Moderators Zico Posted January 23, 2017 Moderators Share Posted January 23, 2017 aye given I'm not from Buffalo I think I may change my allegiances each season and pick a long shot 50/1er or thereabouts team and cheer on for the season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gonzo Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Someone should arrange an NFL sweepstake next season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Site Supporter Spider Posted January 23, 2017 Site Supporter Share Posted January 23, 2017 Someone should arrange an NFL sweepstake next season You can have th Browns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no balls Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Bagsy having the ones who are moving to Vegas. They're a bit crap those Raiders though aren't they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bolty58 Posted January 25, 2017 Members Share Posted January 25, 2017 Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all of the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that's first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.Every time a football player goes to ply his trade he's got to play from the ground up - from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's O.K. You've got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you've got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you're lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field second.Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization - an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win - to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don't think it is.It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That's why they are there - to compete. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules - but to win.And in truth, I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.I don't say these things because I believe in the ‘brute' nature of men or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour -- his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear -- is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bolty58 Posted January 25, 2017 Members Share Posted January 25, 2017 A year ago, in making a talk to a similar group in a similar situation, I had a difficult time in arriving at a method of approach: how to reach this intelligent audience? Then, finally, I arrived at the only subject through which I could conceivably contribute anything—my own experience of trampling grapes in my local vineyard—namely, football. I have been in football all my life, and I do not know whether I am particularly qualified to do much else except coach football. I can only say it is a great game, a game of great lessons, a game that has become a symbol of this country’s best attributes—namely, courage, stamina, and coordinated efficiency. It is a Spartan game, and requires Spartan-like qualities in order to play it. By that, of course, I don’t mean the Spartan tradition of leaving the weak to die. I mean, instead, the qualities of sacrifice, self-denial, dedication, and fearlessness. Football is a violent game. To play it any other way but violently would be imbecilic. But because of its violent nature, it demands a personal discipline seldom found in modern life. Football is more than the National Football League alone. Football is Red Grange, Jim Thorpe, and the many hundreds of other stars who have made this the great game that it is. Football is all of the thousands of high school and college boys who play it and the many millions more who watch it, either in person or on television. Regardless of what level it is played upon—high school, college, or the professional level—it has become a game that not only exemplifies this country’s finest attributes, but more than that, it has the means and the power to provide mental and physical relaxation to the millions who watch it from the sidelines. I need no other authority than the great General MacArthur to prove my point, and I quote him: Competitive sports keeps alive in all of us a spirit of vitality and enterprise. It teaches the strong to know when they are weak, and the brave to face themselves when they are afraid. It teaches us to be proud and unbending in defeat, yet humble and gentle in victory. It teaches us to master ourselves before we attempt to master others. It teaches us to learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep. It gives a predominance of courage over timidity. I sometimes wonder whether those of us who love football fully appreciate its great lessons. For example: that it is a game played by more than a million Americans and yet, a game uninhibited by racial or social barriers. It is a game that requires, in early season, exhaustive hard work to the point of drudgery. A game of team action, wherein the individual’s reward is that total satisfaction that is returned by being part of the successful whole. A game that gives you 100-percent fun when you win and exacts 100-percent resolution when you lose. A game like war and also a game most like life—for it teaches that work, sacrifice, perseverance, competitive drive, selflessness, and respect for authority are the price one pays to achieve worthwhile goals. And it has larger implications. Today, all of us are engaged in a struggle more fiercely contested and far more important to our future. It is the struggle for the hearts, the minds, and the souls of men. In this struggle, there are no spectators, only players. It is a struggle that will test our courage, our strength, and our stamina. Only if we are physically, mentally, and spiritually fit will we win. We live in an age fit for heroes. No time has ever offered such perils or such prizes. Man can provide a full life for humanity—or he can destroy himself with the problems he has created. The test of this century will be whether man confuses the growth of wealth and power with the growth