Athletic Career Quotes

When should a college athlete turn pro? Not until he has earned all he can in college as an amateur.

I really loved football from a young age. And my only thought, my only objective in life, was to be a professional footballer.

The fact is I gave everything I had to Kansas State when I was there.

I think I'm realising that careers for tennis players are very short. On the women's side now, players are starting to peak later on, but the average age is about 31, 32 when you finish playing, so I want to make the most of it while I'm young, fit, and healthy. I don't want to waste any time.

You're playing football for a living. There aren't many things better than that.

I think I've got some more big plays left in me.

I dabbled in football myself until the age of 14, but I didn't have as much love for the sport as I did track and field. I would never have been good enough to take it to the highest level.

Hopefully I can play until I'm 40.

I do not forecast playing until 38 or 39.

When I was playing I never wished I was doing anything else. I think being a professional athlete is the finest thing a man can do.

My real-life athletic career was not very much. I played Little League baseball.

When I made it to the pros I wanted to be a guy who could stay in the league, be OK, do whatever I had to do to make some money and do what I do. As the years started coming, I started getting better.

From the start, all I did was play football. I briefly played badminton and won a tournament when I was 12, but really, it was always football.

I feel like I've had 20 years of experience at a very high level, if you throw in college, playing overseas, I've played in hundreds and hundreds of games.

I was on my way to becoming a Hall of Famer and having my name in the rafters, but three surgeries in 14 months, that is not good. I wasn't the same player.

I was a footballer for a long, long time.

I played everything. I played volleyball, did track, cross-country, but basketball was my main sport, my main focus.

A lot of wear and tear on my body. I've been blessed not to have too many surgeries.

I was a pitcher, shortstop and outfielder, and the Yankees tried to sign me out of high school as a first-round draft pick in 1981. I turned them down to go to college.

I know this: the opportunity to play, when that leaves, it is over.

Throughout my career, I have faced the best forward players in the world - many of them who are considered among the greatest ever. For me, there is never a fear. A respect, yes, but never a fear.

I want soccer to be a stable profession that attracts young female athletes when they graduate from college.

I have the most amazing job. I play basketball and keep working at it and trying to get better.

When you're growing up and thinking about being a footballer, you want to make as many caps and play as many games as you can.

We make a living playing basketball. You don't have to be a tough guy or a hard-ass to play this sport. You can be tough but you don't have to have that bravado. Sometimes it's good. But I'm not going to be someone I'm not. It's just me being me.