Image via Complex Original
2013 was a great year for sports and a great year for quotes. Quotes are one of the best parts of sports because athletes contribute some great quotable lines on a regular basis. There usually is nothing too crazy, but every now and then an athlete will drop a line or response that can be remembered in infamy. Who can forget Steve Smith telling Aqib Talib to “Ice Up, son?” Or Manti Te'o saying the he should be "more cautious?" Those are the words that we’ll never forget, at least until next year’s list of quotes. From Kobe Bryant to Muhammad Ali, here is a look at the Best Sports Quotes Of 2013.
RELATED: Ace Ventura Quotes You Can Make Use Of
RELATED: The 50 Most Outrageous Rapper Quotes
"It sucks that it was him. Because I like him. That sucks."
Who Said It: LeBron James
It's always good to be nice to your peers on the basketball court. LeBron James showed that he can be a little mean and nice at the same time. James posterized Kings rookie guard Ben McLemore in what has to be a great moment for LeBron and an embarrassing moment for the rookie. James dropped this quote after the game expressing that he likes and respects McLemore outside of his ferocious, drop-the-hammer dunk.
"If you see me in a fight with a bear, pray for the bear."
Who Said It: Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant was dropping quotable lines like a top five rapper this year, and when he tore his Achilles, he became a master of the quote. To express his brute strength as well as his determination on the basketball court, Kobe dropped this quote and no one was debating with him at all. Bryant is known for having a powerful will that no one can match in any arena of life. Despite getting hurt again after coming back, does anyone want to still bet against the improbable feats of Kobe?
"I did not. Maybe the trophy will get lucky tonight!"
Who Said It: Andy Murray
Winning a trophy is great and all, but what do you do after you win? Do you spend some time with the trophy? Andy Murray opened our eyes up to the experience post-win after he won the Wimbledon Championships in 2013. The only real question to ask was whether he was playing the Daft Punk-Pharrell collaboration while he was getting comfy with his new Wimbledon trophy.
"I've got a plan to stop him, it's called a machete. Plan B is a machine gun!"
Who Said It: Sir Alex Ferguson
Cristiano Ronaldo strikes fear into people's hearts because of his great skill on the soccer field. Even opposing coaches like Sir Alex Ferguson had to plan around Ronaldo. Ferguson's plan B actually sounds ideal because it's pretty hard to face Ronaldo, so we're not mad at him.
"In retrospect, I obviously should have been much more cautious."
Who Said It: Manti Te'o
Manti Te'o was winning like it was nothing and it seemed like he was on the right path until the whole hoax/scandal surrounding him and his fake girlfriend Lenny Kekua took over the Internet. When Te'o finally spoke about the 2012 situation in 2013, he answered simply that he should've been more cautious. You think?
"You can't arrest me; I'm a Colts player."
Who Said It: John Boyett
The fact that any athlete thinks that they have some special force field that protects themselves from arrest is funny. An Indianapolis Colts rookie was arrested on charges of public intoxication and resisting arrest after an altercation with officers outside an Indianapolis bar. The rookie then decided to drop this quote. Unfortunately for Boyett, the Colts decided to release him shortly after the incident.
"I view this situation as one big lie that I repeated a lot of times."
Who Said It: Lance Armstrong
Just because it's one version of a lie that Lance Armstrong repeated doesn't change the fact that Armstrong lied like 100 million times to the press, fans, his peers, etc. While it's cute to say that it was just one big old lie, Lance needs to be real with himself after he had the whole public thinking that he rightfully earned all of his success throughout his cycling career. Oprah can't help you out here, bruh.
"We as officials have always been taught, for a ball to be uncatchable, it has to be clearly out of the field of play or it has to be a kind of—I probably shouldn't say this—a Tim Tebow-type pass that lands 15 yards in front of you."
Who Said It: Jim Daopoulos
Skip Bayless, are you checking this out? Even an NFL referee is firing shots at Tim Tebow's lack of passing skills. Tebow is known for his mediocre arm, and this referee decided to refer to Tebow as someone who can't really cut the mustard when it comes to his ability to deliver a pass that can go beyond 15 yards on the football field. Rules are rules.
"We'll never change the name. It's that simple. NEVER—you can use caps."
Who Said It: Daniel Snyder
Owners can be very stubborn people. With the ongoing discussion of whether the Redskins should change their team name because of it's offensive history, team owner Daniel Snyder absolutely refused to change the name. That only heightens the level of dislike towards Snyder who hasn't really helped the Redskins flourish since he started owning the team in 1999.
"I wasn't watching basketball, bro. I was out in the country. I was hunting hogs, messing around, hanging out with the homeboys."
Who Said It: Chris "Birdman" Andersen
Watch Chris "Birdman" Andersen on the court and you would never think that he's into hunting hogs. He looks like he's more on that tattoo parlor swag. Either way, hanging with the homeboys is cool and all when you don't readily have an NBA job, but winning a championship seems to be a better look for any upstanding NBA player.
"Whoever wrote that narrative can shove that where the sun don't shine."
Who Said It: Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning can talk all he wants about his poor performances in cold weather being an urban legend, but there is at least a little something to it. Even after knocking off the Titans a couple weeks ago, his record in cold weather games (kickoff temperature less than 40 degrees) stands at 11-12, hardly the kind of results we expect from one of the best ever to play. We can certainly understand why he's sick of hearing it; even if Manning isn't at his best, he's still better than almost all other NFL quarterbacks.
"Can somebody beat him up for me, please? Can somebody beat him up?"