of spirit and character. If he does, he will be like some infant playing with matches who destroys the very house he would have inherited. You are the leaders of this country. I believe it is the obligation of our leaders to see that we are awakened to this need. Unless we can do something to get everyone in America moving in this direction, we may not be able to keep America strong. Calisthenics, exercise, and muscle toning are not the complete answer. There is also a need to develop a strong spirit of competitive interest throughout the nation. In other words, a strong body is only one-half of the answer. We fail in our obligation if we do not also preserve the American zeal to be first and the will to win. American freedom—and I mean freedom, not license—could be lost and possibly succumb to the consequence of aggressive secularism and communism, unless the values underlying that freedom are thoroughly understood and embraced by our leaders. For decades, we as individuals have struggled to liberate ourselves from ancient tradition, congealed creeds, and despotic states. In this struggle, freedom was necessarily idealized against order, the new against the old, and genius against discipline. Everything was done to strengthen the right of the individual and weaken the authority of the state and church. Maybe the battle was too completely won. Maybe we have too much freedom. Maybe we have so long ridiculed authority in the family, discipline in education, decency in conduct, and law in the state that our freedom has brought us close to chaos. Maybe our leaders no longer understand the relationship between themselves and the people—that is, that the people want to be independent and dependent, all at the same time. They want to assert themselves and yet at the same time be told what to do. Management is leadership. When management fails, it reflects a lack of leadership. All of you possess leadership ability. But leadership rests not only on outstanding ability. It also rests on commitment, loyalty, and pride. It rests on followers who are ready to accept guidance. Leadership is the ability to direct people and—more important—to have those people accept that direction. The educated man is the natural leader. He may not get all of his education in college; in fact, his inspiration may come from anyplace. If he studies the past, his country, his people, his ancestry, and the lessons of history, he is educated. I think you will agree that what is needed in the world today is not just engineers and scientists. What is needed, too, is people who will keep their heads in an emergency, no matter what the field. Leaders, in other words, who can meet intricate problems with wisdom and with courage. Leadership is not just one quality, but rather a blend of many qualities. And while no one individual possesses all of the talents that are needed for leadership, each man can develop a combination that can make him a leader. Contrary to the opinion of many, leaders are not born; they are made. And they are made by hard effort, which is the price we must all pay for success. We are not born equal. Rather, we are born unequal. The talented are no more responsible for their talent than the underprivileged are for their position. The measure of each is what he does. Our society, at the present time, seems to have sympathy only for the misfit, the ne’er-dowell, the maladjusted, the criminal, the loser. It is time to stand up for the doer, the achiever, the one who sets out to do something and does it. The one who recognizes the problems and opportunities at hand, and deals with them, and is successful, and is not worrying about the failings of others. The one who is constantly looking for more to do. The one who carries the work of the world on his shoulders. The leader. We will never create a good society, much less a great one, until individual excellence is respected and encouraged. To be a leader, you must be honest with yourself. You must know that as a leader, you are “like everyone else”—only more so. You must identify yourself with the group and back them up, even at the risk of displeasing your superiors. You must believe that the group wants, above all else, the leader’s approval. Once this feeling prevails, productivity, discipline, and morale will all be high. In return, you must demand from the group cooperation to promote the goals of the corporation. As a leader, you must believe in teamwork through participation. As a result, your contacts with the group must be close and informal. You must be sensitive to the emotional needs and expectations of others. In return, the group’s attitude toward the leader should be one of confidence infused with affection. And yet, the leader must always walk the tightrope between the consent he must win and the control he must exert. Despite the need for teamwork and participation, the leader can never close the gap between himself and the group. If he does, he is no longer what he has to be. The leader is a lonely person. He must maintain a certain distance between himself and the members of the group. A leader does not exist in the abstract, but rather in terms of what he does in a specific situation. A leader is judged in terms of what others do to obtain the results that he is placed there to get. You, as a leader, must possess the quality of mental toughness. This is a difficult quality to explain, but in my opinion, this is the most important element in the character of the leader. Mental toughness is many things. It is humility. It is simplicity. The leader always remembers that simplicity is the sign of true greatness and meekness, the sign of true strength. Mental toughness is Spartanism, with all its qualities of self-denial, sacrifice, dedication, fearlessness, and love. Yes, love. “Love” is not necessarily “liking.” You do not need to like someone in order to love them. Love is loyalty. Love is teamwork. Love is respect for the dignity of an