Psychologist publishes long list of shopworn sports talk
Associated Press article by Jim Irwin
Don Powell has heard it all before, and not necessarily in his day job as a psychologist.
The lifelong sports fan’s memory is crammed with any number of sportscasters describing “Cinderella stories,” coaches speaking of “beating ourselves” and athletes “giving 110 percent.”
Flying from Texas to Detroit a year ago with nothing to read, a bored Powell began jotting down sports cliches. By the time his plane touched down, he had 315 of them.
An obsession was born. So was a book.
Powell, president of the American Institute for Preventive Medicine in Farmington Hills, eventually accumulated more than 4,000 sports cliches. He winnowed the list down to 1,771 and then self-published “Best Sports Cliches Ever!” The 192-page paperback has been on sale since mid-September online, through Amazon.com and in bookstores.
Powell says his interest in cliches, spoken and written, goes back to his childhood in New York.
“Some things just captivate you,” he said in a recent telephone interview. “Going to these games, I was always interested in these cliches that my dad or the fans around me would use. I was intrigued by the fact that in just a few words you can create something very visual.”
Order Best Sports Cliches Ever!
My view: As a coach, I have been known to throw some of these around as well. The article also features some nice cliches from some of our Michigan Sports Coaches and athletes. I haven’t read the book, but did glance at it in the bookstore, it’s on my birthday list!
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