Who Said That?

Famous Football Quotes by Knute Rockne, the Great Notre Dame Coach

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

College football's annual bowl season is full of surprises and spectacular moments. Famous coaches have had some memorable remarks about American's most popular sport, and here are some of them by legendary Green Bay Packer coach Vince Lombardi, who many consider to be the best of the best.

Lombardi's head coaching record in the National Football League was second to none. In 9 years with the Green Bay Packers, Lombardi's regular season won-loss percentage was 73% (96-34-6), his postseason was 90% (9-1) and his total was 75% (105-35-6).

He took a 1-10-1 team in 1958 to an NFL title in 3 years, and went on to win 5 NFL titles in 9 years (1961, 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967) and three titles consecutively. He led the Packers to the first two Super Bowl titles in 1966 and 1967.

Lombardi's discipline was legendary. A lifelong Catholic, he spent 4 years in Cathedral Preparatory Seminary to become a Catholic priest before becoming a standout football player at St. Francis Preparatory High School.

An undersized guard at 5 foot 8 and 185 pounds, he was offered and accepted a football scholarship to Fordham University in the Bronx to play for "Sleepy" Jim Crowley, one of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame in the 1920s. He would become part of the "Seven Blocks of Granite" that held Fordham's opponents scoreless several times during a 25-game winning streak.

After coaching at Fordham, Lombardi became the offensive line coach for West Point under another legendary head coach, Colonel Red Blaik. Lombardi then became the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants, working with defensive coordinator Tom Landry and head coach Jim Lee Howell, before becoming Green Bay's head coach in 1959.

Lombardi was 59 years old when he died of cancer in 1970. Grown men and Hall of Fame football players openly wept at his funeral.

Here are some of Vince Lombardi's best known quotes:

"If it doesn't matter who wins or loses, then why do they keep score?"

"I firmly believe than any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle—victorious."

"There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game and that is first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay and I never want to finish second again."

"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."

"Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence."

"The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender."

"Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser."

"Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit."

"If you can accept losing, you can't win."

"Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."

"Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect."

"Success demands singleness of purpose."

"It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up."

"It's easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you're a winner, when you're number one. What you got to have is faith and discipline when you're not a winner."

"The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have."

"We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time."

"Teamwork is what the Green Bay Packers are all about. They didn't do it for individual glory. They did it because they loved one another."

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will."

"Coaches who can outline plays on a black board are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their player and motivate."

Here are some quotes by Lombardi's players:

"When Lombardi said 'sit down,' we didn't look for a chair." – Forrest Gregg, Hall of Fame tackle.

"He prepared us so well, and he motivated us so well, I felt he was a part of me on the field." Fuzzy Thurston.

"He pushed you to the end of your endurance and then beyond it. And if there was reserve there, well, he found that too." Henry Jordan, Hall of Fame defensive tackle.

"He made us better than we thought we could be." Jerry Kramer.

"Coach Lombardi showed me that by working hard and using my mind, I could overcome my weakness to the point that I could be one of the best." Bart Starr, Hall of Fame quarterback.

"The fear in my mind was not him but that for some reason I would not be a part of the team and be with this man." Forrest Gregg.

"He made you a believer. He told you what the other team was going to do, and he told you what you had to do to beat them, and invariably he was right." Willie Davis, Hall of Fame defensive back.

(Editor's Note: I have read and studied one of the best biographies on Lombardi: When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Maraniss, I highly recommend his book as a great read.)

Who Said That?

Famous Football Quotes by Lou Holtz, the Only NCAA Coach to Lead 6 Different Schools to Bowl Games

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

College football's annual bowl season is full of surprises and spectacular moments. Famous coaches have had some memorable remarks about American's most popular sport, and here are some of them by Lou Holtz, who some consider to be the best of the best college coaches and for good reason.

It is true that Knute Rockne won 5 more national championships at Norte Dame than Lou Holtz did at Notre Dame (Holtz led the Fighting Irish to 1 national title in 1988).

