Tennis, Soccer, and Basketball, Oh My!
Here are some past episodes with athletes or related to sports
Okay, this has been such an exciting time for sports lovers (and the people who love them). The Knicks winning for the first time since 1973! The Stanley Cup finals. The World Cup. The end of the French Open and the beginning of Wimbledon.
Confession: I don’t love watching sports. What I love is watching the emotions behind the sports: the inspiration, the choking, the group hugs, the crying, the grit, the hustle. It’s why I also love watching sports-themed movies. (“Wildcats,” anyone?)
Here are a few of my podcast episodes and quotes from authors and athletes talking about sports, sportsmanship, training, competition, and more that tap into that collective euphoria of a win or the behind-the-scenes of what makes athletes able to take the pain the rest of us can’t.
Quotes from Totally Booked Interviews:
“I loved being on the field and playing. That’s where I became me as a person.” - Christie Pearce Rampone, Be All In: Raising Kids for Success in Sports and Life
“I learned how strong I was. I learned that I'm a fighter. I learned that failure is never going to break me.” - Lolo Jones, Over It: How to Face Life's Hurdles with Grit, Hustle, and Grace
“The best sports stories are not about sports at all. They’re just hung on a very thin wire of sports.” - Rick Reilly, So Help Me Golf
“Sports are cruel that way. You succeed when you’re young. It’s a tragedy that you probably won’t feel that again... It’s hard to drum up that same depth of high-octane life that you had as an athlete.” - Diana Nyad, Nyad
“You’re a competitor. You’re an athlete. It is a big part of your core of how you move through every day... That fear to potentially lose who you are, then you’re starting from scratch. That’s really scary.” - Lindsey Jacobellis, Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall
“I lost my whole identity... I was the soccer player... When I lost that, I was empty. I was empty for a really long time... I totally lost my purpose. I lost myself.” - Susie Petruccelli, Raised a Warrior
“I’d told myself this story my whole life that I was not an athlete... It turned out I just never actually tried at all because I was so scared of failing.” - Alyssa Ages, Secrets of Giants
“Within the infrastructure of a team, men are allowed to love each other... to notice that one of them is having some problems and just show up for them. The team nature of it allows them to do that.” - Ann Napolitano, Hello Beautiful
“Some of the best men I know played football. Some of the men that are hurting the most played football. I don’t have an answer, but I do say, try to keep your kids out of helmets.” -Kelsey Chittick, Second Half
“When you’re an athlete you’re either a winner or a loser. Even if you lose by a tenth of a second, you’ve lost... when you mess up, you lose. And when you lose, you actually get less love.” - Megan Tady, Bluebird Day
What’s your favorite sport or sports team?!