Men in Blazers Present Encyclopedia Blazertannica Quotes

“Zen philosopher Cheri Huber once said, “If you had a person in your life treating you the way you treat yourself, you would have gotten rid of them a long time ago.”
― Men in Blazers, Men in Blazers Present Encyclopedia Blazertannica: A Suboptimal Guide to Soccer, America's "Sport of the Future" Since 1972

“When Aeschines spoke, they said, “How well he speaks.” But when Demosthenes spoke, they said, “Let’s march against Philip.”
― Men in Blazers, Men in Blazers Present Encyclopedia Blazertannica: A Suboptimal Guide to Soccer, America's "Sport of the Future" Since 1972

“Oates struggled with wet feet throughout the seventy-nine-day journey across packed ice. As they closed in on the Pole, they had the horror of encountering the abandoned remnants of the Norwegians’ tent. Inside, a note from Amundsen informing them he had beaten them to it. Defeated and distraught, the small party attempted to return home, yet progress was agonizingly slow. Blizzards battered the party, and Oates, suffering from both gangrene and frostbite, had his big toe turn black and his body become yellow. His inability to walk bogged down the entire party, who, despite Oates’s protestations, refused to leave him behind. One the 17th of March, on his thirty-second birthday, Oates awoke and muttered his last words to the rest of his team, “I am just going outside and may be some time.” He then proceeded to wander off into a −40°F blizzard and was never seen again.”
― Men in Blazers, Men in Blazers Present Encyclopedia Blazertannica: A Suboptimal Guide to Soccer, America's "Sport of the Future" Since 1972

“Polish Approach” to World Cups and Euros: A theory posited by a Polish waiter in London who once told us: “We Poles always have a defined rhythm to the three group stage games we play at every major tournament in which we are inevitably eliminated. They even have ritualistic names: Match day one: “The opening game in which everything is possible.” Match day two: “The must-win game in which our team’s survival is on the line.” Match day three: “A dead rubber Game of Honor in which the result is irrelevant because the team is already eliminated.”
― Men in Blazers, Men in Blazers Present Encyclopedia Blazertannica: A Suboptimal Guide to Soccer, America's "Sport of the Future" Since 1972

“While Pirlo’s New York sojourn was mostly memorable off the field, who could not adore a man who says about his free kicks, “Each shot bears my name and they’re all my children.” But his greatest comments may be about his own humanity. On his looks, he once wrote, “If I glimpse the mirror when I get up, or before going to bed at night, I see a man of average ugliness. With stubble, an unruly mane of hair, a squint nose, slightly protruding ears, and bags under my eyes. But I also see a man who’s completely happy with the figure staring back at him.”
― Men in Blazers, Men in Blazers Present Encyclopedia Blazertannica: A Suboptimal Guide to Soccer, America's "Sport of the Future" Since 1972

“Science has a raft of studies attempting to probe this issue. Many point to the physiological arousal supporters experience whilst watching games. We feel alive. More than that, we experience communion and community with others, which feeds our sense of self. None more than the few occasions when the team muster a win to be savored when we “BIRG,” the psychological shorthand for “basking in reflected glory.” BIRG-ing is great for you. That goal you neither assisted on nor scored does wonders for your self-esteem.”
― Men in Blazers, Men in Blazers Present Encyclopedia Blazertannica: A Suboptimal Guide to Soccer, America's "Sport of the Future" Since 1972

“Tinker in Television by Grant Tinker Until Barry Hearn writes his autobiography (or rather dictates it in one forty-eight-hour, caffeine-and-lager-fueled, way-beyond-politically-incorrect ramble to his assistant, Michelle), this remains my favorite autobiography of all time and had a massive effect on me, and how I would come to view my career, when I read it in 1994.”
― Men in Blazers, Men in Blazers Present Encyclopedia Blazertannica: A Suboptimal Guide to Soccer, America's "Sport of the Future" Since 1972

“Straight White Male by John Niven My favorite novel by one of my favorite contemporary writers, this is a no-holds-barred tale of the hard-drinking, always insulting, hard-womanizing, Irish screenwriter Kennedy Marr. Set mainly between Los Angeles and England, Kennedy is an amalgam of many of my closest friends, and the book is at the same time familiar and shocking at every turn. Read secretly away from your wife or girlfriend. Or probably not at all. Just to be safe.”
― Men in Blazers, Men in Blazers Present Encyclopedia Blazertannica: A Suboptimal Guide to Soccer, America's "Sport of the Future" Since 1972

“Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy I have learned more about creativity, and working in a creative field, from this one book than from any other job, course, or person with the exception of my ridiculously smart and talented, but not quite as tall, older brother, William. The book is ostensibly about how to get a job in advertising, how to run an advertising agency, and how to create successful and powerful advertising. But along the way, this brilliant British émigré to the United States (he came fifty-one years before me, in 1938), tells the entire history of advertising, predicts its future, and comes as close to explaining how ideas can be communicated using words and pictures, about the power of persuasion, than anyone who has ever written on the dark art. The book includes the story of how he created the Rolls-Royce print ad which I still think about every time I see a Roller or think about how to sell a high-end TV project.”
― Men in Blazers, Men in Blazers Present Encyclopedia Blazertannica: A Suboptimal Guide to Soccer, America's "Sport of the Future" Since 1972