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I grew up in Los Angeles and always wished I'd spent a childhood in a far different place.

Even in past years, when I wasn't in the Super Bowl, I wished I was.

I wanted to be in the situation where I could have a chance to go to the NFL and be a great quarterback and take care of my family.

The only thing I ever wanted to be was a professional football player.

I feel so fortunate, so honored, to have played this game that I love for so long, with so many great players, and in front of so many wonderful fans. I fulfilled a childhood dream the first time I stepped on an NFL field, and the league did not let me down one time.

I know a lot of very rich, very successful, very lonely women in Los Angeles, and I never wanted to be one of them.

The only thing I'd ever wanted in my life was to be a major-league ballplayer, but I had to admit to myself that I wasn't good enough. It broke my heart.

I wish I could've been friends with Charlie Parker and played with him. That's my period. I feel real close to the '40s - and actually, I was born in '37, so I was a kid singing on the radio in the '40s. But I always dreamed of going to big cities.

When I chose Mississippi State, of course I dreamed about being a big-time college football player. But I'm so grateful that actually became a reality - and it became a reality in a small town.