Mottos and Goals?

I've always wondered about mottos and goals of individuals and teams. I've never been a big fan of them. No doubt, when teams win championships, they cite their mottos and goals. "We won this because we set a goal...." Hmmm.... Didn't a lot of teams set goals, even to win the same championships? So, why was it one goal worked, but more than one didn't? I'm not saying failure to win a championship means a failed season; not at all. Look at all the tee shirts and signs in weight rooms...it was those that played major roles in winning. So, does that mean all the losing teams didn't have tee shirts and signs? Is that all it takes? If so, why aren't there more championship teams? Oh, that's why.....

Why does one need a goal or a motto to work hard, to try one's best, to play hard? I don't think it's necessary. I don't need a tee shirt to tell me I work harder than you so I finished ahead of you, whether I did or didn't.

My guess the mottos and shirts are for the times the playing days are over. Isn't everyone, ten years afterward, "All-League" or "All-State" or whatever "All-" they want to believe they were? I even had one guy tell me he was a high school "All-American," but, it seemed odd to me, wasn't offered a college scholarship--not Div 1, not Div 2, not Div 3, or even some community college. It's sort of like Springsteen's "Glory Days."

I suppose these things don't hurt, but I'd guess they are vastly overrated, given far too much credit because the winner always seem to wear the shirts, spout the mottos, etc. Gee, what would it look like if the losers are wearing the same shirts, spouting the same mottos?

Wouldn't practicing and playing hard, trying to be the best one can be just as good?