--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Politics really is a team sport. You…" description: "\"Politics really is a team sport. You really have to work the whole system to get somewhere down the road.\" — David Brooks" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e31/david-brooks-644_politics_politics-really-is-a-team-sport-you-real_1459349.png" --- # Politics really is a team sport. You really have to work… ![“Politics really is a team sport. You really have to work the whole system to get somewhere down the road.” quote by David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e31/david-brooks-644_politics_politics-really-is-a-team-sport-you-real_1459349.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e31/david-brooks-644_politics_politics-really-is-a-team-sport-you-real_1459349.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e31/david-brooks-644_politics_politics-really-is-a-team-sport-you-real_1459349.png) > “Politics really is a team sport. You really have to work the whole system to get somewhere down the road.” [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Political success requires navigating the entire system, not isolated parts. **In simple terms:** Work the whole system for political progress. Key Takeaway Engage all parts of the system. Themes politics strategy collaboration Mood determined realistic Type analytical pragmatic When to use this quote - campaign planning - policy advocacy - community organizing - legislative lobbying Key Concepts systems thinking network analysis Questions to Reflect On - How can you influence multiple levers at once? - What barriers arise when trying to shift an entire system? A Different Perspective Complex systems can be resistant to change despite effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Somewhere down the road](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/somewhere-down-the-road/) [Sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports/) [Team](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/team/) [Team sport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/team-sport/) ## Related quotes > [“Never, ever give up. You're never too old to chase your dreams. It looks like a solitary sport, but really a team effort”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-nyad/never-ever-give-up-you-re-never-too-old-to-chase-your-dreams-it-looks/) [Diana Nyad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-nyad/) > [Analytics only goes so far. Basketball, more than baseball, for example, is really a team sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/analytics-only-goes-so-far-basketball-more-than-baseball-for-example/) [Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/) > [I mean, if you pause over what it means at the age of 76 that Eleanor Roosevelt wrote, the happiest single day of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/i-mean-if-you-pause-over-what-it-means-at-the-age-of-76-that-eleanor/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [This is the ultimate team sport, and I really feel that the quarterback position is the epitome of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-smith/this-is-the-ultimate-team-sport-and-i-really-feel-that-the/) [Alex Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-smith/) > [It's fun to work the robotic arm in part because it's really a team effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ochoa/it-s-fun-to-work-the-robotic-arm-in-part-because-it-s-really-a-team/) [Ellen Ochoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ochoa/) > [We can only congratulate Edinson Cavani with all the hard work he has been putting in. He really is a team player and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-matuidi/we-can-only-congratulate-edinson-cavani-with-all-the-hard-work-he-has/) [Blaise Matuidi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-matuidi/) > [I like action-based sports, and kabbadi is my favourite. I wanted to be associated with a sport on which I really believe in, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-honey-singh/i-like-action-based-sports-and-kabbadi-is-my-favourite-i-wanted-to-be/) [Yo Yo Honey Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-honey-singh/) > [Clearly, politics is a team sport. Trump is not so much of a team player.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/clearly-politics-is-a-team-sport-trump-is-not-so-much-of-a-team-player/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Really the team often will take on the personality of its coach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-messier/really-the-team-often-will-take-on-the-personality-of-its-coach/) [Mark Messier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-messier/) > [For me, trying to connect our team together is so important. I know we'll play really well when our team gets really tight. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-quinn/for-me-trying-to-connect-our-team-together-is-so-important-i-know-we/) [Dan Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-quinn/) > [I didn't really think about it too much, just because it was really all about the team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordyn-wieber/i-didn-t-really-think-about-it-too-much-just-because-it-was-really/) [Jordyn Wieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordyn-wieber/) > [The Everton fans seem to know football, seem to understand it, it seems to be in their blood and they really back the team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabian-delph/the-everton-fans-seem-to-know-football-seem-to-understand-it-it-seems/) [Fabian Delph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fabian-delph/) > [At one time, we were asked to play your own man; you're responsible for your own man. And, if you were good enough and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-west/at-one-time-we-were-asked-to-play-your-own-man-you-re-responsible-for/) [Jerry West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-west/) > [If I'm not in the best condition, the best playing shape, I can't really do nothing for my team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-drummond/if-i-m-not-in-the-best-condition-the-best-playing-shape-i-can-t/) [Andre Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-drummond/) > [It's wonderful being out on that pitch, being able to play there, with the fans supporting us. It's hard to describe, to be honest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-coutinho/it-s-wonderful-being-out-on-that-pitch-being-able-to-play-there-with/) [Philippe Coutinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-coutinho/) ## More by David Brooks > [The brain is not the mind. It is probably impossible to look at a map of brain activity and predict or even understand the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/the-brain-is-not-the-mind-it-is-probably-impossible-to-look-at-a-map/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [When you're running for president, you're a guest in the living room for four years. 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You can spend your life on Wall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/it-s-worth-noting-that-you-can-devote-your-life-to-community-service/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [If it feels all right for you, it's probably OK.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/if-it-feels-all-right-for-you-it-s-probably-ok/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [I do think Donald Trump is a fundamentally unstabilizing force and that the people who swore to uphold the Constitution are going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-do-think-donald-trump-is-a-fundamentally-unstabilizing-force-and/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Tim Kaine has been obviously a governor. He's been a senator. He's one of the smartest rising stars in the Democratic Party. He is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/tim-kaine-has-been-obviously-a-governor-he-s-been-a-senator-he-s-one/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [“Women, in general, are less visually aroused than men, a trait that has nearly cut the market for pornography in half.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/women-in-general-are-less-visually-aroused-than-men-a-trait-that-has/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [I wasn't born with a tie or with Mark Shields stapled to my left hip. I have another life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-wasn-t-born-with-a-tie-or-with-mark-shields-stapled-to-my-left-hip/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) [Explore all 431 David Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) ## More Politics quotes > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. 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Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Scepticism and cynicism about politics is so great that one of the best counters to it is what you can do at a local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-miliband/scepticism-and-cynicism-about-politics-is-so-great-that-one-of-the/) [Ed Miliband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-miliband/) > [Right now we're concerned about budget. Right now we're concerned about the prospect of interest rate rise. We're concerned about government corruption, government handing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/right-now-we-re-concerned-about-budget-right-now-we-re-concerned/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [One of the worst things to come out of the Consumer Protection Board's misleading claims is the impression that government resources are to hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/one-of-the-worst-things-to-come-out-of-the-consumer-protection-board/) [Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/) > [“Jim Reston: Walking through the crowds of air-kissing politicians, actors and high fliers, it was tough to tell where the politics stopped and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-morgan/jim-reston-walking-through-the-crowds-of-air-kissing-politicians/) [Peter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-morgan/) > [We have to build our own power. 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