List of sports clichés

This is a list of clichés related to sports
Clichés
Sports clichés used in business
According to Don R. Powell, licensed psychologist and president of the American Institute for Preventive Medicine, sports clichés are used in about 50 percent of corporate boardrooms. They provide a shorthand to quickly communicate ideas. According to Powell, "We have a love/hate relationship with cliches. Although we complain about them, we are enamored with them. That's because they always seem to fit."
* "Monday-Morning Quarterback"
* "That was a hole in one."
* "They don't pull any punches."
* "They're in a league of their own."
* "They have to have a great game for their team to win."
* "Charity Stripe"
* "Goals are not deserved, goals are made"
* "On any given Sunday . . ."
* "Play one game at a time"
* "There is no 'I' in 'team'"
* "There ain't no 'U' either'" - as a retort to "There is no 'I' in 'team'"
* "That's some kind of (fill in the blank)."
Sports film clichés
* A down and out coach is offered one last shot.
* The coach can't get along with his star player.<ref name="MSNBC"/>
* Someone doubts the protagonist's abilities, and is made to believe in them.<ref name="MSNBC"/>
* The players overcome race relations or gang violence, and are brought together by being a team.<ref name="MSNBC"/>
* The opposing team is larger, better dressed, better equipped yet end up defeated by the protagonist's team.<ref name="MSNBC"/>
* A death or injury provides the main character with the extra incentive to win.<ref name="MSNBC"/>
* The main character is considered too old to win, yet does.<ref name="MSNBC"/>
* An emotional speech inspires the protagonists.<ref name="MSNBC"/>
* Near the end of the movie it will seem that the protagonist's team has no chance of winning, but they quickly bounce back with little time left.
*The protagonist's team makes a valiant comeback effort only to fall just short at the last second (Puck hits the post, shot rims out, etc.). This is immediately followed by a dramatic montage with tear soaked hugs of players and coaches who are genuinely better off for the experience.
*After a supreme achievement on the sports field/court/diamond, the achiever will, for no apparent reason, extend his arm and use his forefinger to point, for an extended period of time, to a team-mate, coach or even someone in the crowd. In many cases, the person being pointed to will, inexplicably, return the gesture.
Criticism
According to Michael McCarthy, a USA Today sports television writer, sports announcers overuse clichés during their broadcasts.<ref name="USA Today"/> Sports critic Bill Mayo disagrees, saying that sports clichés are used "just the right amount," and "it is what it is."
Former New York Giants quarterback-turned CBS broadcaster Phil Simms devotes a large portion of his 2004 book Sunday Morning Quarterback to examining football clichés such as "winning the turnover battle", "halftime adjustments", and "managing the game."

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