Sportsmanship Quotes

What distinguishes a true competitor from a mere participant is that the competitor derives enjoyment from the nature of the competition aside from the prize at the end. She gets a rush from the gaming dynamics and appreciates the beauty of the game. At the end of the day, you play for the love of the game or not at all. ~ Alisa Melekhina

Golf is game of respect and sportsmanship; we have to respect its traditions and its rules. ~ Jack Nicklaus

It's considered good sportsmanship not to pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling. ~ Mark Twain

In any case, it is difficult not to think that if Serena lost context by abandoning all rules of civility, it could be because her body, trapped in a racial imaginary, trapped in disbelief - code for being black in America - is being governed not by the tennis match she is participating in but by a collapsed relationship that had promised to play by the rules. Perhaps this is how racism feels no matter the context - randomly the rules everyone else gets to play by no longer apply to you, and to call this out by calling out "I swear to God!" is to be called insane, crass, crazy. Bad sportsmanship. Two ~ Claudia Rankine

Pride makes us do things well. But it is love that makes us do them to perfection. ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

The most important thing I learned [from running] is that there is only one runner in this race, and that is me. ~ George A. Sheehan

We old athletes carry the disfigurements and markings of contests remembered only by us and no one else. Nothing is more lost than a forgotten game. ~ Pat Conroy

A lot of young players don't really know much about the history of the game and a lot of them are missing out on what the game is all about, especially the whole concept of sportsmanship and teamwork. ~ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

If you spend a lot of time on sportsmanship, you're going to spend a lot of time losing. ~ Glenn Dobbs

I always tell kids, you have two eyes and one mouth. Keep two open and one closed. You never learn anything if you're the one talking. ~ Gordie Howe

Professionalism is not sportsmanship. If you don't succeed, you won't be in your profession for long. In our society, it's not about good or bad. It's about who's on top. ~ Chili Davis

Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships. ~ Michael Jordan

Sportsmanship and easygoing methods are all right, but it is the prospect of a hot fight that brings out the crowds. ~ John McGraw

Sportsmanship is making sure you have respect for the guy you're playing across from. ~ Warren Moon

To say, 'well done' to any bit of good work is to take hold of the powers which have made the effort and strengthen them beyond our knowledge. ~ Phillips Brooks

After I hit a home run I had a habit of running the bases with my head down. I figured the pitcher already felt bad enough without me showing him up rounding the bases. ~ Mickey Mantle

We can talk about the value of sportsmanship on one hand, and on the other hand, the leading shots, highlights ... you see every night are the outrageous and unsportsmanlike, so I think there is a double standard here. On the one hand, we complain about it, on the other hand it's the first thing you see every night. ~ Joe Dumars

It's because you absolutely love the sport. ~ Nastia Liukin

When in a fight for your life, you never, ever fight fairly. Honor and sportsmanship are wonderful in games that don't matter, but it's the honorable guys who always die in real battles. "When there's blood involved," I'd told her, "you always use every advantage you have to make sure it's theirs that spills and not yours. If you want to feel guilty about taking unfair advantage afterward, you go ahead and feel that shit. But live to feel it." In ~ Kevin Hearne

I was pleased with both games. Our sportsmanship was outstanding. ~ Wade Clark Mackey

It does not matter how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get up. ~ Vince Lombardi

True sportsmanship is ...
Knowing that you need your opponent because without him or her, there is no game.
Acknowledging that your opponent holds the same deep-rooted aspirations and expectations as you.
Knowing that, win or lose, you will walk off the course with pride.
Always taking the high road.
And always, always, always being a good sport. ~ Lorii Myers

In most sports, like in tennis, love means nothing. ~ Wyatt Allen

In the name of all competitors, I promise that we will take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by all the rules which govern them in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honour of our teams. ~ Pierre De Coubertin

Sportsmanship isn't about criticizing the "ONE" who didn't win on "That ONE"day... it's about appreciating and supporting their hard work amidst failures!!! ~ Akansh Malik

Good sportsmanship we hail, we sing, It's always pleasant when you spot it. There's only one unhappy thing: You have to lose to prove that you've got it. ~ Richard Armour

