- 6 days ago
Words of wisdom that transcend sports! Join us as we count down our picks for the most inspirational and unforgettable quotes from sporting legends. From Wayne Gretzky's advice on taking shots to Muhammad Ali's philosophy on sacrifice, these powerful words continue to motivate generations both on and off the field.
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00:00For the past two weeks, you've been reading about a bad rag.
00:07Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.
00:13Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most inspirational and downright unforgettable quotes delivered to us by sporting superstars.
00:21You play to win the game.
00:25Number 10. If you can't outplay them, outwork them.
00:28Ben Hogan. He was a pioneer in the sport of golf, revered for his contributions to swing mechanics.
00:33Throughout Hogan's career, he always thought that he was at his peak in 1948.
00:39He was known as the complete player, and he had this absolutely gorgeous swing.
00:44Today, people are still trying to emulate it.
00:47He also happens to be one of the most dedicated people to ever play the game.
00:50This quote doesn't just relate to preparation, but also to the merits of good old-fashioned hard-nosed hustle on game day.
00:56He could focus in. He would squint at his prey, and he usually took it down.
01:02Sometimes it's not the most technical athlete who wins.
01:04It can often be the one who can stand up to the pressure, the player who can swim in the deepest waters.
01:09Hogan was a masterful technician at his core, but you don't win nine majors without having a bulletproof mindset.
01:14Mr. Hogan had his best tournament success after the accident, but he was a much better golfer before the accident.
01:22Number nine.
01:22I really think a champion is defined not by their wins, but by how they can recover when they fall.
01:27Serena Williams.
01:28The legendary tennis icon gives us a quote that is as relevant to business, art, and relationships as it is to any sport.
01:35Serena Williams, a spin of celebration. That is how you do it.
01:38Serena Williams competed from the late 90s right up to 2022, but in the middle period, she lost a step due to injuries and a natural decline in form.
01:46However, like any true champion, she would not quit on herself.
01:49The great Serena Williams.
01:51In 2012, after hitting her stride again, she had a renaissance that saw her carve out yet another chapter of Hall of Fame-worthy success.
01:58Dealing with failure is an unavoidable part of sports and life.
02:01Serena Williams. She owns the night here in New York.
02:04Number eight.
02:05A champion is someone who gets up when they can't.
02:07Jack Dempsey.
02:08He fought in a very different time for the sport of boxing, when even the greatest fighters didn't have the types of comforts they do these days.
02:15And he went from place to place just boxing. That's all he could do.
02:18That necessity bred a survival instinct that manifested itself in the ring.
02:23Competing in the early 20th century was a tough road.
02:26The fact that Dempsey's only knockout loss came in a fight that some historians have called a fix.
02:30It tells you everything you need to know.
02:32Boxing is always looking for figures who generate emotions and passions.
02:37If anyone has the right to utter a quote like this, it's Jack Dempsey.
02:40With the exception of Gene Tooney, Dempsey beat every other fighter who held a win over him, proving his ability to pick himself up when things weren't going his way.
02:48He had that steely look.
02:50And nothing personified being hard and being able to overcome and be successful more than Jack Dempsey.
02:58Number 7. Somewhere behind the athlete you've become in 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.
03:07Play for her.
03:08Mia Hamm.
03:09A lot of athletes can lose touch with their love of the game as they climb the ladder.
03:12She put a face not just on women's soccer but on the sport itself.
03:16As pressure intensifies, sometimes the simple pleasures of the sport become distant.
03:20U.S. soccer legend Mia Hamm sums up the most important thing about a career and sport pretty succinctly with this quote.
03:26She was sort of the player that girls around the country could identify with.
03:31She looked like them.
03:32She talked like them.
03:33Because at the end of the day, the reason most athletes get into their chosen sport is due to that initial love.
03:38That's the fuel that drives them.
03:39It's an important message that is as true in this field as it is in any other profession.
03:43It makes you feel good about what you're doing that you can inspire someone to try a little bit harder, to believe a little bit more in themselves, to dream, you know, bigger than they thought possible.
03:566. The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals.
04:00The struggles within yourself, the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us, that's where it's at.
04:05Jesse Owens.
04:06He was one of the most important athletes of the 20th century.
04:08Best known for his four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
04:12Aside from just being a ridiculously talented athlete, he also dealt a huge blow to Adolf Hitler's Aryan superiority propaganda machine.
04:20Owens had a truly remarkable level of mental toughness, and his ability across several sports showcased that the only limitations are the ones imposed on ourselves.
04:28He sums this idea up with a natural flair, making it clear that the real battle is the one that happens inside your own mind.
04:35Number 5. I hated every minute of training, but I said don't quit.
04:39Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.
04:42Muhammad Ali.
04:42He told us all exactly how great he was from the second they put a mic in front of him.
04:47I am the king of the world.
04:48Hold it, hold it, hold it.
04:49I'm pretty.
04:49Hold it, you're not that great.
04:50I'm a mad man.
04:52Wait, wait.
04:52I shook up the world.
04:53By the time the dust had settled, he had proven it beyond any doubt.
04:57While we all remember his wins over George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Sonny Liston, and others,
05:01the real fight came during those long, hard sessions in the gym.
05:04His massive self-confidence had been vindicated.
05:07He had shaken up the world, and this was only the beginning.
05:11A champion like Ali couldn't afford to take it easy on himself behind closed doors.
05:15As he so eloquently put it, all those grueling sessions ensured that he could live for the rest of his days as a legend.
05:22The word discipline only scratches the surface when describing his dedication.
05:25I'm in office now.
05:26I'm the heavyweight champion of the world, and I don't have to talk no more and say I'm the greatest because people tell me I'm the greatest.
05:31Number 4.
05:32It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up.
