Shashi Tharoor Quotes

Sporting achievements bestow a sense of unification on the cultures and societies in which they take place and create an outpouring of nationalism and pride.

Being around all the great names of the game at a young age because they were my heroes; the fact this meant so much to Canada. It was just an incredible thing to be a part of.

Americans have a profound longing for heroes - now perhaps more than ever. We need our explorers, our sports icons, our Medal of Freedom winners, our Nobel laureates. We need our Greatest Generation warriors, our 'Sully' Sullenbergers, our Neil Armstrongs. On some level, we still subscribe to the myth of the man in the white hat.

Victories in sport do more to cement the nation than 100 political slogans.

I have kids, so I can understand the image that footballers have. They are fans of some players; I see in their eyes. They admire and try to imitate their gestures, their words, their celebrations. They love Ronaldo and Messi. Since Euro 2016, though, they have no right to pronounce the name of Ronaldo!

My Mt. Rushmore of hero worship would include Ralph Waldo Emerson, Marcus Aurelius, Frank Sinatra and Barry White.

I've never met anybody who says they don't like the World Cup. If you're a soccer fan or not, everybody loves watching it, and I think it could be the same for other sports.

It's kind of ironic that the two sports with the greatest characters, boxing and horse racing, have both been on the decline. In both cases it's for the lack of a suitable hero.

Jamaica is more than just the 'brand' the world recognizes so well; it's a place of pride for the people who live here, its educational institutions, its sports achievements, its science and technology growth.

I am hugely proud to have played for Ireland.

Nations need heroes, for heroes make the nation believe that the impossible is possible.

Heroes have always served as a reflection of their times, a template of who we are and what we want to be.

The national team has always lent its image to help Italy's problems over the years... The national team is more about uniting than dividing.

When you're young you're influenced by the best teams. So a lot of my favourite cricketers were Australian.

When you look at the U.S., it's a little weird, man because we have so many other sports and other things that we can watch and support that it's hard to get the support of an entire country around you.

The victory in the 1992 World Cup changed Pakistan cricket. A number of cricketers from that side turned out to be role models and inspiration for the younger generation.

It's good for kids to look up to sporting role models.

Representing my country will always be one of my proudest achievements, and I feel honoured to have played for England.

It is natural to admire and revere really great men. They hallow the nation to which they belong, and lift up not only all who live in their time, but those who live after them. Their great example becomes the common heritage of their race; and their great deeds and great thoughts are the most glorious legacies of mankind.

A nation without heroes is nothing.

There’s a whole psychological reason for those cartoons about good against evil. We have "Superman" and all those other hero people, so that we can go out into life and try to be something. I’ve got most of Disney’s animated movies on video-tapes, and when we watch them. Oh, I could just eat it, eat it. […] Jimmy Cricket, Pinocchio, Mickey Mouse – these are world-known characters. Some of the greatest political figures have come to the United States to meet them.

Growing up, I looked up to real women. I didn't go in for hero worship and I still don't. Everybody has feet of clay.

I have three dads: my biological father, God and Bob Dylan.

And I'm not even just talking artists, every single person in this nation has the right to be themselves, live life go team go. I love you Canada, thank you so much.

As a nation, we may take pride in the fact that we are softhearted; but we cannot afford to be soft-headed.