Boy, that one about character was HARD. I must have typed every antonym for the real answer - display, reflect, demonstrate, show, showcase... how frustrating!
No, that is not the quote: It is a quote made by Mark Twain as follows....... “It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.”
When the title is "American sports cliches," it's ok to be US-centric. (But then, the next line includes "from the world of sports," so who knows. Maybe one of the cliches should be referring to US-specific sporting events as "world" events.)
So much empty fluff, non-sequiturs, meaningless tautologies, banality weakly masked as profundity, etc... I guess this is why the people who said these things pursued athletics and not poetry. Still, it's sad that just because someone is associated with sports we treat everything they say as if it's somehow worth remembering.
I went with my youth basketball team to the finals and led the league in blocked shots that year. I set the record for individual medley in the 8 and under category for my swimming team. My friend Dave and I crushed every game of tennis and badminton we played in P.E. Admittedly, though, sports were never my thing. And I have never played "sport," whatever that is. If you think that the above cliches are somehow profound I'm sure that says more about your aptitude at English than it says about my aptitude at sports.
There are good things about kids playing sports - teamwork, dealing with disappointment, (at least in the old days when not everyone got a trophy,) and getting off their duffs and doing something physical, not to mention keeping them out of trouble after school. But there are bad things associated with childhood sports, too. Bullying can be a real problem for some, along with physical injuries and dealing with coaches and parents, some of whom can either be great or horrible, - but even that is training for real life. However, most of the same things could be said about the chess or debate team, drama club, FFA, band or choir competitions, Scouting, etc. Most of these cliches are born from coaches pushing the players to do their best - which is okay up to a point. What I dislike is seeing those parents (and coaches) who push children into anything because of their own dreams of seeing the children make it big when the kids might be happier or better suited at doing something else.
As Yogi Bear said, "pitching always beats batting, and vice-versa". I'd agree with kalbahamut. Most of these are pretty stupid, and taken together they are entirely contradictory.
I can usually tell when the Quizmaster is being humorous but this one's not up to his usual standards, so I'm gonna jump in and offer a correction....it should say Yogi Berra. And if I'm wrong, then the joke's on me!
I believe it was Yogi Berra’s mentor, the great Casey Stengel, who made the pitching/hitting quote.
When Stengel was once asked what his secret was to winning so many Championships as manager (his total of 7 is tied with fellow Yankee Hall of Fame great, Joe McCarthy, for most World Series wins by a manager all-time), he said, “I never played a big game without my man.” When the reporter he said it to checked Stengel’s World Series record to see who he meant, he noticed that Yogi Berra played in every World Series game Stengel ever managed.
I think this is just because they are asked to say something after every game or practice and sometimes at breaks in the game, they are often very tired physically and don't have the energy to come up with something good to say, so they stick to cliches and whatnot. occasionally an athlete will say something with more depth to it, but we remember the stupid things better.
For the "Winners never quit..." clue, I couldn't get Sean Connery's quote from 'The Rock' out of my head: "Losers always whine about their best, Winners go home and **** the prom queen."
Losers also kick off their presidential campaigns by bragging about being really really rich, and then refusing to let anyone see their taxes because they know they're full of it.
Most of these are quotes from American sports players as far as I know, except for "you miss 100% of the shots you dont take", which Wayne Gretzky said.
I think it was a long-ago professional golfer who coined the one about getting luckier with practice. At least, that is what it said in my Arnold Palmer golf book--the one my mom threw away!
Shaq is the only sports star worth quoting. "Our offense is like the Pythagorean Theorem. There is no answer for us!" "They came out hot, but what comes out hot doesn't stay hot. I know because I eat toasted bagels in the morning."
The more I practice one is so true. I’m surprised that so few people got that; back in my softball days my coach said this most practices and it has stuck with me.
When Stengel was once asked what his secret was to winning so many Championships as manager (his total of 7 is tied with fellow Yankee Hall of Fame great, Joe McCarthy, for most World Series wins by a manager all-time), he said, “I never played a big game without my man.” When the reporter he said it to checked Stengel’s World Series record to see who he meant, he noticed that Yogi Berra played in every World Series game Stengel ever managed.
Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing - I know it as it's the taking part that counts
Pain is temporary, glory is forever - I know as form is temporary.
You touch it you catch it. (Defense)
It only takes one. / Only when its pretty. (Offense)
>.<