We didn’t lose the game; we just ran out of time.

— Vince Lombardi

legendary Green Bay Packers coach

Why It’s Moronic

The summer before high school, I worked as a janitor for the school district. (Luckily, I was relieved of toilet- and gum-scraping duty after a couple of weeks and allowed to serve as an office assistant for the next four years.) One of the schools had Lombardi quotes painted all over the gym walls. I remember thinking they were kind of stupid yet inspirational... kind of like competitive gymnastics. Is it a sport? Is it dancing? I don’t know, but somehow I’m always on the verge of tears when some 70-pound dumpling sticks it. Lombardi, for those who don’t know, has a gigantic arsenal of quotes I’m sure are splashed across gymnasium walls around the country. What is this madness we have? Fool, you lost the game!