I would have been a much more popular Wolrd Champion if I had always said what people wanted to hear. I might have been dead, but definitely more popular.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
People know I was the last true champion.
I love talking to interesting people - people like O.J. Simpson, Andretti... I love champions. A champion has something special about him.
I had an initial wave of popularity that, in time, crashed, and I slowly became less popular and less successful, and I had to figure out who I was without those things.
What's funny is that the idea of popularity - even the use of the word 'popular' - is something that had been mostly absent from my life since junior high. In fact, the hallmark of life after junior high seemed to be the shedding of popularity as a central concern.
People could see in me who I am now, an Olympic champ, the best in the world.
No one expected me to become a champion.
I thought the more famous I became, the more friendships I would have, but the opposite was true.
I was never looking to be popular. The trade-off for me in seeking other people's opinions is the potential to help that you get in the media. And we don't always do that, but when we do, it's a beautiful thing.
By the time I got to WWE, I had a lot more confidence and willingness to speak up.
People still look at me as the champion and that's very important to me.