Sylvester Stallone - Rocky

16 Of The Greatest Motivational Sports Speeches In History

There are a lot of people out here tonight who think you are the least likely candidate to be successful. 
Kirsten Corley
August 29, 2016
“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!”
— Rocky Balboa, Rocky V
Tagged: Best Movie Quotes, Movie Quotes, Inspirational Speeches
“Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all of the time. Winning is a habit.”
— Coach Vince Lombardi, What It Takes to be Number One
Tagged: Winning, champions, Habit, Sports Speeches, Motivational Sports
“If you don't feel those butterflies in your stomach now...when we walk out that door, they turn to dragons. Because they get bigger and they get stronger and we use them. And those dragons are going to breathe fire.”
— Coach Scott Quinnell, The 17 Most Inspiring Sports Speeches You've Ever Heard
Tagged: motivational sports quotes, Sports, Believe In Yourself
“When you're part of a team, you stand up for your teammates. Your loyalty is to them. You protect them through good and bad, because they'd do the same for you.”
— Yogi Berra, The 17 Most Inspiring Sports Speeches You've Ever Heard
Tagged: Motivational, Sports Quotes, Speeches, motivation, Drive
“Great moments are born from great opportunity, and that's what you have here tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game; if we played them ten times, they might win nine. But not this game, not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight we stay with them, and we shut them down because we can. Tonight, we are the greatest hockey team in the world.
You were born to be hockey players—every one of you, and you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time is done. It's over. I'm sick and tired of hearing about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw 'em. This is your time. Now go out there and take it!”
— Herb Brooks, Herb Brooks Speech - Heros and the History of Sports
Tagged: Herb Brooks Speech
“There are a lot of people out here tonight who think you are the least likely candidate to be successful...Now they're bigger and they got athletes going to Division I schools, we can see that and so can everybody else. But nobody can see the intangible with us...be the intangible tonight.”
— Tony Arcuri, The 17 Most Inspiring Sports Speeches You've Ever Heard
Tagged: Motivational Sports, Sports Quotes, motivation
“At that moment a voice came over me and said, Look up, get up, and don't ever give up. You tell everyone or anyone that has ever doubted, thought they did not measure up or wanted to quit, you tell them to look up, get up and don't ever give up.”
— Michael Irvin, Michael Irvin: 2007 Hall of Fame enshrinement speech
Tagged: Sports, Motivational, Sports Quotes
“Tonight is not about the past and it's not about the future. It's about right now. And you guys have gotta want this night to last forever.”
— Billy Donovan, The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive
Tagged: motivational sports quotes, Sports Quotes, Sports
“Wins and losses come a dime a dozen. But effort? Nobody can judge effort. Effort is between you and you. Effort ain’t got nothing to do with nobody else. So that team that think they ready to seen you? They think what they seen on film. They ain’t saw what film shows. Because every day is a new day. Every moment is a new moment...So now you got to go out and show them that you a different creature now than I was five minutes ago. Cause I’m pissed off for greatness. Because you ain’t pissed off for greatness, that mean you OK with being mediocre.”
— Ray Lewis, Ray Lewis' Inspiring Speech To Stanford Hoops Team
Tagged: Motivational Speeches, Motivational Quotes, Dream
“We go to different schools, difficult situations, but that’s not what makes us weak. That’s what makes us stronger than everybody else. This should be your motivation. This is not an excuse. Humility. That’s why we get in this dirt. That’s why we get on this hill. So we remain humble.”
— Coach Ed Dunn, The 17 Most Inspiring Sports Speeches You've Ever Heard
Tagged: motivational sports quotes, Motivational Sports, Motivational Speeches
“I never really allowed myself to believe that I might win because it seemed like such a faraway dream when you look at the names on the Vezina Trophy. They’re legends, and it’s humbling to even be mentioned in the same sentence. I’ve been more worried about getting my name on a roster than I have been about winning the Vezina Trophy…Throughout my career, there were so many times when I got my hopes up and had them come crashing down behind me.”
— Tim Thomas, Stanley Cup Final Game 7: Top 10 Motivational Sports Speeches of All Time
Tagged: Motivational Sports, Sports Speeches, motivation
“Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth.”
— Lou Gehrig, Stanley Cup Final Game 7: Top 10 Motivational Sports Speeches of All Time
Tagged: Motivational Speeches, Motivational Quotes, Drive, Determination
“It's not about talent. It's about heart. It's about who can go out there and play the hardest. They're not gonna give you anything. So you gotta go out there and you gotta take it.”
— Josh Lucus, Glory Road
Tagged: Sports Quotes, Motivational Speeches, Sports
“ This is our past, gentlemen. This is where we have been. This is how we got here. This is who we are. Today, I want to talk about our opponent this afternoon. They're bigger, faster, stronger, more experienced and on paper, they're just better. And they know it, too. But I wanna tell you something that they don't know. They don't know your heart. I do. I've seen it. You have shown it to me. You have shown this coaching staff, your teammates. You have shown yourselves just exactly who you are in here. (Pounds chest)

When you take that field today, you've gotta lay that heart on the line, men. From the souls of your feet, with every ounce of blood you've got in your body, lay it on the line until the final whistle blows. And if you do that, if you do that, we cannot lose. We may be behind on the scoreboard at the end of the game but if you play like that we cannot be defeated. Now we came here today to remember six young men and sixty-nine others who will not be on the field with you today, but they will be watching. You can bet your ass that they'll be gritting their teeth with every snap of that football. You understand me? How you play today, from this moment on, is how you will be remembered. This is your opportunity to rise from these ashes and grab glory.
We are...Marshall”
— Jack Lengyel, Jamie Linden (Ft. Matthew McConaughey) – We Are Marshall - Funeral Speech
Tagged: Motivational Sports, Motivational Speeches, motivation
“You listen. And you take a lesson from the dead. If we don't come together, right now, on this hallowed ground, we too will be destroyed -- just like they were. I don't care if you like each other or not. But you will respect each other. And maybe -- I don't know -- maybe we'll learn to play this game like men.”
— Denzel Washington, Remember The Titans
Tagged: Motivational Speeches, Motivational Quotes, motivation