A decayed body is not made the least more aesthetic by a brilliant mind, indeed the highest intellectual training could not be justified if its bearers were at the same time physically degenerate and crippled, weak-minded, wavering and cowardly individuals. What make the Greek ideal of beauty a model is the wonderful combination of the most magnificent physical beauty with brilliant mind and noblest soul. ~ Adolf Hitler

Be fair. Play hard. ~ Dan Venezia

There is value in any experience that reminds us of our dependency on the soil-plant-animal-man food chain [ ... ] Civilization has so cluttered this elemental man-earth relation with gadgets and middlemen that awareness of it is growing dim. We fancy that industry supports us, forgetting what supports industry. Time was when education moved toward soil, not away from it. ~ Aldo Leopold

I do believe in praising that which deserves to be praised. ~ Dean Smith

Golfers should not fail to realize that it is a game of great traditions, of high ideals of sportsmanship, one in which a strict adherence to the rules is essential. ~ Francis Ouimet

People focus on role models; it is more effective to find antimodels - people you don't want to resemble when you grow up ~ Nassim Nicholas Taleb

I think sportsmanship is knowing that it is a game, that we are only as a good as our opponents, and whether you win or lose, to always give 100 percent. ~ Sue Wicks

Competition is great for everyone. Sports can teach you so much at an early age, including camaraderie and sportsmanship. Competition aspect is something I've always been big on - I always wanted to compete in something. It was swimming for many years, then I moved on to basketball. I had to find a way to channel my competitive energy, so I'm lucky that basketball worked out for me. ~ Tim Duncan

If it's not whether you win or lose but how you play the game, why keep score? ~ Ron Brackin

Golf is the only game in which a precise knowledge of the rules can earn one a reputation for bad sportsmanship. ~ Patrick Campbell, 3rd Baron Glenavy

The Boys and Girls Club taught me a lot about sportsmanship, humility, self-respect. ~ Junior Seau

It is my thought that clean living and a strict observance of the golden rule of true sportsmanship are foundation stones without which a championship structure cannot be built. ~ Major Taylor

Tactics, fitness, stroke ability, adaptability, experience, and sportsmanship are all necessary for winning. ~ Fred Perry

Life is a game like any other; we just don't take it as seriously. ~ Babe Ruth

I think it's safe to say that 'manliness' was a common theme in my upbringing. It was an assumed status, but - and here's the important bit - it was the Rudyard Kipling kind. The emphasis was on gentlemanly conduct, sportsmanship, fairness and stoicism. ~ Ian Watson

If character is what you do when no one is watching, then sportsmanship is that conduct with everybody watching. ~ Bob Ley

One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than a hundred teaching it. ~ Knute Rockne

Sports inculcate something in you that no institution, family or friendship can. A quality that eventually emanate from you, something called Sportsmanship. ~ Sandeep Sahajpal

...(he) had his own set of rules: "ride clean and ride fair." Asked by reporters how he managed to keep calm despite the attacks by other cyclists, Marshall answered, "I simply ride away. ~ Lesa Cline-Ransome

I've always seen the Olympics as a place where you could act out your differences on the athletic field with a sense of sportsmanship and fairness and mutual respect. ~ Andrew Young

Aside from being bad sportsmanship - Romney basically said Obama won by cheating - he was displaying the same obtuseness about the wants and needs of ordinary people that did more to torpedo his campaign than any goodies Obama might have had to dole out. ~ John Podhoretz

The duke nudged his ball a bit forward from the rest of the pile. "You do realize," he said to no one in particular, "that I have never played Pall Mall before?"
"Just give the ball a good whack in that direction, darling," Daphne said, pointing to the first wicket.
"Isn't that the last wicket?" Anthony asked.
"It's the first."
"It ought to be the last."
Daphne's jaw jutted out. "I set up the course, and it's the first."
"I think this might get bloody," Edwina whispered to Kate.
The duke turned to Anthony and flashed him a false smile. "I believe I'll take Daphne's word for it."
"She did set up the course," Kate cut in.
Anthony, Colin, Simon, and Daphne all looked at her in shock, as if they couldn't quite believe she'd had the nerve to enter the conversation.
"Well, she did," Kate said.
Daphne looped her arm through hers. "I do believe I adore you, Kate Sheffield," she announced.
"God help me," Anthony muttered.
The duke drew back his mallet, let fly, and soon the orange ball was hurtling along the lawn.
"Well done, Simon!" Daphne cried out.
Colin turned and looked at his sister with disdain. "One never cheers one's opponents in Pall Mall," he said archly.
"He's never played before," she said. "He's not likely to win."
"Doesn't matter."
Daphne turned to Kate and Edwina and explained, "Bad sportsmanship is a requirement in Bridgerton Pall Mall, I'm afraid."
"I'd ga ~ Julia Quinn

