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1. “giving 110 percent” — Not only is it incredibly overused considering that most everyone on a field is trying hard, but it defies the tenets of mathematics, which is especially grating for encyclopedists.
2. “we’re just taking it one game at a time” — Barring some serious space/time continuum hijinks, games are only ever played one at a time.
3. “he/she knows how to win” — Used to refer to someone who has won a lot, but every person on a playing field has won at least a few times and therefore has knowledge of how to win.
4. “defense wins championships” — With the exceptions of football or the rare occasions on which a hockey goalie scores an empty-netter, defense cannot score points in any of the major sports. And you only win games by accumulating points so technically a defense really can’t win a team a championship (although the 2000 Baltimore Ravens came awfully close). Of course good defense matters for team success, but find a more honest way of saying so.
5. “someone needs to step up and make a play” — This cliché makes it sound as if the players haven’t been attempting to make a play previously, which is pretty doubtful.
6. “nobody believed in us” — Do you have fans show up for your home games? Then someone believed in you.
7. “there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’” — You don’t say.
8. “at the end of the day…” — Not a cliché used only in sports, but it’s a staple of post-game interviews when a player or coach is trying (and usually failing) to put things in perspective.
9. “he/she’s a team player” — Every person on a team is a team player by definition.
10. any and all thanking of God for a victory — If you say this it means you think that God either loves you more than anyone else on the field, hates your opponent, or has nothing better to do than affect the outcome of a sporting event. That’s about as self-centered as humanly possible (even by professional athlete standards).
2. “we’re just taking it one game at a time” — Barring some serious space/time continuum hijinks, games are only ever played one at a time.
3. “he/she knows how to win” — Used to refer to someone who has won a lot, but every person on a playing field has won at least a few times and therefore has knowledge of how to win.
4. “defense wins championships” — With the exceptions of football or the rare occasions on which a hockey goalie scores an empty-netter, defense cannot score points in any of the major sports. And you only win games by accumulating points so technically a defense really can’t win a team a championship (although the 2000 Baltimore Ravens came awfully close). Of course good defense matters for team success, but find a more honest way of saying so.
5. “someone needs to step up and make a play” — This cliché makes it sound as if the players haven’t been attempting to make a play previously, which is pretty doubtful.
6. “nobody believed in us” — Do you have fans show up for your home games? Then someone believed in you.
7. “there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’” — You don’t say.
8. “at the end of the day…” — Not a cliché used only in sports, but it’s a staple of post-game interviews when a player or coach is trying (and usually failing) to put things in perspective.
9. “he/she’s a team player” — Every person on a team is a team player by definition.
10. any and all thanking of God for a victory — If you say this it means you think that God either loves you more than anyone else on the field, hates your opponent, or has nothing better to do than affect the outcome of a sporting event. That’s about as self-centered as humanly possible (even by professional athlete standards).
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