<P> Its assertion about the importance of winning has been touted as a basic tenet of the American sports creed and , at the same time , identified as encapsulating what is purportedly wrong with competitive sports . This credo has served as counterpoint to the well known sentiment by sports journalist Grantland Rice that , `` it 's not that you won or lost but how you played the game , '' and to the modern Olympic creed expressed by its founder Pierre de Coubertin : `` The most important thing ... is not winning but taking part '' . </P>
it 's not the winning it 's the taking part quote
the modern Olympic creed expressed by its founder Pierre de Coubertin : `` The most important thing ... is not winning but taking part ''