There are literally hundreds of sports clichés spoken before, during, and after a game. This site lists hundreds of them grouped in dozens of categories. We’ve all heard them before; enough, so that you can finish the sentence for the player.
The winner ususally say, “We brought our A game.” While the losers would go with, “We gave the game away.” And of course, pretty much every sports figure playing in a team sport has said this at least one point in their career, “We’re not worried about the game against [random rival]. We’re going to take it one game at a time.”
Clichés do not end on the field or in the lockerroom. They span to all walks of life.
During my off time, I visit and read through forums of my favorite sport teams. The fans on the forums are usually very enthusiastic and have some great ideas on the next step teams should take in building a championship contender.
However, the annoying clichés heard in professional sports can also be found in the fan forums. The most annoying one I have read is “time will tell.” Usually this phrase would come right after the poster makes an emphatic statement.
“[team] is crap right now. We should trade [our most promising prospects] for [an over-the-hill semi-star] to become championship contenders! [One prospect] is a bust [after playing minimal minutes in one season]. And [the other prospect] is not even going to be an all-star! Time will tell.“
So this poster just made a statement saying the team’s prospects are crap and should be traded for and old star. That’s fine. Everyone has their own opinion. But then, the phrase “Time will tell” is tacked on at the end. The phrase is not needed in my opinion. Of course, after a certain amount of time we will know if the statement the person made is true or not, on whether the prospects will be busts. So, there is really no need to say it in the first place. For reasons unknown, almost every statement post has the phrase tacked on at the end.
The phrase is not needed! It is redundant to what is already assumed. Time will tell if the cliché will fall by the wayside. I very much doubt it though, but time will tell. Did I mention that time will tell? Because time will tell.