75 Football Quotes To Get Yourself in the Game

Life is a lot like a football game. As Vince Lombardi says, "It requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication, and respect for authority." There have been many wise and motivating words spoken by football players that hold true for all of us. Besides getting fired up for game day, a good saying about football can be quite meaningful for the everyday. So, whether you are a football fan or not, these 75 football quotes are sure to get you motivated for the game of life.

There is a reason that so many of us love watching football—especially the Super Bowl. From kickoff to touchdown, we get to witness not only the personal achievements of certain players but also the whole team dynamic that leads to success. When a team works together well and is led by good coaching, it's amazing what can be done. A good football game is motivating for everyone and can inspire us all to greatness.

If you are looking to intercept the current path of your life and begin working toward your goals, then these 75 football quotes will help get you to the endzone.

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Best Football Quotes

1. "Football is like life. It requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication, and respect for authority." – Vince Lombardi

2. "The most valuable player is the one who makes the most players valuable." – Peyton Manning

3. "No one ever drowned in sweat." –Lou Holtz

4. "Winners never quit and quitters never win." – Vince Lombardi

5. “If you work hard and you play well, all those critics quiet themselves pretty quickly.” – Peyton Manning

6. “When you lose, talk little. When you win, talk less.” – Tom Brady

7. "You can learn a line from a win and a book from defeat." – Paul Brown

8. “Do you want to know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.” – Mike Singletary

9. "Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble." –John Madden

10. "It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get back up." –Vince Lombardi

11. “Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.” – Lou Holtz

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12. "Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." –Lou Holtz

13. "Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that." - Bill Shankly

14. "I am not a dreamer. I am a football romantic." - Jurgen Klopp

15. “Winners, I am convinced, imagine their dreams first. They want it with all their heart and expect it to come true. There is, I believe, no other way to live.” – Joe Montana

16. "A champion is simply someone who did not give up when they wanted to." - Tom Landry

17. "You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it." - Lionel Messi

18. "Football is a game of mistakes. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes wins." - Johan Cruyff

19. "Football, like life, is filled with ups and downs, and the most important thing is to keep moving forward and never give up." - Diego Maradona

20. "Set your goals high, and don't stop till you get there." – Bo Jackson

21. "Success isn’t owned, it’s leased. And rent is due every day." - J. J. Watt

22. "Every experience, good or bad, you have to learn from." - Patrick Mahomes

23. "You fail all the time. But you aren't a failure until you start blaming someone else." - Bum Phillips

24. "If your dream ain't bigger than you, there's a problem with your dream." - Deion Sanders

25. "I may win and I may lose, but I will never be defeated." –Emmitt Smith

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Motivational Football Quotes

26. "The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning." – Pelé

27. "For every pass I caught in a game, I caught a thousand in practice." - Don Hutson

28. "Winning is not everything ... but making the effort to win is." - Vince Lombardi

29. "Don't walk through life just playing football. Don't walk through life just being an athlete. Athletics will fade. Character and integrity and really making an impact on someone's life, that's the ultimate vision, that's the ultimate goal - bottom line." - Ray Lewis

30. "Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit." - Vince Lombardi

31. “Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I will do what others can't.”- Jerry Rice

32. “The thing about football - the important thing about football - is that it is not just about football.”- Terry Pratchett

33. "If you're not gonna go all the way, why go at all?" - Joe Namath

34. "Dreaming means 'rehearsing' what you see, playing it over and over in your mind until it becomes as real to you as your life right now." - Emmitt Smith

35. “You get hit the hardest when trying to run or hide from a problem. Like the defense on a football field, putting all focus on evading only one defender is asking to be blindsided.”- Criss Jami

36. “Anyone who's just driven 90 yards against huge men trying to kill them has earned the right to do Jazz hands. ”- Craig Ferguson

37. “In football everything is complicated by the presence of the opposite team.”- Jean-Paul Sartre

38. “Football is a game of controlled anger. It is a game of retribution. It’s about will.” – Brian Dawkins

39. “The Enemy of the best is the good. If you're always settling with what's good, you'll never be the best.”- Jerry Rice

40. “You got one guy going boom, one guy going whack, and one guy not getting in the endzone.”- John Madden

41. “When it's too hard for them it's just right for us!”― Marv Levy

42. “You're the only one that can put pressure on yourself... No one else can put pressure on you. It's self-inflicted. For me, I just want to go out and play football.”― Maurice Jones-Drew

43. “It’s just a game,’ we say, trying to convince ourselves of a truth we do not believe.”― Brandon Jack

44. "It's not the will to win that matters. It's the will to prepare to win that matters." – Paul Bryant

45. “Every day is an opportunity disguised as a challenge.” – Tiki Barber

46. "You have to perform at a consistently higher level than others. That's the mark of a true professional." –Joe Paterno

47. "You cannot make progress with excuses." – Cam Newton

48. “Embrace the new, no matter how uncomfortable, and make it work for you.” – Alex Smith

49. “You can’t win together if you don’t work together.” – Nick Saban

50. “Trust that you can get back up and not give in. Ever.” – Patrick Willis

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Inspiring Football Quotes

51. "When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things."- Joe Namath

52. “Stay hungry, remain humble, and get better today.” – Pete Carroll

53. "To do things you've never done before, you have to do things you've never done before." – Sean Payton

54. "When you've got something to prove, there's nothing greater than a challenge." –Terry Bradshaw

55. "I am constantly being asked about individuals. The only way to win is as a team. Football is not about one or two or three star players." - Pele

56. "Football is unconditional love." - Tom Brady

57. "You have to remember one thing: Football is entertainment; it's not life or death. Once the game is over, you're already talking about next year and the draft. It's just entertainment." - Bud Grant

58. "Football is an honest game. It's true to life. It's a game about sharing. Football is a team game, and everyone has to work together." - Joe Namath

59. "When you're good at something, you'll tell everyone. When you're great at something, they'll tell you." - Walter Payton

60. "The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination." - Tommy Lasorda

61. "Only the paranoid survive." - Bill Belichick

62. "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size in the fight of the dog." – Archie Griffin

63. "Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you're in control, they're in control." - Tom Landry

64. “The greatest game you can win is won within.” – Lou Holtz

65. "If you're not playing with passion, then you're not playing football." - Thierry Henry

66. "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill

67. "The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender." - Marv Levy

68. "I've worked too hard and too long to let anything stand in the way of my goals. I will not let my teammates down, and I will not let myself down." - Tim Howard

69. "I have yet to be in a game where luck was involved." –Urban Meyer

70. "Success isn't measured by money or power or social rank. Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace." –Mike Ditka

71. "I learned all about life with a ball at my feet." – Ronaldinho

72. "I don't believe skill was or ever will be, the result of coaches. It is a result of a love affair between the child and the ball." - Roy Keane

73. "There is no pressure when you're making a dream come true." - Neymar Jr.

74. “Winning isn’t getting ahead of others. It’s getting ahead of yourself.” – Roger Staubach

75. "Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence. If you're in control, they're in control." –Tom Landry

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