05:35Vince Lombardi.
05:36Obstacles are a natural part of life, and no one gets to breeze through without encountering a few hurdles.
05:40One of the things that made America great is to try to be the best in everything that they do.
05:45And the best, again, is signified by winning.
05:47Vince Lombardi crossed paths with all manner of athletes during his days as a player and then, in particular, as a coach.
05:53Assessing someone's mental toughness was part of Lombardi's day-to-day job, and where he truly earned his stripes was in his ability to instill a positive attitude in his players.
06:02He knew how to get the most out of his players.
06:04He was a genius at that.
06:05Losing is inevitable, but sometimes even the most determined and driven athletes need to learn how to deal with defeat.
06:11In fact, it's something that many successful people excel at, because there's nothing worse than a promising trajectory being thrown off course by a minor hiccup.
06:18I don't think there's any difference whether you teach on the football field or whether you teach in the classroom.
06:24They're both exactly the same.
06:26It's a question of a good teacher puts across what he must put across to his pupils.
06:32Number three.
06:33I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career.
06:36I've lost almost 300 games.
06:3826 times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed.
06:42I've failed over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed.
06:47MJ.
06:48Oh, he did it!
06:49Oh, Michael shakes the finger!
06:51Michael Jordan.
06:52People tend to gloss over the failures when they speak about GOAT candidates in sports.
06:56Michael Jordan may have won six NBA championships in his career, but he also made his fair share of mistakes.
07:01The perfect performance doesn't exist.
07:04Not really.
07:04Stolen by Jordan from Hardaway.
07:06Picked him.
07:07Lost one at the line.
07:08They leave him open.
07:09Oh, the balls are off.
07:11Oh, baby.
07:12He left jock scraps all over the hardwood down here.
07:14MJ understands that his failures made him the player he eventually became, and that
07:18if you're aiming to be flawless, you're going to fall short.
07:21It's a powerful message, especially for those who consider Jordan to be an almost godlike
07:26figure within the sport of basketball.
07:28At the end of the game, you gotta get it out of his hands.
07:31He's a killer.
07:32Number two.
07:32For the past two weeks, you have been reading about a bad break.
07:35Yet today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.
07:39Lou Gehrig.
07:39When he took to the podium to address the world after being diagnosed with the incurable disease
07:44ALS, he knew that his days were numbered.
07:46Lou Gehrig is remembered for dying, is remembered for the disease that took him away, but he
07:52was the foremost first baseman of his era, and perhaps the foremost first baseman in
07:58baseball history.
08:00However, in spite of the future's uncertainty, this legendary baseball player gave us a message
08:04of gratitude.
08:05He didn't dwell on the negative, instead showing strength in the face of a truly terrible stroke
08:09of bad luck.
08:10Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.
08:17He would pass away from the disease two years later.
08:19This short speech has since been regarded as one of the most important in sporting history.
08:24There are very few people who could have stood up to such a bleak situation with that
08:28much positivity.
08:28He died far too young, but not before leaving a legacy that would last far into the future.
08:38And not before leaving us with one of the most indelible visions of courage any of us
08:46have ever seen.
08:47Before we unveil our topic, here are a few honorable mentions.
08:51It is not the size of a man, but the size of his heart that matters.
08:54Evander Holyfield, the former world champion on the importance of an indomitable spirit.
08:58You know, I promised everybody that I was going to win this.
09:01You know, I knew the Lord would give me strength.
09:03All I had to do was just have courage to go in there and fight the fight regardless of
09:07the circumstances.
09:08The only way to prove that you're a good sport is to lose.
09:11Ernie Banks.
09:11This baseball player explained the importance of humility in a nutshell.
09:15Well hit.
09:16Way back.
09:16Line drive.
09:17It is a home run for Ernie Banks.
09:20People throw stones at you and you convert them into milestones.
09:24Sachin Tendulkar.
09:25The God of Cricket summed up a positive mindset better than anyone.
09:28It needs no comparison to Sachin Tendulkar.
09:30He is the ultimate cricketer.
09:33You win a few, you lose a few.
09:34Some get rained out, but you got to dress for all of them.
09:37Satchel Paige.
09:38He outlines the importance of showing up in spite of it all.
09:41Leroy Satchel Paige was a legendary storyteller and one of the most entertaining pitchers in
09:46baseball history.
09:47Champions keep playing until they get it right.
09:50Billie Jean King.
09:50The all-time tennis great had a simple assessment of what it takes to be the best.
09:55In a stellar career that spanned more than 25 years, Billie Jean King collected an impressive
10:0139 Grand Slam titles, including 13 here at the US Open.
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10:20Number 1.
10:22You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
10:24Wayne Gretzky.
10:25Is there a more poignant line in all of sports than this absolute bullseye from the great Wayne
10:29Gretzky?
10:30The average guy in the league thinks one play ahead.
10:34Superstars think two plays ahead.
10:36And Gretzky thinks three plays ahead.
10:38This is a quote that is not only relevant to the world of sports, but to life in general.
10:42Gretzky surely knows a thing or two about doubt and how to overcome it.
10:45And in this one line, he sums up how success is utterly impossible without taking that first
10:50step.
10:50Gretzky literally rewrote the NHL record book.
10:54He's the all-time leader in both points and goals.
10:57Athletes who have achieved what he has possess a level of mental strength that goes far beyond
11:01the average person.
11:02We're certain that Gretzky has inspired more than a few people to pursue their own dreams
11:06on the strength of his one quote alone.
11:08Gretzky is the Babe Ruth of his sport.
11:11Gretzky as an individual stood above his contemporaries to an even greater extent than did Michael Jordan.
11:19What's your favorite quote of all time?
11:21Let us know in the comments below.