Kickoff Your Day with 50 American Football Quotes

1–10: Champions’ Mindset

1. “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.” – Vince Lombardi
2. “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” – Jimmy Johnson
3. “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” – Vince Lombardi
4. “Success is never final; failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.” – Sean McDermott
5. “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi
6. “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” – Tim Notke (often cited in football)
7. “Pressure is something you feel when you don’t know what you’re doing.” – Chuck Noll
8. “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky (embraced by football coaches)
9. “Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.” – Ernest Hemingway (favored by Mike Ditka)
10. “The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.” – Vince Lombardi

11–20: Leadership & Teamwork

11. “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” – Michael Jordan (adopted by football leaders)
12. “Never rest on your laurels.” – Tony Dungy
13. “The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.” – Vince Lombardi
14. “Football is like life—each day you learn more.” – Don Shula
15. “Champions keep playing until they get it right.” – Billie Jean King (and every great coach)
16. “Adversity doesn’t build character; it reveals it.” – Bob Riley
17. “There may be people that have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.” – Derek Jeter (motivated NFL stars too)
18. “In football as in life, you’re never really sure and you can never really relax.” – Stan “The Man” Musial
19. “Effort is between you and you.” – Anon
20. “A team isn’t a group of people who work together. A team is a group of people who trust each other.” – Simon Sinek

21–30: Grit & Resilience

21. “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.” – Vince Lombardi
22. “Turn your setbacks into comebacks.” – Anon
23. “It’s not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.” – Paul “Bear” Bryant
24. “Pressure creates diamonds.” – Anon
25. “You’re never a loser until you quit trying.” – Mike Ditka
26. “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden
27. “Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.” – Lou Holtz
28. “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” – T.S. Eliot (quoted by Bill Parcells)
29. “Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice.” – William Jennings Bryan
30. “Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.” – Theodore Roosevelt

31–40: Game-Day Energy

31. “Every day is a great day for football.” – Anon
32. “When you’re good at something, you’ll tell everyone. When you’re great at something, they’ll tell you.” – Walter Payton
33. “You play to win the game.” – Herm Edwards
34. “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” – Archie Griffin
35. “The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning.” – Pelé (celebrated by NFL stars)
36. “Winning takes precedence over all. There’s no gray area. No almosts.” – Kobe Bryant
37. “Life is simple. You make choices and you don’t look back.” – Peyton Manning
38. “If you are afraid of failure you don’t deserve to be successful.” – Charles Barkley
39. “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.” – Vince Lombardi
40. “It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort.” – Jillian Michaels (applied by elite athletes)

41–50: Finish Strong

41. “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” – Japanese Proverb (embraced by football culture)
42. “Success demands singleness of purpose.” – Vince Lombardi
43. “Don’t count the days—make the days count.” – Muhammad Ali
44. “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill
45. “Someday you will be just a memory to some people. Do your best to be a good one.” – Anon
46. “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot
47. “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” – Neale Donald Walsch
48. “The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.” – Joe Paterno
49. “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Ryun
50. “Don’t watch the clock; do what it does—keep going.” – Sam Levenson