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American Sports Cliches

Fill the blanks in these overused stock phrases from the world of sports.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: March 12, 2019
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First submittedJune 3, 2011
Times taken101,991
Average score66.7%
Rating4.00
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Sports Cliche
We're taking it one game at a time
You win some, you lose some
You can't stop him,
you can only hope to contain him
There's no I in team
Second place is the first loser
Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing
It doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how
you play the game
Defense wins championships
The best defense is a good offense
Sports Cliche
Practice makes perfect
Pain is temporary; glory is forever
You miss 100% of the shots you never take
Winners never quit and quitters never win
It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the
size of the fight in the dog
Sports do not build character. They reveal it.
The more I practice, the luckier I get
If you can believe it, you can achieve it
No pain, no gain
55 Comments
+6
Level 91
Jun 3, 2011
Boy, that one about character was HARD. I must have typed every antonym for the real answer - display, reflect, demonstrate, show, showcase... how frustrating!
+2
Level 46
Dec 7, 2016
I know, I think maybe some more leeway should be added to that question because I tried a ton of synonyms for the word but not the exact word.
+2
Level 65
Feb 8, 2019
"Expose"
+5
Level ∞
Mar 12, 2019
Added some more for that, but you have to admit that the original quote is much more elegant.
+1
Level 28
Jun 13, 2011
16/18
+2
Level 40
Apr 13, 2012
12/18. said "fight OF the dog" instead of "fight IN the dog" aghh. can't believe I didnt get the one about winning being the only thing.
+1
Level 24
Sep 24, 2015
Size of the fight the dog is in, is the actual quote. but this quiz is still wrong
+5
Level 70
May 5, 2016
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.”
+2
Level 72
Dec 6, 2018
Yes, Malbaby, you are exactly correct - again.
+3
Level 9
Apr 24, 2013
good quiz but isn't there also 'it's not the winning it's the taking part?
+1
Level 20
May 19, 2013
'The best defense is a good offense' you should allow attack for this answer
+2
Level 81
Sep 19, 2018
"The best form of defence is attack" is probably most often heard in the UK.
+2
Level 14
May 7, 2015
16/18 I'm 12 and I hate sports..
+2
Level 66
Jul 18, 2022
13/18 and I’m fifteen and hate sports
+2
Level 20
Mar 29, 2023
11/18 and I'm fifteen and love sports smh lol
+4
Level 70
May 5, 2016
In UK and Australia it is "The best defence is Attack"
+2
Level 76
Jul 20, 2022
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.)
+2
Level 35
Jul 30, 2016
Allow the best defense is the best attack because that is what it is in England and Australia
+2
Level 68
Apr 23, 2017
Hey, that's what I thought too.
+2
Level 66
Jul 18, 2022
The quiz is specifically American Sports Cliches so this answer wouldn’t quite fit
+2
Level 47
Oct 19, 2016
Huh. I always heard "The best offense is a good defense"
+1
Level 66
Mar 11, 2018
Me too,
+1
Level 83
Feb 17, 2023
Used to be an adventurer like you...
+5
Level 81
May 25, 2017
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.
+25
Level 70
Apr 20, 2018
I guess you were lousy at sport.
+4
Level 81
Apr 20, 2018
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.
+2
Level 74
Jun 25, 2019
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.
+6
Level ∞
Mar 12, 2019
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.
+3
Level 76
Jun 24, 2019
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!
+3
Level 91
Jul 18, 2022
No it was definitely Yogi Bear who said that. Yogi Berra is the guy who said something about pic-a-nic baskets.
+2
Level 64
Jul 18, 2022
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.

+2
Level 74
Jun 24, 2019
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.
+2
Level 81
Jun 24, 2019
I'm sure that's part of it, and it annoys me, too. Can't stand sports announcers/reporters...
+1
Level 89
Jun 27, 2019
I think you missed the joke. Go watch Bull Durham.
+3
Level 43
Nov 11, 2017
How about, "We talkin bout practice?" Classic Iverson. You want to laugh your butt off, look up DJ Steve Porter's mix of that speech.
+1
Level 66
Mar 11, 2018
It is also said the pitching wins championships.
+1
Level 40
Apr 30, 2018
There are some phrases here to me that are obviously not how I know them, for example

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.

+4
Level 52
Jun 22, 2018
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."
+6
Level 81
May 12, 2019
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.
+5
Level 57
May 1, 2020
this guy cant go 5 minutes without bringing up Donald Trump in the Jetpunk comment section
+1
Level 89
Jul 20, 2022
Maybe. But he's not wrong.
+2
Level 78
Sep 26, 2018
How about "50% of the game is half mental"? :-D
+2
Level 72
Dec 6, 2018
Gotta love good ole Yogi. As we say in the south, "God bless his heart".
+2
Level 76
Jun 24, 2019
You PLAY to WIN the GAME!
+1
Level 76
Jun 24, 2019
They are who we thought they were!
+1
Level 73
Jul 1, 2019
American? These are known and used the world over. English speaking world, anyway.
+4
Level 57
Oct 9, 2019
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.
+1
Level 57
Jan 25, 2020
Forecheck, backcheck, paycheck
+1
Level 16
Jan 28, 2020
great quiz make antherone
+1
Level 49
Jan 28, 2022
All true. Heard them all so often. Though what we heard the most from our Softball Coach was:

You touch it you catch it. (Defense)

It only takes one. / Only when its pretty. (Offense)

>.<

+2
Level 80
Apr 16, 2022
I believe it was Lombardi who said, "Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect."
+1
Level 57
Jul 18, 2022
You can hear all of these on sports center, for sure. HOWEVER, most of these are just plain aweful and outdated as advice. Why perpetuate them?
+2
Level 68
Jul 19, 2022
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!
+3
Level 67
Jul 19, 2022
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."
+1
Level 54
Mar 16, 2024
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.