I thought talking to human beings was just something that could make things complicated and unpleasant. So I didn't talk much. I just watched people.
Ernie BanksRead
Baseball reveals character; golf exposes it.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that baseball shows a person's true character, while golf highlights it under pressure.
Ernie Banks' quote reflects the different ways sports can reveal an individual's character. Baseball, often seen as a team sport where cooperation and strategy are vital, brings out qualities such as teamwork and perseverance. In contrast, golf is an individual sport that requires self-discipline and composure, often exposing one's true nature when faced with challenges. Therefore, each sport can serve as a mirror, showcasing how individuals handle success, failure, and competition.
In practice
In a sportsmanship speech at an awards ceremony.
I thought talking to human beings was just something that could make things complicated and unpleasant. So I didn't talk much. I just watched people.
I hit a home run in my first game, and they told me to go into the stands and pass my cap around. I made six dollars in nickels, dimes, and quarters.
It was about 105 degrees in Chicago. And that's a time when everybody gets tired. I came into the clubhouse, and everybody was sitting around, and I said, 'Beautiful day. Let's play two!' And everybody looked at me like I was crazy. There were a couple of writers around, and they wrote that, and it stayed with me.
I was playing rugby and the other games English school children do, and there was an event in which races were run, and I won these by a considerable margin.
When we reach the point where the women athletes are getting their pick of dates just as easily as the men athletes, then we've really and truly arrived. Parity at last!
Cub fans, by consensus, are the best in baseball. Year after year, in good times and (mostly) bad, they turn out in vociferous numbers, sustaining themselves with a heavenly ichor that combines loyalty, criticism, cheerfulness, durability, rage, beer and hope, in exquisite proportions.
In an individual sport, yes, you have to win titles. Baseball's different. But basketball, hockey? One person can control the tempo of a game, can completely alter the momentum of a series. There's a lot of great individual talent.
You have to remember one thing: Football is entertainment; it's not life or death. Once the game is over, you're already talking about next year and the draft. It's just entertainment.
And I think because of the passion of every English player and every English supporter, and every English journalist for the game, most of the game is played with passion, love for football and instinct, but in football you also have to think.
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