Quotes by Joe Paterno

“The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.”

“Believe deep down in your heart that youre destined to do great things.”

“You need to play with supreme confidence, or else youll lose again, and then losing becomes a habit.”

“Besides pride, loyalty, discipline, heart, and mind, confidence is the key to all the locks.”

“You have to perform at a consistently higher level than others. Thats the mark of a true professional.”

“Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it wont taste good.”

“Losing a game is heartbreaking. Losing your sense of excellence or worth is a tragedy.”

“The minute you think youve got it made, disaster is just around the corner.”

“Publicity is like poison; it doesnt hurt unless you swallow it.”

“Its the name on the front of the jersey that matters most, not the one on the back.”

“The name on the front of the jersey is what really matters, not the name on the back.”

There are many people, particularly in sports, who think that success and excellence are the same thing. They are not the same thing. Excellence is something that is lasting and dependable and largely within a persons control. In contrast, success is perishable and is often outside our control. If you strive for excellence, you will probably be successful eventually. People who put excellence in the first place have the patience to end up with success. An additional burden for the victim of the success mentality is that he is threatened by the success of others and he resents real excellence. In contrast, the person that is fascinated by quality is excited when he sees it in others.

The minute you think youve got it made disaster is just around the corner.

Ive had a wonderful experience here at Penn State.

Believe deep down in your heart that youre destined to do great things.

Mostly I want to talk positive; I wanna talk about a bunch of great kids that I coached and made me look good and the university that Ive seen grow from a cow college, which it was, only 12,000 people, and when I came here, we werent at Pennsylvania State University, we were at Penn State College.

Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it wont taste good.