Who Said It: Vitor Belfort
For those unfamiliar, Testosterone Replacement Therapy (or TRT) is a very touchy subject among MMA fighters, especially Vitor Belfort. While the practice is extremely controversial, respected MMA reporter John Morgan made the mistake of bringing it up in a post-fight press conference after Belfort had just knocked out yet another opponent.
Was it 'roid rage that caused Belfort to call for Morgan to get his ass kicked? It would be pretty fitting, right? In any case, Belfort issued an apology a few days later and is now awaiting a middleweight championship bout with the winner of the Anderson Silva-Chris Weidman fight at UFC 168.
"He called me a whiner. He's probably right. But that's also probably the first thing he's told you guys that is true in 15 years. I know what he's like. You guys are finding out."
Who Said It: Sergio Garcia
The moment where Sergio Garcia was one of the world's most popular golfers has long since passed. Now, he is merely a serial complainer who, for all his talent, has never won a major. He briefly charged back into the headlines with an ongoing ordeal with Woods that started in 1999 and culminated in Garcia making an ill-timed joke about fried chicken at a European Tour awards dinner. Needless to say, if we're counting trophies as a way of measuring who the winner here is, Tiger is going to come out on top by a pretty wide margin.
"I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay."
Who Said It: Jason Collins
Until the May 6 issue of Sports Illustrated, Jason Collins was just another journeyman NBA player who was starting to near the end of this career. That all changed when he proudly proclaimed that he was gay in an article he himself wrote, making him the first active, openly gay athlete in the four major American professional sports. It was also encouraging to see the likes of Kobe Bryant and Commissioner David Stern vocally support Collins, who despite his headline-making offseason has yet to latch onto an NBA team in 2013-14.
"You have a friend for life."
Who Said It: Dennis Rodman
We all know Dennis Rodman is insane. This is the same guy who booted a courtside photographer in the groin and headbutted a referee, after all. But in retirement, he's really taken things to a whole new level. Learning that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un was a big Chicago Bulls fan growing up, "the Worm" made his way over to the mysterious nation as a host of a series of basketball exhibitions.
He has, incredibly, been back two more times and struck up a friendship with the dictator, and at the beginning of next year will be playing in a series of exhibitions.
"One thing is for sure, a World Cup without me is nothing to watch so it is not worth while to wait for the World Cup."
Who Said It: Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Poor Zlatan Ibrahimovic. His one-on-one showdown with Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the great battles in modern football history, including a second half of the second leg where the two players combined to score five goals in a 29-minute span. It really is a shame that both of these teams couldn't make it to Brazil, and Zlatan knows that better than anyone. It feels like this happens once every World Cup cycle, with one of the world's 10 best players shut out of the competition because he could not quite will the rest of his mediocre teammates to get on his level. We will apologize to Zlatan now, though, because we're still definitely going to watch the World Cup.
"Ice up, son."
Who Said It: Steve Smith
The resurgence of the Carolina Panthers this season has them back in the playoffs and competing for a division title, and is due in no small part to the duo of quarterback Cam Newton and wide receiver Steve Smith. Smith has been in Carolina for each of his 12 pro seasons and has had no shortage of memorable moments both good and bad. In the Panthers' huge Week 11 win over the Patriots, Smith coined a memorable phrase after the game when asked about his battle with top New England cornerback Aqib Talib. "Ice up, son" has become not only a phrase, but a piece of clothing popular at Panthers' games.
"This is our f****** city."
Who Said It: David Ortiz
For whatever reason, one of the most common ways people look to heal from a traumatic event is through sports. It's a way to return to normalcy and to channel your emotional energy into something other than what just happened, and people really appreciate that escapist side of the games we watch and love. The Boston Marathon bombings (and subsequent manhunt that shut down the entire city for a day) took a huge emotional toll on everyone, and by the time the Red Sox resumed play on April 20, everyone was ready to have something fun to cheer for again.
In his pregame comments to the crowd gathered at Fenway Park, David Ortiz perfectly encapsulated everything that makes Boston one of the signature sports towns in America and its people one of the most prideful.
"Y'all mother******* don't watch us play to tell you the truth."
Who Said It: Roy Hibbert
After holding the Miami Heat to 77 points and forcing a Game 7 in last year's Eastern Conference Finals, the Indiana Pacers' Roy Hibbert was feeling pretty good about himself and his team. At his postgame press conference, the center did not particularly enjoy a question by a reporter asking why Hibbert thought he only finished tenth in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Hibbert's proclamation was a fitting response, and considering how great the Pacers were all season was probably justified. We think it's safe to say, though, that we're all watching now.
"I am deeply saddened by the passing of Mr. Mandela. His was a life filled with purpose and hope; hope for himself, his country and the world. He inspired others to reach for what appeared to be impossible and moved them to break through the barriers that held them hostage mentally, physically, socially and economically. He made us realize, we are our brothers' keeper and that our brothers come in all colors. What I will remember most about Mr.Mandela is that he was a man whose heart, soul and spirit could not be contained or restrained by racial and economic injustices, metal bars or the burden of hate and revenge. He taught us forgiveness on a grand scale. His was a spirit born free, destined to soar above the rainbows. Today his spirit is soaring through the heavens. He is now forever free."
Who Said It: Muhammad Ali
Over the next several decades, we'll begin to realize the magnitude of Nelson Mandela's life and the impact he made on the entire planet, not just his home nation of South Africa. His love of sports intersected with his politics repeatedly throughout his life, whether it was building the government of the future on the football pitch at Robben Island prison or hosting the Rugby World Cup just after he became president.
Muhammad Ali is a man who knows a thing or two about advocating for change and social justice. After all, he is the one who fought conscription into the Army all the way up to the Supreme Court and was an icon in the counterculture movement of the 1960s.
