The only yardstick for success our society has is being a champion. No one remembers anything else.
John Madden

The reason sport is attractive to many of the general public is that it's filled with reversals. What you think may happen doesn't happen. A champion is beaten, an unknown becomes a champion.
Roger Bannister

The situation right after the fight wasn't too good; I believe I'm still the only champion in the world who never received the belt inside the ring once you've won the title. I held that against the English fans for a long time but I felt that also motivated me.
Marvin Hagler

The vision of a champion is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when nobody else is looking.
Mia Hamm

There's always the motivation of wanting to win. Everybody has that. But a champion needs, in his attitude, a motivation above and beyond winning.
Pat Riley

They're cheering a young lad, the champion playboy of the Western World.
John Millington Synge

To be a champion you must act like one, act like a champion.
Lou Ferrigno

To be champion requires more than simply being a strong player; one has to be a strong human being as well.
Anatoly Karpov

Upon awakening in the morning, I wondered if the proceedings of the night before had been a dream. It was hard to believe that I was the world's heavyweight champion.
Gene Tunney

We cannot be both the world's leading champion of peace and the world's leading supplier of the weapons of war.
Jimmy Carter

We need strong personalities and only one world champion to attract sponsors.
Anatoly Karpov

What could be better than walking down any street in any city and knowing you're the heavyweight champion of the world?
Rocky Marciano

What does it take to be a champion? Desire, dedication, determination, concentration and the will to win.
Patty Berg

What happened in the past is just that, the past. Champion or not.
Steve Nash

What I can tell them is the way you become an Olympic champion is to start working now. I tell them why it's always worth it to put the time and effort into something you want to be good at.
Rafer Johnson

What is the single most important quality in a tennis champion? I would have to say desire, staying in there and winning matches when you are not playing that well.
John McEnroe

What it is saying is that someone who was a world champion and who takes care of himself with a 17-year rest and applies the proper training techniques and perseverance could be successful.
Mark Spitz

Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.
Wilma Rudolph

You become a champion by fighting one more round. When things are tough, you fight one more round.
James J. Corbett

You have to bear in mind that Mr. Autry's favorite horse was named Champion. He ain't ever had one called Runner Up.
Gene Mauch