Great Sporting Quotes

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 11:22 am

As the forum's always quiet on a Friday, thought it might be worth starting a new thread.

Favourite sporting quotes, what are yours? Helps if you put them in context.

How about:

"Chris has to go somewhere very dark now...", Simon Brotherton commentating for R5 on Chris Hoy's final gold, trying I think, to explain how he was going to get those fast twitch fibres going for one last time.

"Form is transient, class is forever.", Viv Richards

"Pain is temporary, losing is for ever", Lance Armstrong

"The more I practice the luckier I get." Phil Nicholson (I think)

"I don't care where you are or what you're doing. Stop it and stand up." Alan Green, again for R5, as the coxless 4 crossed the finish line in the 2000 Olympics.

Come on, you must be able to do better.

barberj · Post by **barberj** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 11:50 am

How about:

If she gets the jitters now, then she isn't the great champion that she is
- Max Robertson

McEnroe has got to sit down and work out where he stands
- Fred Perry

"Sure there have been injuries and even some deaths in boxing - but none of them really that serious."
Ringside Boxing Analyst

"There goes Juantorena down the back straight, opening his legs and showing his class."
(David Coleman at The Montreal Olympics)

Dr Dave · Post by **Dr Dave** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 12:30 pm

"The more I practice the luckier I get." Gary Player

I believe this was in response to someone suggesting that it was through luck rather than skill/expertise that Player performed as well as he did.

ClaireG · Post by **ClaireG** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 12:36 pm

Friday Lunchtime at work, ok I'll join in with my favourite:

"Those blue eyes, like chips of ice" (this can only be said in a David Coleman voice)
Moscow 1980 Olympics, 800m Final, Back straight, just as Ovett put himself in the perfect tactical position for the win.

Mental toughness! They (Ovett & Coe) both had the ability, but who held it on the day.

Why can I remember such detail...........?
Cheers
Claire

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 1:03 pm

How about a couple of Cloughie ones:

"If football was meant to be played in the clouds then God would have put grass up there."

Its an FA Cup semi and Forest are 1-0 down with 5 mins to go. Stuart Pearce cracks heads with an opposing forward and goes down heavily. The physio runs on then reports back to Cloughie "he's concussed and doesn't know who he is". "Just put him up front and tell him he's Pele!"

Dave B · Post by **Dave B** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 8:40 am

A couple more footballing ones spring to mind, both from Bill Shankly.

The first one is an old chestnut; 'Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. ... I can assure you it is much, much more important than that'.
The other one stems from a pundit's suggestion that Liverpool's style of play wasn't entertaining enough; 'If people want entertainment, they can go to the f****** circus'.

Dave

Dave B · Post by **Dave B** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 8:43 am

barberj wrote:"Sure there have been injuries and even some deaths in boxing - but none of them really that serious."
Ringside Boxing Analyst

"There goes Juantorena down the back straight, opening his legs and showing his class."
(David Coleman at The Montreal Olympics)

Too many of the jokey ones to mention, especially if you're a Private Eye reader and familiar with the Colemanballs column. Those of Murray Walker alone would easily fill a book ("There's nothing wrong with the car, except that it's on fire", etc.)!

Dave

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 8:51 am

ColemanBalls has that chapter on the inappropriate use of the word "literally" - and Paul Sherwen is king of this. Pick any mountain stage and wait for: "his legs have literally exploded on the climb!" What a mental image that is.

Chris Carter's favourite (that I admit I never saw) was a Duffers commentary from the Vuelta a few years ago. A small break was coming into the finish including Vladimer Karpets. On the last bend there was a touch of wheels and a crash to which Duffers shouts "And its curtains for Karpets!!" After which he broke down in hysterics and Kelly had to finish the commentary.

Dave B · Post by **Dave B** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 9:03 am

Another one I recall from years ago from the famously gaffe-prone Ron Atkinson, during a Wolves v Leicester City game; two of the key players had been engaged in an on-pitch squabble for most of the match, which Big Ron rendered as "Steve Bull and Steve Carey have been having it off all afternoon". Not an appealing mental image.

Oh, and thanks for mentioning David Duffield, as I was surprised no-one had chipped in with any Duffisms up until then. Just had a thought - was it Duffers who once described Michael Boogerd as having "a big mouth full of teeth", or was that Phil Liggett?

Dave

paulM · Post by **paulM** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 11:58 pm

Come on guys - cricket commentator Brian Johnston came out with the ultimate sporting quote (or should that be gaffe?):

"The batsmans Holding, the bowlers Willey"

From a test match at the Oval in 1976 with West Indies Michael Holding bowling to Peter Willey (wikipedia's a wonderful thing!)

stevesavage · Post by **stevesavage** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 5:39 pm

Paul Sherwen on Ullrich being dropped on a climb
"Legs to engine room more power!"

Duffism
"Sacre Bleu! Or whatever the French equivalent is"

mickmikejohn · Post by **mickmikejohn** » Thu Oct 02, 2008 9:42 am

Not cycling related, but Yogi Berra (baseball) has some great ones:

"If people don't want to come out to the ballpark, nobody's going to stop them."

"He's a big clog in their machine."

"ninety percent of this game is mental, the other half is physical."

"The future aint what it used to be."

"always go to other peoples funerals otherwise they won't go to yours."

"Half the lies they tell about me aren't true."