--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: times i think u were the most cherished…" description: "\"“times i think u were the most cherished trophy i had, but sometimes i think i was the game that you played.”\" — Paul Auster" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/paul-auster-351_lament_times-i-think-u-were-the-most-cherished_3115873.jpg" --- # times i think u were the most cherished trophy i had, but… ![“times i think u were the most cherished trophy i had, but sometimes i think i was the game that you played.” quote by Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/paul-auster-351_lament_times-i-think-u-were-the-most-cherished_3115873.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/paul-auster-351_lament_times-i-think-u-were-the-most-cherished_3115873.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/paul-auster-351_lament_times-i-think-u-were-the-most-cherished_3115873.jpg) > ““times i think u were the most cherished trophy i had, but sometimes i think i was the game that you played.”” [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love can be both a treasured prize and a competitive game, blurring affection and rivalry. **In simple terms:** Love can feel like a prize and a game. Key Takeaway Recognize love’s complex dynamics. Themes love competition identity relationships Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - dating - friendship - team sports Key Concepts psychology social dynamics self‑perception Questions to Reflect On - Do you see love as a reward or a contest? - How does competition affect intimacy? A Different Perspective Romantic idealization may mask power imbalances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cherished Trophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cherished-trophy-5454554/) [Game Played](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/game-played/) [Lament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lament/) [Think Cherished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-cherished-5454555/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Trophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trophy/) [Trophy Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trophy-think-4205169/) ## Related quotes > [But it's really nice to win a trophy and I think Manchester United always fight for titles and for trophies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ander-herrera/but-it-s-really-nice-to-win-a-trophy-and-i-think-manchester-united/) [Ander Herrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ander-herrera/) > [Nothing drives me more than to, hopefully, be able to hand (Steelers chairman Dan Rooney) that fifth (Vince Lombardi) trophy. If I can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cowher/nothing-drives-me-more-than-to-hopefully-be-able-to-hand-steelers/) [Bill Cowher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cowher/) > [I don't know if you could take a whole 90 minutes and say that was the best game we ever played.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-fair/i-don-t-know-if-you-could-take-a-whole-90-minutes-and-say-that-was/) [Lorrie Fair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-fair/) > [We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-clough/we-had-a-good-team-on-paper-unfortunately-the-game-was-played-on-grass/) [Brian Clough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-clough/) > [“Love is the only game we all have played and lost at some point.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-holm-garibay/love-is-the-only-game-we-all-have-played-and-lost-at-some-point/) [Ingrid Holm-Garibay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-holm-garibay/) > [Hockey would be a great game... if played in the mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-cannon/hockey-would-be-a-great-game-if-played-in-the-mud/) [Jimmy Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-cannon/) > [Things happen in baseball, even if, in theory, it's something you don't do. Stats are a tool, but it doesn't mean that's how a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-miller/things-happen-in-baseball-even-if-in-theory-it-s-something-you-don-t/) [Jon Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-miller/) > [“Football is an angry game, played with punishing violence," he writes. "People get destroyed on the field, lives end. It makes sense that its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-cohen/football-is-an-angry-game-played-with-punishing-violence-he-writes/) [Rich Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-cohen/) > [Life is the game that must be played.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-arlington-robinson/life-is-the-game-that-must-be-played/) [Edwin Arlington Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-arlington-robinson/) > [“(Hockey) It's a slippery game played on ice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punch-imlach/hockey-it-s-a-slippery-game-played-on-ice/) [Punch Imlach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punch-imlach/) > [~ I know you think you broke my heart. But I saw your game from the start. I saw your game and played it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-chable/i-know-you-think-you-broke-my-heart-but-i-saw-your-game-from-the/) [Ana Chable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-chable/) > [Much of anyone's game is played (or should be played) in the short six-inch course between the ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-suggs/much-of-anyone-s-game-is-played-or-should-be-played-in-the-short-six/) [Louise Suggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-suggs/) > [The game is played out of instinct, but everyone on the ice has habits - good and bad. So the key to the game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gretzky/the-game-is-played-out-of-instinct-but-everyone-on-the-ice-has-habits/) [Wayne Gretzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gretzky/) > [Man, I did love this game. I'd have played for food money... I used to love traveling on the trains from town to town.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-liotta/man-i-did-love-this-game-i-d-have-played-for-food-money-i-used-to/) [Ray Liotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-liotta/) > [A game played with serious problems. That's what art is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-schwitters/a-game-played-with-serious-problems-that-s-what-art-is/) [Kurt Schwitters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-schwitters/) ## More by Paul Auster > [“On his best walks, he was able to feel that he was nowhere. 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It eludes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-m-not-a-man-deeply-interested-in-technology-it-eludes-me/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [The joke is the purest, most essential form of storytelling. Every word has to count.