[Ads-l] leave it all on the field

[Ben Zimmer]

My latest WSJ column looks at "leaving everything/nothing on the field,"
citing Barry's research.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/leaving-everything-on-the-field-from-sports-to-politics-1490972994

If paywalled, you can Google the headline or follow a social media link,
e.g.:

https://twitter.com/bgzimmer/status/847830288784908288

Thanks to Neal and everyone else in this thread for the inspiration.


On Sun, Nov 13, 2016 at 9:49 PM, Neal Whitman <nwhitman at ameritech.net>
wrote:

> Blogged: https://literalminded.wordpress.com/2016/11/13/all-or-
> nothing-on-the-field/
>
>
> Neal
>
>
> On 11/13/2016 4:09 PM, Dan Goncharoff wrote:
>
>> A variant that I haven't seen mentioned is "leave nothing in the locker
>> room," which I associate with Rich Kotite as a coach. He started coaching
>> in 1977, but I don't know when he started saying it.
>>
>> On Nov 13, 2016 12:16 PM, "Laurence Horn" <laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
>>
>> Great collection.  I suspected it's been around for awhile, but nice to
>> have the proof.  The only remaining question is how much they pay whoever
>> has to clean it all up from the field afterward.
>>
>> LH
>>
>>
>> On Nov 13, 2016, at 10:27 AM, Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>>>
>>> Barry Popik has a page on this with examples going back to 1961.
>>>
>>> On Sat, Nov 12, 2016 at 11:24 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole <
>>> adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Here is an instance in 1983. The excerpt below suggested a rationale
>>>> for the construction of the phrase:
>>>>
>>>> Date: October 24, 1983
>>>> Dateline: Anaheim, California
>>>> Article: The always relaxed Vince Ferragamo was in the midst...
>>>> News Service: UPI NewsTrack
>>>> Database: NewsBank Access World News
>>>>
>>>> [Begin excerpt]
>>>> 'They had nothing left at the end. They left it all on the field, and
>>>> I'm damn proud of them. The Rams are one helluva football team, and so
>>>> are the 49ers.'
>>>> [End excerpt]
>>>>
>>>> Garson
>>>>
>>>> On Sat, Nov 12, 2016 at 10:55 PM, Neal Whitman <nwhitman at ameritech.net>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> This agrees with what I've found in the past hour: "leave it all on the
>>>>> field" dates to Nov. 10, 1996:
>>>>>
>>>>> Nov 10, 1996 - Patriots vs Jets. When the Patriots & Jets get together
>>>>>
>>>> you
>>>>
>>>>> know you'll see an entertaining game regardless of the current
>>>>>
>>>> standings.
>>
>>> These division rivals leave it all on the field when they play.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> As for "leave nothing on the field," the earliest I have is Nov. 15,
>>>>>
>>>> 2000:
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> South River left nothing on the field in final loss
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> After that, examples of "leave nothing on the field" are a bit scarce,
>>>>>
>>>> but
>>>>
>>>>> pick up quite a bit in 2007, which seems to be the year of a Nike
>>>>> football-focused commercial series called "Leave Nothing."
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Neal
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On 11/12/2016 10:42 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Sat, Nov 12, 2016 at 10:51 AM, Charles C Doyle <cdoyle at uga.edu>
>>>>>>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> It's an old expression beloved of football coaches and sportscasters.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I agree. OTOH, though it seems to me that this expression is two days
>>>>>> older
>>>>>> than water and it gets about 2.000,000 hits, the oldest is from only
>>>>>>
>>>>> 1996.
>>>>
>>>>> And it's the sole pre-21st-C. hit.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Youneverknow.
>>>>>
>>>>>

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