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Motivation Quote by Dan Marino

"Obviously I'm not 21 anymore, but I think I can still throw with anybody"

About this Quote

Marino’s “Obviously I’m not 21 anymore” is a disarming concession that doubles as a challenge. He opens by acknowledging the one critique that never goes away for star athletes: time. But he frames age as a fact, not a verdict, and that distinction is the whole move. The comma-less confidence of “but I think I can still throw with anybody” doesn’t beg for permission; it asserts belonging. “Anybody” is doing heavy lifting here, expanding the claim beyond a friendly locker-room boast into a public refusal to be sorted into nostalgia.

The subtext is less about arm strength than about identity. Quarterbacks, more than most positions, are judged on a mix of measurable tools and myth: leadership, nerve, “intangibles.” Marino leans into that mythology while keeping it grounded in the one skill that made him Marino in the first place: throwing. Not “play,” not “win,” not “run an offense” - throw. It’s a surgical narrowing of the debate to his core competency, the thing fans can picture in a single slow-motion spiral. That’s savvy, because it turns a complex question (Can you still compete?) into a visceral one (Can you still make that pass?).

Context matters: this is the language of late-career legends navigating a culture that worships youth but can’t quit its heroes. Marino isn’t pretending age doesn’t matter; he’s insisting it doesn’t get the last word.

Quote Details

TopicSports
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Marino, Dan. (2026, January 16). Obviously I'm not 21 anymore, but I think I can still throw with anybody. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/obviously-im-not-21-anymore-but-i-think-i-can-111485/

Chicago Style
Marino, Dan. "Obviously I'm not 21 anymore, but I think I can still throw with anybody." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/obviously-im-not-21-anymore-but-i-think-i-can-111485/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Obviously I'm not 21 anymore, but I think I can still throw with anybody." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/obviously-im-not-21-anymore-but-i-think-i-can-111485/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

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Dan Marino: Not 21, Still Competing
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About the Author

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Dan Marino (born September 15, 1961) is a Athlete from USA.

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