Athletic Intelligence Quotes

I always prided myself on trying to break the stigma of the 'dumb jock.'

You watch Silva, and he almost never gives the ball away. He is always looking, thinking, making the right calls.

Some guys are football smart and they're not smart in other ways. Other guys get 1500 on their SATs and can't get a double-team block right. No, that definitely, in my experience, sometimes it correlates, sometimes it doesn't. I don't think you just take it for granted.

Sports is remarkably cognitive. I think it's underrated just how smart it is. Actually, if I had more time, I would spend more time with sports. Watching it, reading about it, I think it's oddly underrated.

What's really appealing about women's cycling in America? If you took a poll in the women's peloton, I would bet you that 90% of the women have college degrees, and a lot of them have Masters. The women's peloton is very well educated.

Most people think footballers are thick. Some might be, academically, but they can see the game, strategically, tactically, in every way.

Being thick isn't an affliction if you're a footballer, because your brains need to be in your feet. And Beckham works hard, he's brave and he crosses a ball superbly. He treats a football like he does a wife, lovingly, with caresses.

You have to be smart as a football player.

My dad was the first one who said, 'You're going to end up behind the plate because you've got a very good arm and you're very smart when it comes to calling a game.'

You never know about team speed until you get out there. You don't know who is a slow learner. A kid may not be very bright or he may be real bright but he doesn't know football. You've got to find out all those nuances and how they learn.

We all know LeBron's IQ is on another planet.

Boxing is a mental sport. Think of a prizefight as a chess game of mind and body, and you are a little closer to it than if you compare it to a bloody brawl in an alley.

You can wish as hard as you like but all that really matters is the shape you're in on the day of the race. I've always felt these really big races aren't necessarily won by whoever is the fastest. They're won by the athlete who is the smartest and in the best shape on the day.

A lot of guys are just as fast, just as strong, or just as big as me. But they're not going to be able to think the way I do on the field.

Nobody expects a footballer to have any kind of an IQ, which is a bit of an unfair stereotype.

I'm someone who really thinks the game through, who has an IQ about the game, who studies the game, who knows a lot more than just running and jumping.

I can evaluate a player in a very short period of time because I'm very close to that game, very educated in that game and played the game for a long, long time. I wasn't just a guy with talent. I learned a lot about the game.

There is a certain way that I play. You just have to have a feel for it. That's something you have to feel as a football player.