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Quotational Therapy: Part 46 -- Vince Lombardi, "Number One" Speech.

Vince Lombardi, "#1 Speech"-

"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 the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.

"There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that's first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.

"Every time a football player goes to ply his trade he's got to play from the ground up — from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's O.K. You've got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you've got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you're lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field second.

"Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization — an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win — to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don't think it is.

"It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That's why they are there — to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules — but to win.

"And in truth, I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.

"I don't say these things because I believe in the "brute" nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle — victorious."

There's a reason the Superbowl trophy is named after this guy.

And Lombardi's point about the point of political parties (to win elections) is well-taken.

It's also lesson Democrats haven't quite taken to heart in recent years:

If elections matter, then wins in elections should matter accordingly. While the lack of respect from the establishment media for recent Republican poll victories is frustrating, it shouldn't get those of us who prefer economic liberty down. Instead, it ought to supply the impetus for increasing those majorities. And not just increasing those majorities, but filling thoes supermajorities with true small-government conservatives.

Let's strive to win, win, and win some more. We shouldn't fear overreach or backlash. We should respect and trust in the power of our own ideas. And win some more.

Previous Quotational Therapy Session:

Bush Katrina Speech From Jackson Square, New Orleans, Louisiana.

The right quote can be therapeutic, so tune in to WILLisms.com for quotational therapy every Monday and Friday.

Posted by Will Franklin · 19 September 2005 11:34 AM

Comments

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at September 19, 2005 11:36 AM

Posted by: Cardinals Nation at September 19, 2005 02:20 PM

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at September 19, 2005 02:46 PM