“The game is the best teacher” (soccer adage)
"The game is the (best) teacher" is a popular saying among soccer coaches, meaning that players learn by playing the game. Tony Waiters and Bobby Howe popularized the saying in their…
Archive for /P34500
“The ball never gets tired” (soccer adage)
"The ball never gets tired" (or "the ball doesn't get tired") is a popular soccer adage, cited in print since at least 1991. The saying means that players should pass the…
“If it moves, kick it; if it doesn’t move, kick it until it does” (soccer adage)
Phil Woosnam, the commissioner of the North American Soccer League, explained soccer to Americans in May 1974: "The rules are very simple. Basically it's this: If it moves, kick it. If it…
“So dumb you need a half hour to cook Minute Rice” (food joke)
Minute Rice is a trademarked product that was introduced in 1949. It takes a few minutes to make Minute Rice, not necessarily just one minute. "So dumb/stupid you need a half hour (or hour) to…
“So dumb you need the recipe for ice” (food joke)
"So dumb/stupid you need the recipe for ice cubes" is a food joke that dates to at least 1983. The joke has been used in collections of Polish jokes and Texas A&M Aggie jokes…
“The older I get the better I was” (sports adage)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Zazzle.com'The Older I Get, The Better I Was!' T Shirts 28 November 1965, Oregonian (Portland, OR), "East Oregon Desert Produces Own Mark Twain" by E.…
“Fighters don’t retire from the ring; the ring retires fighters” (boxing adage)
"Fighters don't retire from the ring; the ring retires fighters" is a boxing adage popularized by Bernard Hopkins, Jr., also called "The Executioner." Hopkins became the…
“Statistics are for losers”
"Statistics are for losers" means that the only statistic that matters is if a team won or lost -- not individual statistics, such as how many yards a player gained or how many points a…
“Statistics are like bikinis—what they reveal is interesting, but what they conceal is vital”
"Statistics are like a Bikini bathing suit. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital" was said by economist (and later Baruch College professor) Aaron Levenstein,…
“If you can’t beat ‘em, beat ‘em up” (hockey adage)
"If you can't beat them, join them" is a proverb that was popular in the early 20th century. A hockey variant (showing hockey's violence) is, "if you can't beat them,…
“We wuz robbed!” (“We was robbed!”)
Joe Jacobs (1896-1940), the manager of boxer Max Schmeling (who had just lost a decision to Jack Sharkey at Madison Square Garden on June 21, 1932), grabbed a microphone and told the world,…
“Stay tuned”
Radio listeners and television viewers are often told to "stay tuned (to this station)" for the next program or for breaking news reports. The used of "stay tuned" dates to the…
“Don’t touch that dial!”
"Don't touch that dial!" is said going into a radio or television commercial (or the next show), telling the listener or viewer to stay tuned to the station. "Ah-ah-ah!…
“Kill the body and the head will die” (boxing adage)
A saying in agriculture is "Kill the root and the head (of the plant) will die." In boxing, a saying is "Kill the body and the head will die." That is, punch the other fighter…
“Styles make fights” (boxing adage)
"Styles make fights" is a boxing adage that dates to at least a March 1938 newspaper story by syndicated sportswriter Grantland Rice, describing the styles of heavyweights Joe Louis and…
“There’s boxing and then there’s heavyweight boxing” (boxing adage)
"There's boxing and then there's heavyweight boxing" is a boxing adage meaning that boxing purists will watch boxing at any level, but that the general public is only interested…
“Skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it’s been” (hockey adage)
"Skate to where the puck's going to be, not to where it has been" is advice that Walter Gretzky said (in January 1982) that he gave to his son, hockey great Wayne Gretzky. In 1983,…
“Forecheck, backcheck, paycheck” (three most important elements of pro hockey)
In December 1982, Buffalo Sabres center Gil Perreault named the three most important aspects of pro hockey: "Forecheck, backcheck, paycheck." Perreault's remark became a classical…
“Football is a gentleman’s game played by ruffians; rugby is a ruffian’s game played by gentlemen”
"Football/Soccer is a gentleman's game played by ruffians/hooligans; rugby is a ruffian's/hooligan's game played by gentlemen" is a sports saying, cited in print since at…
“Give blood—play hockey” (“Give blood—play rugby”)
Both rugby and hockey are violent games. The saying "Give Blood -- Play Rugby" was put on bumper stickers in 1975. The saying "Give Blood -- Play Hockey" has been on bumper…