„I played for his team and I was just a kid,“

„The first hero that I have … I would say was Monte Irvin, when I was a kid. And I used to watch Monte Irvin play when I was a kid – I idolized him. I used to wait in front of the ballpark just for him to pass by so I could see him.“

—  Roberto Clemente Puerto Rican baseball player 1934 - 1972

From A Conversation with Clemente (aired October 8, 1972); this and other excerpts were reproduced in Roberto Clemente: The Great One https://books.google.com/books?id=03XsO25A3I8C&pg=PA5 (1998) by Bruce Markusen, p. 5
Baseball-related, <big><big>1970s</big></big>, <big>1972</big>

„Why you think I play this game? I play to win. Competition is the thing. I want to play on a winning team. I don't want to play for sixth place. I like to play for all the marbles, where every game means something. I like to play for real, not for fun.“

—  Roberto Clemente Puerto Rican baseball player 1934 - 1972

As quoted in "Clemente Says Hitting Does Not Come Easy"
Baseball-related, <big><big>1960s</big></big>, <big>1968</big>

„He's a great player. Everybody knows that. He's a very dangerous player, but if you limit his speed and time to make plays it's tough for anybody. It wasn't just me, it was the whole team playing well defensively against that line.“

—  Alexander Ovechkin Russian ice hockey player 1985

Zdeno Chara, interview in Rich Thompson (January 4, 2008) "Chara keeps star under wraps", Boston Herald.
About

„Any guy who’s played team sports has practiced a skill I call “team sport empathy”: he’s practiced focusing on anticipating the other team’s moves. That means figuring out their way of looking at the situation.“

—  Warren Farrell author, spokesperson, expert witness, political candidate 1943

Quelle: Women Can't Hear What Men Don't Say (2000), p. 32.

„I have always loved playing around with words. I didn’t know it was called poetry. I was just an innocent kid messing around with words when an adult said ‘You’re a poet, be published or be damned’.“

—  Benjamin Zephaniah English poet and author 1958

On the realization that he was a poet in “Interview with Benjamin Zephaniah” https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/writers/advice/37/a-writers-toolkit/interviews-with-authors/interview-with-benjamin-zephaniah in Writers & Artists

„I never had any training. I never had a guy say to me, "Do it this way, do it that way." When I was growing up, I was the last guy to get picked for every team that I was on. If they needed a pitcher, I pitched. If there was a catcher needed, I caught. First baseman, shortstop, whatever position they needed, that's what I played. I felt I was the best all-around athlete on that particular team. Most of them couldn't do that, everybody wanted to play a position. It didn't matter what position I played. I just had fun and enjoyed it.“

—  Willie Mays Baseball player 1931

Academy of Achievement Interview (1996)

„I don't know, we played a show for like, ten kids, but those ten kids were just insane. It's really quantity, not quality, and that's what I really -- (Pete cuts him off) Pete: It's quality, not quantity. You said it backwards. I don't want you to look like a dumbass… on film.“

—  Patrick Stump American musician 1984

My Heart Will Always be the B-Side to My Tongue DVD

„Now it was just the three of us: the leader, the warrior, and the kid about to wet his pants. Guess who I was.“

—  D.J. MacHale American television director and producer 1955

„To win the Stanley Cup was a dream. When I was growing up, I never really dreamed about winning the Stanley Cup because I never really dreamed I'd play in the National Hockey League. I just followed one day, one month, one year after another and I kept getting better. But winning the Stanley Cup was just tremendous because you're recognized as part of the best team in the world and I was part of that team that contributed winning the Stanley Cup for Detroit.“

—  Ted Lindsay Canadian ice hockey player 1925 - 2019

Quoted in Kevin Shea, "One on One with Ted Lindsay," http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/spot_oneononep196607.htm Legends of Hockey.net (2004-11-09).

„And there's kids playing guns in the streets
And one's pointing his tree branch at me
So I put my hands up I say
"Enough is enough,
If you walk away I walk away."“

—  Conor Oberst American musician 1980

And he shot me dead.
I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (2005)

„Dennis is the best player I have ever played with as a partner. It is a dream for a striker to have him in the team with you.“

—  Dennis Bergkamp Dutch footballer 1969

Thierry Henry http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/5202166.stm
About

„Wilt had to fight people's dissatisfaction that his teams didn't win. There he was, this great dominating player, and his teams didn't win championships. Well, Wilt wasn't playing for the right team. As an individual, he was in a class by himself, but his teammates--they were OK, but not the supporting cast Russell had.“

—  Wilt Chamberlain basketball player 1936 - 1999

citation needed

„Roger: Yeah, I don't know. It was awesome. It's a great feeling. I don't really know. It's built up so slowly that I can't even tell you when it actually went over the threshold of 500 kids or 1000 kids or 2000 kids or whatever - but we've stood it all. We've played with 80,000 kids at these festivals in Europe and we've played to eight kids, you know? It feels great. It feels great every time. As long as there's somebody out there singing or jumping around making an idiot out of themselves just as much as we are, then we think it's ok.“

—  Roger Manganelli American musician 1973

„I was in the hockey team in school, played football. One of the challenges for me was to make the team feel better. It helped me evolve, so batting at different positions was never a problem.“

—  Rahul Dravid Indian cricketer 1973

„It meant a lot to me that Chelsea have wanted me for the last three years and that is the reason I chose them. It was important for me to come to a club with the same level of excellence. It is a great team and it is important to play for a great team.“

—  Andriy Shevchenko Ukrainian association football player 1976

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,283-2299348,00.html

„Even when I was a kid, my imaginary friend would play with the kid across the street. I'd be like, "Hey, so I guess I'll see you later," and he's, like, "Whatever, queer."“

—  Daniel Tosh American stand-up comedian 1975

That's a hate crime!

„I only wanted to play baseball. I only wanted to play shortstop. I only wanted to play for the Yankees. My whole life. It wasn't like I wanted to play for another team and ended up in New York. It wasn't like I wanted to play another position and ended up at short. This has always been the dream of mine: to play shortstop for the New York Yankees. And I get a chance to do it.“

—  Derek Jeter American baseball player 1974

Reported in Tom Verducci, " Derek Jeter: In his own words http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/magazine/specials/sportsman/2009/11/30/jeter.interview/index.html", Sports Illustrated (November 30, 2009).
2000s, 2009

„It's an advantage having a limited output. When George Gershwin is asked to play his repertoire, he plays all evening. I just play "Lady Play Your Mandolin" and I'm through.“

—  Oscar Levant American comedian, composer, pianist and actor 1906 - 1972

As quoted in Dancing in the Dark (1974), p. 61

„I don't want to play for a no-good team. I want to win. I want to be on a good team like we see right now. We have great young guys. We have great experienced guys. Everything goes up.“

—  Alexander Ovechkin Russian ice hockey player 1985

Bill Beacon (January 29, 2008) "Backstrom, Ovechkin combination promises bright future for Capitals", The Canadian Press.