individual. Love is charity. The love I speak of is not detraction. A man who belittles another—who is not loyal, who speaks ill of another—is not a leader and does not belong in the top echelons of management. I’m not advocating that love is the answer to everything. I am not advocating a love that forces everyone to love everybody else. I am not saying that we must love the white man because he is white, or the black man because he is black, or the poor man because he is poor, or the enemy because he is the enemy, or the perverse because he is perverse. Rather, I am advocating a love for the human being—any human being, who just happens to be white, black, poor or rich, enemy or friend. Heart power is the strength of your company, of your organization, of America. Hate power is the weakness of the world. Mental toughness is also the perfectly disciplined will. The strength of your group is in your will—in the will of the leader. The difference between a successful man and others is not in the lack of strength, nor in the lack of knowledge, but rather, in the lack of will. The real difference between men is in energy. It is in the strong will, the settled purpose, the invincible determination. But remember that the will is the character in action. If we would create something, we must be something. This is character. Character is higher than intellect. Character is the direct result of mental attitude. A man cannot dream himself into character; he must hammer and forge one for himself. He cannot copy someone else’s qualities; he must develop his own character qualities to fit his own personality. We should remember, too, that there is only one kind of discipline, and that is the perfect discipline. As a leader, you must enforce and maintain that discipline; otherwise, you will fail at your job. Leadership lies in sacrifice, self-denial, love, fearlessness, and humility. And this is the distinction between great and little men. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonk Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Fucking hell, you don't half go on at times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeep Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Love a Vince Lombardi quote, for me they are very inspirational! He was a top bloke too, abhorred racism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bolty58 Posted January 25, 2017 Members Share Posted January 25, 2017 Correct. A great man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Zico Posted January 25, 2017 Moderators Share Posted January 25, 2017 Love a Vince Lombardi quote Quote? That was his fucking autobiography Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bolty58 Posted January 25, 2017 Members Share Posted January 25, 2017 Quote? That was his fucking autobiography Just a speech. I thought I was doing you a favour. I have an even longer one that he gave to the AMA in 1968. I'll save it for a rainy day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gonzo Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Has it kicked off yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_spencer Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Has it kicked off yet? im still at home so i hope not. wont kick off til about half 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyldesley_white Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Has it kicked off yet? not yet, just sat watching the pregame show Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_spencer Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Just got to the pub, first pint in hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bolty58 Posted February 5, 2017 Members Share Posted February 5, 2017 Have to go to bloody work so recording it (at least you can FF past all those bloody adverts). My bookie has a special on that he will match any bet with an equivalent bet on any other Superbowl market so I have backed the Falcons with my money and the Patriots with his. Almost a completely free bet but not quite. Miniscule loss if the Pats win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_spencer Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 FUCK YOU BRADY!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyldesley_white Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 FUCK YOU BRADY!!!! lets hope so, another 21 points for the Falcons would be nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_spencer Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 The doink of that missed PAT was satisfying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_spencer Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 What.the.fuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyldesley_white Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 What.the.fuck. bugger, good game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_spencer Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Can't stand the man but Brady is incredible and probably the best QB ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyldesley_white Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Can't stand the man but Brady is incredible and probably the best QB ever. I will agree with you on both points Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bolty58 Posted February 6, 2017 Members Share Posted February 6, 2017 Have to admit (through gritted teeth) that they are possibly the greatest team ever and Brady the best QB. I don't like anything from Boston and its environs. Their basketball team, their college football team, the Pats or Noraid. Convinced this will be the last year they come out on top.................................................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Site Supporter Spider Posted February 6, 2017 Site Supporter Share Posted February 6, 2017 That Edelman catch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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