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-joke-is-the-purest-most-essential-form-of-storytelling-every-word/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“What people saw when he appeared before them, then, was not really him, but a person he had invented, an artificial creature he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/what-people-saw-when-he-appeared-before-them-then-was-not-really-him/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I had made an empirical discovery and it carried all the weight of a mathematical proof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-had-made-an-empirical-discovery-and-it-carried-all-the-weight-of-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [As long as there's one person to believe it, there's no story that can't be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/as-long-as-there-s-one-person-to-believe-it-there-s-no-story-that-can/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Writing has always had a tactile quality for me. It's a physical experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/writing-has-always-had-a-tactile-quality-for-me-it-s-a-physical/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [People look at the same passage, and one person will say this is the best thing he's ever read, and another person will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/people-look-at-the-same-passage-and-one-person-will-say-this-is-the/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I was very moved to see that the name of the boat was Hamlet - an imaginary character becomes so important to people, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-was-very-moved-to-see-that-the-name-of-the-boat-was-hamlet-an/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Our lifelong certainties about the world can be demolished in a single second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/our-lifelong-certainties-about-the-world-can-be-demolished-in-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [The ideal reader's the same, and I suppose this person has never had a face or a gender or an age. It's just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-ideal-reader-s-the-same-and-i-suppose-this-person-has-never-had-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“Most lives vanish. A person dies, and little by little all traces of that life disappear. An inventor survives in his inventions, an architect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/most-lives-vanish-a-person-dies-and-little-by-little-all-traces-of/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“and cut down many trees. When the Humans”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/and-cut-down-many-trees-when-the-humans/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) [Explore all 582 Paul Auster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) ## More Lament quotes > [In some ways, I lament the introduction of civilisation on such a huge scale, because it has given us a lot of room to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/in-some-ways-i-lament-the-introduction-of-civilisation-on-such-a-huge/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) > [My heart sobbed a lament that was hard to ignore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-macalister/my-heart-sobbed-a-lament-that-was-hard-to-ignore/) [Katie MacAlister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-macalister/) > [A myriad of men are born; they labor and sweat and struggle; ...they squabble and scold and fight; they scramble for little mean advantages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-myriad-of-men-are-born-they-labor-and-sweat-and-struggle-they/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You have suffered greatly, poor mother. Oh! do not lament, you have now the portion of the elect. It is in this way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/you-have-suffered-greatly-poor-mother-oh-do-not-lament-you-have-now/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“A premature death does not only rob one of the countless instances where one would have experienced pleasure, it also saves one from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-premature-death-does-not-only-rob-one-of-the-countless-instances/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [The liberal reward of labour, therefore, as it is the affect of increasing wealth, so it is the cause of increasing population. To complain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/the-liberal-reward-of-labour-therefore-as-it-is-the-affect-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [There are two responses to really awful things. One is to lament and say, "Oh my God, oh lord." And the other is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/there-are-two-responses-to-really-awful-things-one-is-to-lament-and/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [I didn't want normal until I didn't have it anymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/i-didn-t-want-normal-until-i-didn-t-have-it-anymore/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [“Lament calls us to examine the work of reconciliation between those who live under suffering with those who live in celebration. Lamentations”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soong-chan-rah/lament-calls-us-to-examine-the-work-of-reconciliation-between-those/) [Soong-Chan Rah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soong-chan-rah/) > [You do not lament the loss of hair of one who has been beheaded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/you-do-not-lament-the-loss-of-hair-of-one-who-has-been-beheaded/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [Every lover's lament has an element of boasting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/every-lover-s-lament-has-an-element-of-boasting/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“None but a fool or an infant could forget a father gone so far and cold. No. Lament is a pattern cut and fitted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/none-but-a-fool-or-an-infant-could-forget-a-father-gone-so-far-and/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [Do not vainly lament, but do wonder at the rule of transiency and learn from it the emptiness of human life. Do not cherish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/do-not-vainly-lament-but-do-wonder-at-the-rule-of-transiency-and/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [I lament the want of a liberal education. I feel the mist of ignorance to surround me - Nathanael Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/i-lament-the-want-of-a-liberal-education-i-feel-the-mist-of-ignorance/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Lament For J Among the small graves a soft shaft of sunlight gently rains On a memory; etches, as a glittering finger, Golden corn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-james-roll/lament-for-j-among-the-small-graves-a-soft-shaft-of-sunlight-gently/) [Alan James Roll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-james-roll/) [Browse all 236 Lament quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lament/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“times i think u were the most cherished trophy i had, but sometimes i think i was the game that you played.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Auster" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/times-i-think-u-were-the-most-cherished-trophy-i-had-but-sometimes-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Lament" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/times-i-think-u-were-the-most-cherished-trophy-i-had-but-sometimes-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/paul-auster-351_lament_times-i-think-u-were-the-most-cherished_3115873.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/paul-auster-351_lament_times-i-think-u-were-the-most-cherished_3115873.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/paul-auster-351_lament_times-i-think-u-were-the-most-cherished_3115873.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“times i think u were the most cherished trophy i had, but sometimes i think i was the game that you played.” — Paul Auster", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Paul Auster", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“times i think u were the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/times-i-think-u-were-the-most-cherished-trophy-i-had-but-sometimes-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/times-i-think-u-were-the-most-cherished-trophy-i-had-but-sometimes-i/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```