Sportsmanship" had been stretched too far. Like "relativity," it had migrated far afield from its original meaning. It used to refer to the kind of behavior that Lance Armstrong showed Jan Ullrich. But over time the term was stretched to include unimpressive, nonchivalrous behavior, like losing without whining too much or making it through an entire game without assaulting a referee. ~ Chip Heath

There's no such thing as luck. Luck is where preparation meets opportunity. ~ Amy Hempel

If the Olympic Games ever served a true altruistic purpose, they have long since outlived it. Yeah, the pursuit of athletic excellence, sportsmanship and international goodwill is plenty noble. But the modern Olympics are at best a vehicle for agitprop; at worst, a scandal magnet. ~ John Ridley

I am thankful that in my current role I can mentor other coaches. I interact directly with seventeen coaches on my staff but I'm also trying to be an example to others outside the organization. I want to prove that it's possible to win or lose while maintaining a calm dignity and respect toward your players, officials, and the opposition. My hope is that my profession can have an impact on countless youth who are looking to their coaches for guidance on sportsmanship, how effort pays off, and the other life lessons that come from competing. ~ Tony Dungy

I'm thinking that I shouldn't have filed my nails last night. ~ Dara Torres

Sportsmanship to me is going out and playing as hard as you can within the rules. ~ Bobby Bowden

Good sportsmanship means treating others with respect. I consider myself a pretty good sport. ~ Tommy Hilfiger

Most of my ribbons were for good sportsmanship, a backhanded compliment if ever there was one. ~ David Sedaris

No regrets?" he murmured to Hunt as they strode down the hall, while Shaw and St. Vincent followed at a more leisurely pace.
Hunt glanced at him with a questioning smile. He was a big, dark-haired man, with the same sense of uncompromising masculinity and the same avid interest in hunting and sportsmanship that Marcus possessed. "About what?"
"Being led around by the nose by your wife."
That drew a wry grin from Hunt, and he shook his head. "If my wife does lead me around, Westcliff, it's by an altogether different body part. And no, I have no regrets whatsoever."
"I suppose there's a certain convenience in being married," Marcus mused aloud. "Having a woman close at hand to satisfy your needs, not to mention the fact that a wife is undoubtedly more economical than a mistress. There is, moreover, the begetting of heirs to consider…"
Hunt laughed at his effort to cast the issue in a practical light. "I didn't marry Annabelle for convenience. And although I haven't tabulated any numbers, I can assure you that she is not cheaper than a mistress. As for the begetting of heirs, that was the farthest thing from my mind when I proposed to her."
"Then why did you?"
"I would tell you, but not long ago you said that you hoped I wouldn't start - how did you put it? - 'pollinate the air with maudlin sentiment.'"
"You believe yourself to be in love with her."
"No," Hunt countered in a relaxed manner, "I am in love with her."
Marc ~ Lisa Kleypas

Games give you a chance to excel, and if you're playing in good company you don't even mind if you lose because you had the enjoyment of the company during the course of the game. ~ Gary Gygax

Struggle and survival, losing and winning, doesn't matter. It's entering the race that counts. You enter, you can win, you can lose ... but it's all about entering the race. ~ Pam Grier

There is no such thing as sportsmanship. ~ Terrell Davis

Remember that sports are meant to be fun. Don't let someone make the sport unfun for you. ~ A. J. Kitt

I like to give opinions, not suggestions ~ John Wooden

We want to put sportsmanship back in the equation. ~ Eric Hyman

Follow your dreams as long as you live! Never be afraid to go out on the limb to live up to your expectations. Always do things your way and Have Fun! ~ Picabo Street

The focus should be on the players. I'm here a long time. You can call me in the summer. Our seniors will be gone. ~ Dean Smith

I'm a working mom, not a professional athlete, but I am a runner and that's a special club. ~ Alison Sweeney

Merlyn always said that sportsmanship was the curse of the world, and so it is. ~ T.H. White