It may not be at the very top of the list of athlete interview clichés, but it’s probably on the first page. It’s easy to imagine it being entered into Nuke LaLoosh’s little notepad.
“We/they just wanted it more.”
It’s flexible. It can be used after almost any competition and any kind of result. It conveniently ignores what actually happened on the field (or court or ice or whatever), and blithely glosses over individual performances and decisions made by athletes or coaches. It’s inherently meaningless. And so it’s been an interview staple for years.
But the world has changed.