Photo by Wesley Eland on Unsplash

Some people are content with just being part of something big. Many Olympics participants for example strongly believe that the most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but just taking part.

Vince Lombardi thought the same thing about sports and competitions in general. He is credited with saying the following:

Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.

–Vince Lombardi

This, from a guy who was synonymous with “winner.” Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) not only was a good football player, but he turned out to be one heck of a coach. Best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, Lombardi is considered to be one of the most successful coaches in NFL history, having compiled a regular season winning percentage of 72.8 (96–34–6), and 90% (9–1) in the postseason.

Lombardi was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971 and the NFL named their much coveted Super Bowl trophy after him. He never had a losing season as a head coach in the NFL.