Most athletes get intimidated once they see how many fans are out there, but it almost calms me down in a way because I think of it as a fun way to show off what I've been working on.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Most athletes are media shy. They keep to themselves and to their training. I'm not saying it is absolutely necessary for them to come out and face the cameras with confidence, but if they do, it will only help them. They will find themselves closer to their fans and will also get their word across more effectively.
Athletes these days are too robotic. People like to see performances filled with emotion. In my career I tried to be amusing, to differentiate myself from the other champions.
To me, when people say, 'Oh, you're a freak athlete,' it's bittersweet. It's a huge compliment to say, 'O.K., you have physical abilities that are kind of above and beyond.' But at the same time, I feel like it diminishes the mental side of the game.
Yeah, I think it motivates you as people start to count you out. It doesn't make you play any harder, because every time you go out on the field you give 110 percent, but it does give you more of an edge mentally, knowing that you were in the same situation, because in sports you always find yourself behind.
I don't think enough players channel the energy of the crowd. If it's done properly, and you don't let anger overwhelm and distract you, it's like a shot of adrenaline in the arm, and it gets the crowd pumped up.
I think the core of fans' relationship is one that vacillates schizophrenically and mercurially from reverence to resentment. Fans fetishize the players' athletic genius and both deify it and demonize it; witness the way awe turns into anger whenever a player holds out or flips off the offensive coordinator.
Amazingly, I think that a lot of times athletes are - are kind of in a position where other think they shouldn't weigh in on certain social topics.
When you are an athlete, it's difficult to take time off and say you want to come back without everyone judging you and attacking you.
Being an athlete helps me get those grandiose emotions of pleasure and pain that are involved in sports.
You try to hide your emotions, so as not to show weaknesses to others. I believe it's the same for every sportsman.