It is also true that Knute Rockne has a regular season won-loss percentage of 90% (105-12-5) at Notre Dame, and that Lou Holtz has a regular season won-loss percentage of 77% (100-30-2) at Notre Dame.

However, Lou Holtz is the only coach in NCAA history to lead 6 different programs to bowl games (William & Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame and South Carolina), and the only coach to guide 4 different programs to final top 20 rankings (North Carolina State, South Carolina twice, Arkansas 5 times and Notre Dame 7 times).

Lou Holtz became known for his quick wit and ability to inspire players. Both Knute Rockne and Green Bay Packer coach Vince Lombardi became legendary for their ability to inspire players.

In addition to his coaching career, Holtz has gone on to author 5 books and become both a motivational speaker and television commentator.

Here are some of Lou Holtz's best known quotes:

"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it."

"Motivation is simple. You eliminate those who are not motivated."

"The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely the one who dropped it."

"When all is said and done, more is said than done."

"It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it."

"No one has ever drowned in sweat."

"On this team, we're all united in a common goal: to keep my job."

"Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I'll show you someone who has overcome adversity."

"The problem with having a sense of humor is often (the) people you use it on aren't in a very good mood."

"In the successful organization, no detail is too small to escape close attention."

"It is a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test."

"If you're bored with life—you don't get up every morning with a burning desire to do things—you don't have enough goals."

"If you burn your neighbor's house down, it doesn't make your house look any better."

"You'll never get ahead of anyone as long as you try to get even with him."

"I think everyone should experience defeat at least once during their career. You learn a lot from it."

"I never learn anything talking. I only learn things when I ask questions."

"If he's got golf clubs in his truck or a camper in his driveway, I don't hire him."

"How you respond to the challenge in the second half will determine what you become after the game, whether you are a winner or a loser."

"Coaching is nothing more than eliminating mistakes before you get fired."

"A lifetime contract for a coach means if you're ahead in the third quarter and moving the ball, they can't fire you."

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song."

"You're never as good as everyone tells you when you win, and you're never as bad as they say when you lose."

"The Wizard of Westwood"

Famous Quotes by John Wooden, the NCAA's Winningest Basketball Coach

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Great coaches win games when it counts. Some coaches also make great interviews for the media writers by never shying away in victory or defeat, and giving great quotes. Even fewer have great personalities to go with their victories, and quotes that are insightful, memorable and sometimes so funny we cannot help but smile.

And then there are the select few, legends in their own time that will never be forgotten, such as Knute Rockne and Vince Lombardi. Add Lou Holtz to the same list, not in the same class as Rockne and Lombardi, but because of his quick wit and quality comments. Successful coaches did not become so by being stupid, arcane and bovine. Holtz is sharp as a tack.

Rockne (the Notre Dame Fighting Irish), Lombardi (the Green Bay Packers), and Holtz (the only coach to lead 6 college programs to bowl-game appearances) are all football coaches.

Enter basketball's John Wooden, who ranks in the same class as Rockne and Lombardi.

Known as the "Wizard of Westwood", Wooden won 665 games in 27 seasons at UCLA and 10 NCAA titles during this last 12 years, including 7 straight from 1967 to 1973. He also had an 88-game winning streak and two undefeated, back-to-back national championship teams.

Wooden's UCLA record during his 10 National Championship years was 291-10 (not a misprint); it rounds to a 97% winning percentage and includes no less than 4 perfect 30-0 seasons.

Here are some of John Wooden's most famous quotes:

"If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?"

"Never mistake activity for achievement."

"If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes."

"Adversity is the state in which man most easily becomes acquainted with himself, being especially free of admirers then."

"Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be."

"I'd rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent."

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."

"Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful."

"Ability is a poor man's wealth."

"Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character."

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."

"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."

"It's not so important who starts the game but who finishes it."

"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."

"It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."

"Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights."

"What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player."

"There are many things that are essential to arriving at true peace of mind, and one of the most important is faith, which cannot be acquired without prayer."

"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."