Context

This line is spoken by George Gipp (played by Ronald Reagan) in the movie Knute Rockne All American, directed by Lloyd Bacon and William K. Howard (1940).

This line comes from a movie about legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, but that's not the important part. The notable thing here is that the line was spoken by President Ronald Reagan, back when he was an actor. His character, Georg Gipp, is an awesome halfback who leads the team to glory, but is tragically struck down by a disease.

On his deathbed, "the Gipper" tells Rockne to tell the boys to go out and win a game for him, which the real Rockne did actually say in a famous speech to his team. Later, "win one for the Gipper" became a campaign slogan for Reagan, which is what truly immortalized the phrase.

Here's a clip from the film. Watch it, you know, for the Gipper.

Where you've heard it

Maybe you saw the quote in this article in Parade magazine. If not, check it out for more context on the quote. Win One for the Gipper is also the title of a biography about the real George Gipp.

In the political world, the line comes up anytime somebody wants to invoke Reagan, like when George W. Bush used it at the 2004 Republican National Convention in his acceptance speech, not long after President Regan died.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

It's politically charged, sure, but not pretentious.