Today my wife had enough. She felt there were way too many Sports Illustrateds lying around the house. So before she threw them all away, I wanted to capture the leadership quotes from various issues from and about the greatest athletes in the world.
August 27, 2012 – California Angels outfielder Mike Trout
- “Mike makes it look easy. One thing that stands out is the look he has on his face. It’s, Wow, we’re getting snow cones after the game! It’s the sheer joy of playing.” – Angels scouting director Eddie Bane
- “Best athlete. Best player in the world – period. Best player on the planet.” – Angels area scout Greg Morhardt prior to the 2009 MLB draft. Somehow, 20 teams passed on him prior to the Angels pick.
July 2, 2012 – LeBron James
- “If someone came to you right now told you, ‘If you don’t win tonight you won’t see your family again,’ how would you play? Approach this game like your family is in danger. How bad do youwant to see your family again?” – prior to the deciding Game 5
- “I told him (Kevin Durant) he’s unbelievable. I told him he shouldn’t feel any regrets. And I told him to continue to work.”
- “It was hard for me to do it but it was easy for me to do it for the team.” – Dwyane Wade on giving leadership of the team to James
- “When you get to the point where all you want to do is be successful as bad as you want to breathe then you’ll be successful.” – head coach Erik Spoelstra
- “He’s a freak of nature but he’s still a human being.” – teammate Adonis Haslem
- “It’s the way the world works. You can’t win unless you win.” – Spoelstra
July 23, 2012 -Â Ryan Lochte
- “He (Michael Phelps) pushes me every day. And I push him. We have a great rivalry.”
- “It’s a little bit of a weakness. He has to learn to say no once in a while.” – coach Gregg Troy on Lochte’s kindness
- “What makes them (Lochte and Phelps) good as a team is their unwillingness to lose.” – Cullen Jones
Usain Bolt
- “Without Bolt, I suppose we have no sport.” – shotputter Adam Nelson
- “Usain is in a special category, a cultural phenomenon. He doesn’t make a meet good or bad, he makes it glamorous. Bolt, he shadows all the others.” – Patrick Magyar
- “When Usain Bolt is at a race, I’m the free bread they serve before the meal.” – Lolo Jones
August 13, 2012 – Michael Phelps
- “What he has done in the sport is extraordinary. He intimidated me…He’s the best swimmer in history.” – Jason Lezak
- “I wanted to change the sport and take it to a new level. That was a goal of mine. If I can say I’ve done that, then I can say I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do in my career.”
Gabby Douglas
- “In one performance, that rare combination of joy and fire gave new life to the sport.” – Bela Karolyi
- “Pull up a chair and be ready for the ride. She’s going to break barriers on so many different levels.” – Mary Lou Retton
Which of these quotes hit home with you the most?
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