JUNIOR SEAU

I remember when I was 6 years old and my brother used to go seek out guys that were 13 to come over and play football against me while he was the 'permanent quarterback.' I didn't know exactly what the age difference was, but I was already playing against older guys.

I had parents who instilled in me the importance of love, morals and hard work. I give God all the glory because he has brought me through so much.

No, I want my kids to be Tiger Woods. And Serena Williams. I dig those two.

I wanted to perform well for my mom and dad, because in high school, I didn't have a job. My brothers, they worked at Pizza Hut or places like that, but sports, that was my way of giving back.

As I was coming up, it always seemed like I was learning. If it wasn't from school, it was the 'hood. The influences of the 'hood are very powerful.

A lot of children can go back and look at their childhood and find reasons why it wasn't perfect. But why whine about something no one can fix? You deal with it.

I want to be the best. That's just the human way.

I'm basically a homegrown American.

The past isn't going to get you to your goal.

Ryan Leaf is doing great now. If he progresses the way he is now, we're going to have a quarterback that's going to be reckoned with in the near future. And that's not political.

As a sophomore, I wanted to play varsity in three sports. And I accomplished that. It was a great feat that year, and something I held special. I wanted to bring a championship team to Oceanside High School, and it happened. It was a great year that I will never forget.

The Super Bowl is a game. Life is for real. What I went through helped me get to where I am today. I won't forget. I can't forget. Because a man who forgets his past sometimes loses his soul and forgets where to go in the future.

The best meal at my restaurant is the whole right side of the menu.

There's a window in my life which is football. I try to remember that it's not going to be there forever. That's why staying humble is important; knowing who I am and the message I'm sending out. I always try to be a person first, before I'm No. 55 on the football field.

No, I didn't forget Samoan - I understand it when you talk to me but, you know, to put phrases together I sound like I do in English.

Dad taught us about morals, values and goals. Having a tight-knit family was important to him.

When I first started playing football, a headache was called a 'headache.' And now it's called 'a concussion.'

Playing football and rugby is the Samoan sport. It's part of the conversation at church. It's part of the conversation in their barbershops, in the grocery stores. It's what everyone is aware of and familiar with. They take a lot of pride in the beating you can take in the course of that sport.

Too many athletes are living in a tiny window. They have no vision for themselves - what they can be outside of football and what they can mean to a community. They just don't know any better. My hopes and dreams are unlimited.

No excuses and no sob stories. Life is full of excuses if you're looking. I have no time to gripe over misfortune. I don't waste time looking back.

I can't handle rollercoasters. I have no control of it. It gets to me.

I'm afraid of being average. I have a real fear of being just another linebacker.

You see a hockey player, you'd never know he's a professional athlete. But you put the skates on him, and he becomes a beast.

I'm not retiring. I am graduating. Today is my graduation day. Retirement means that you'll just go ahead and live on your laurels and surf all day in Oceanside. It ain't going to happen.

Being a reporter and chasing down an assignment isn't an easy thing to do, especially when you're dealing with athletes that are so focused and trying to get their little game plan together to perform under adverse conditions... it's tough.