused on that special place where I find my peace and solitude. Running, to me, is more than just a physical exercise ... it's a consistent reward for victory! — Sasha Azevedo

I celebrate a victory when I start walking off the field. By the time I get to the locker room, I'm done. — Tom Osborne

I think that it's perhaps harder to learn from victory than it is from defeat. I think that we don't want defeat. We don't want defeat in sport. We don't want defeat in life. How are we going to be beaten? All right. We have to deal with those things. What's going to cause us to lose the game, whatever the game might be? — Bobby Knight

In the West, we think of sports and athletics as individual achievement, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat; it all revolves around the ego. This has nothing to do with the Zen of sports and athletics. — Frederick Lenz

De La Salle hung on for the 28-21 victory. Afterward, Ladouceur stood before his exhausted team. It was by far the biggest victory in school history at the time, but the coach noticed that several of his players wore masks of disappointment.

"It's OK to feel disappointed if you didn't play your absolute best," he told them. "That's what we're all about. — Neil Hayes

Shared victory is a double victory, shared defeat is half-defeat. — John Kessel

It's a huge challenge for us to get the (43) car back to Victory Lane, to get the car in the Chase, to get back to where I would love to see us win the championship, ... Is it a reality next year You've seen a lot of things happen in the sport and you look at it and ask 'How'd that happen' — Robbie Loomis

The hardest victory is the victory over self. — Aristotle.

The thrill of victory in business blows away the thrill of victory in sports. Business is a sport 24/7/365. — Mark Cuban

What drew me towards team sport were the camaraderie and friendship. The chance to celebrate victory and success with a group of other people is something I have enjoyed doing. — Rahul Dravid

It's amazing how two thin pieces of clothing can hold such deep memories. Laughter, pain, victory, defeat, friendship, fatigue, elation ... they're all there, but only to the person who's worn the uniform — Wendelin Van Draanen

I can't imagine where I'd be without the opportunities provided to me in sports. Sports taught me that gender isn't an issue; in fact, when people talk about me being the first female governor, I'm a little absent from that discussion, because I've never thought of gender as an issue. In sports, you learn self-discipline, healthy competition, to be gracious in victory and defeat, and the importance of being part of a team and understanding what part you play on that team. You all work together to reach a goal, and I think all of those factors come into play in my role as governor. — Sarah Palin

Competitive sports keep alive in us a spirit and vitality. Sports teach the strong to know when they are weak and the brave to face themselves when they are afraid; to be proud and unbowed in defeat, and yet humble and gentle in victory; to master ourselves before we attempt to master others; to learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; and to give the predominance of courage over timidity. — Douglas MacArthur

A good coach must celebrate in private. He cannot gloat to the press after a victory or criticize heavily after defeat ... His game is of such motivation and strategy that only a few people understand his craft. — Bill Bradley

Victory with honor and integrity is the real goal of sport. Sometimes it happens that others are better than you. I could never beat Carl Lewis in a hundred-yard dash, but my victory might be in running faster today than I did yesterday. — Don Sparks

But I noted with real satisfaction how well ex-footballers seemed to have leadership qualifications ... I believe that football, perhaps more than any other sport, tends to instill in men the feeling that victory comes through hard - almost slavish - work, team play, self-confidence, and an enthusiasm that amounts to dedication. — Dwight D. Eisenhower

To be a good sportsman, one must be a stoic and never show rancor in defeat, or triumph in victory, or irritation, no matter what annoyance is encountered. One who can not help sulking, or explaining, or protesting when the loser, or exulting when the winner, has no right to take part in games or contests. — Emily Post

I pray not for victory, but to do my best. — Amos Alonzo Stagg

Gene Tunney called Gibbons 'the perfect boxer.' Gene said he learned more about the technique of boxing and punching from watching Mike training in New York gymnasiums and in actual fights in Gotham than he learned from any other individual associated with the fistic sport.
Moreover, Tunney has told me it was Gibbons' clean-cut victory over Jack Dillon, the mighty light heavyweight from Indianapolis, that inspired in him the belief he could whip Jack Dempsey. — George Aaron Barton

It is in experiencing and accepting the pain of defeat, that we may truly acknowledge the joy of victory. — Andre Bramble

No man who really is a man ever cared for the easy task. There is no enjoyment in the game that is easily won. It is that in which you have to strain every muscle and sinew to achieve victory that provides real joy. — Eric Liddell

Victory is in having done your best. If you've done your best, you've won. — Bill Bowerman

There is a timelessness about sport. Like music and art, it is a quality that cuts across generations and nations. It provides a link between Australians of succeeding generations whether urging on a Donald Bradman or cheering and rejoicing in the America's Cup victory. Call it the spirit, the soul of sport - it will be in 2001 the same as it was in 1901. — Greg Hartung

There is no mat space for malcontents or dissenters. One must neither celebrate insanely when he wins, nor sulk when he loses. He accepts victory professionally, humbly; he hates defeat, but makes no poor display of it. — Dan Gable

Sport is a seductive metaphor (life as a game in which we gain victory through hard work, discipline, and visualizing success). but the older metaphor of farming (life as hard labor that is subject to weather and quirks of blind fate and may return no reward whatsoever and don't be surprised) is still in our blood. — Garrison Keillor

A hard-fought, well-fought, hairline-close game is as classical in sports as tragedy is in the theater. Victory is contained within defeat, and defeat is contained within victory. That's the way it is in the best of games. What counts in sports is not the victory, but the magnificence of the struggle. — Joe Paterno

For a kid, self-esteem can be as close at hand as a sports victory or a sense of belonging in a peer group. It's a much more complicated and elusive proposition for adults, subject to the responsibilities and vicissitudes of grown-up life. — Meghan Daum

In the dust of defeat as well as the laurels of victory there is a glory to be found if one has done his best. — Eric Liddell

Set your goals high, and don't stop till you get there. — Bo Jackson

People ask me what makes a great skier. It takes the gift; but besides the gift it takes all the availability of mind which permit total control of all the elements that lead to victory. - total composure. — Jean-Claude Killy

Someone who doesn't make the (Olympic) team might weep and collapse. In my day no one fell on the track and cried like a baby. We lost gracefully. And when someone won, he didn't act like he'd just become king of the world, either. Athletes in my day were simply humble in our victory.
I believe we were more mature then ... Maybe it's because the media puts so much pressure on athletes; maybe it's also the money. In my day we competed for the love of the sport ... In my day we patted the guy who beat us on the back, wished him well, and that was it. — Louis Zamperini

Sportsmanship is the ethical and moral dimension of sports. It is demonstrated by a number of attributes and attitudes such as fair play, respect for the rules and traditions of the sport and various traits of good character including integrity (abiding by the letter and spirit of the rules and concepts of honor); demonstrated respect for others including teammates, opponents, officials and spectators; accountability, self-control, and graciousness in victory and defeat. — Michael Josephson

Chess is a sport. The main object in the game of chess remains the achievement of victory. — Max Euwe

Victory and defeat are each of the same price. — Thomas Jefferson