As we move into the time of year when professional and college football teams schedule their play-off games, I’m sharing some of my favorite quotes from the famous Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi. Take a look at some of his quotes and see which ones inspire you the most.
First, here’s some history about Coach Lombardi.
Vincent Thomas Lombardi was arguably the greatest football coach of all time and is on the short list of history’s greatest coaches, regardless of sport. His ability to teach, motivate and inspire players helped turn the Green Bay Packers into the most dominating NFL team in the 1960s.
The oldest of five children, Lombardi was born in Brooklyn on June 11, 1913. As the son of an Italian immigrant, Lombardi was raised in a strict Catholic household. In 1928, at the age of 15, he entered the Cathedral College of Immaculate Conception to study for the priesthood. Deciding on a different career path two years later, Lombardi transferred to St. Francis Preparatory and starred as fullback on the football team. Upon graduation, he attended Fordham University and joined that football team, where he was a member of the university’s famed “Seven Blocks of Granite.” After graduating magna cum laude from Fordham in 1937, Lombardi attended law school in the evenings while working for a finance company during the day. Once again, Lombardi shifted gears and decided to take a teaching and assistant football coaching position at St. Cecilia High School in Englewood, N.J. He married Marie Planitz in 1940, and they had two children, Vince Jr. and Susan.
A few years later, he had the opportunity to continue his coaching career at West Point and learn under the direction of the great coach Red Blaik. It was during this time as an assistant to Blaik that Lombardi identified and developed what became the hallmark of his great coaching strategy: simplicity and execution. He developed a reputation for being a tireless workaholic, a trait that helped him land a position as assistant coach in the NFL for the New York Giants. During his five years with the Giants, Lombardi led the team to five winning seasons, culminating with the league championship in 1956.
In January 1959, he accepted the head coaching position with the Green Bay Packers and signed a five-year contract. From the outset, Lombardi established himself as a coach firmly in charge. He conducted grueling training camps and demanded absolute dedication and effort from his players. His hard-edged style turned the Packers into the most envied and successful franchise in the 1960s. He led them to five NFL championships, including victories in Super Bowl I and II, which solidified his own status as the greatest football coach in history. After a two-year break from coaching, Lombardi returned to lead the Washington Redskins in 1969, facilitating their first winning season in more than a decade.
In June 1970, tragedy struck. Lombardi was diagnosed with an aggressive form of colon cancer and died 10 weeks later on Sept. 3, 1970, at the age of 57. A beloved national icon, thousands of people attended two separate funerals. Shortly after his death, Lombardi was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as well as honored by the NFL by having his name adorn the trophy awarded to the Super Bowl champion each year.
Now, read these Lombardi quotes for inspiration this week:
Teamwork
“Individual commitment to a group effort — that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”
Commitment
“Once a man has made a commitment to a way of life, he puts the greatest strength in the world behind him. It’s something we call heart power. Once a man has made this commitment, nothing will stop him short of success.”
“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”
“It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.”
Success/Sacrifice
“Success is like anything worthwhile. It has a price. You have to pay the price to win, and you have to pay the price to get to the point where success is possible. Most important, you must pay the price to stay there.”
“Once you agree upon the price you and your family must pay for success. It enables you to ignore the minor hurts, the opponent’s pressure and the temporary failures.”
“A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive, and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.”
Discipline
“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. “
“Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.”
“Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”
“Once you have established the goals you want and the price you’re willing to pay, you can ignore the minor hurts, the opponent’s pressure and the temporary failures.”
Will to Win
“There’s only one way to succeed in anything, and that is to give it everything. I do, and I demand that my players do.”
“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.”
“You never win a game unless you beat the guy in front of you. The score on the board doesn’t mean a thing. That’s for the fans. You’ve got to win the war with the man in front of you. You’ve got to get your man.”
Leadership
“Leaders are made; they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.”
“It is essential to understand that battles are primarily won in the hearts of men. Men respond to leadership in a most remarkable way, and once you have won a man’s heart, he will follow you anywhere.”
“Leadership is based on a spiritual quality — the power to inspire, the power to inspire others to follow.”
“Having the capacity to lead is not enough. The leader must be willing to use it.”
Excellence
“They call it coaching, but it is teaching. You do not just tell them — you show them the reasons.”
“After all the cheers have died down and the stadium is empty, after the headlines have been written, and after you are back in the quiet of your room and the championship ring has been placed on the dresser, and after all the pomp and fanfare have faded, the enduring thing that is left is the dedication to doing with our lives the very best we can to make the world a better place in which to live.”
Mental Toughness
“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.”
“Teams do not go physically flat; they go mentally stale.”
Habit
“The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.”
“Confidence is contagious and so is lack of confidence, and a customer will recognize both.”
“If you don’t think you’re a winner, you don’t belong here.”
Results/Winning
“Winning is not everything — but making the effort to win is.”
“Success demands singleness of purpose.”
“If it doesn’t matter who wins or loses, then why do they keep score?”
Truth
“The object is to win fairly, by the rules — but to win.”
“Morally, the life of the organization must be of exemplary nature. This is one phase where the organization must not have criticism.”
Kathleen