Quotes about sportsmanship?

Question

I am writing an essay about how sports build character, and how they unite different people under the same cause (like the olympics).

For example, when the Central Washington University softball girls carried the girl from Western Oregon around the bases so that her home run counted - that showed real sportsmanship.

I wanted to start my essay with a really strong quote, proverb, saying, etc. but I don't know of any real good ones. If you could give me some that would be great.

By the way, the quote doesn't necessarily have to do with sports, as long as it involves character, kindness, being united, etc. Anything like that.

Answer 1

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." Mark Twain

Answer 2

These quotes have become a part of my life.  I hope that you find a strong quote amongst them to use.

"Sports do not build character. They reveal it."

~ John Wooden

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved."

~ Helen Keller

"Character is higher than intellect. A great soul will be strong to live as well as think."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"It is not the brains that matter most, but that which guides them—the character, the heart, generous qualities, progressive ideas.

~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky

"Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow.  The shadow is what we think of it, the tree is the real thing."

~ Abe Lincoln

"In order to have a winner, the team must have a feeling of unity; every player must put the team first-ahead of personal glory."

~ Paul "Bear" Bryant

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."

~ Mahatma Gandhi

"One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team."

~ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Answer 3

For years the traditional answer to this question has been the one by Grantland Rice:

"When the One Great Scorer comes to write against your name–

 He marks–not that you won or lost–but how you played the game."

People rarely get the punctuation right, incidentally.