Sports Quotes
My first match was against Sputnik Monroe at the Amarillo Sports Arena. It was scheduled for only ten minutes. Sputnik got me down and was on top of me for the first eight minutes. My father came running down to the ring and yelled for me to get up. I don’t know how I got up but I did. I was a lot more scared of my father than I was Sputnik.
The Chicago Special Olympics prove a very fundamental fact, the fact that exceptional children – children with mental retardation – can be exceptional athletes, the fact that through sports they can realize their potential for growth.
When I was in elementary school, we weren’t allowed to do sports other than cheerleading. By junior high, they let us play, but we had to come back after 6:30 p.m. to practice because there was only one gymnasium and the boys used it first.
Now that sports science is more advanced, we know that there are so many off-pitch factors that can affect how good you can become. If people are telling you to sleep a certain number of hours, eat specific foods, and drink a certain volume of fluids, then you have to be prepared to listen and learn.
I often speak about tennis being one of the most important sports when I was growing up, for my hand-eye coordination and quick feet.
It was actually drumming that gave me the stamina to get into sports later. I started playing drums at 13, and when I got to the international touring level… I got interested in cross-country skiing, long-distance swimming, bicycling… things that require stamina, not finesse.
Regardless of the obstacles or hurdles that are ahead of you, regardless of the opponent, regardless of the odds, your goal and objective always is to win. I think that’s part of sports.
I know my strengths. Painfully aware of the weaknesses. There’s many. I love sports. So working towards a common goal, that’s exciting to me.
There’s nothing masculine about being competitive. There’s nothing masculine about trying to be the best at everything you do, nor is there anything wrong with it. I don’t know why a female athlete has to defend her femininity just because she chooses to play sports.
It’s a little bit in the genes because my brother is a journalist and my father was a sports writer.
I was very fortunate to play sports. All the anger in me went out. I had to do what I had to do. If you stay angry all the time, then you really don’t have a good life.
It sounds like a cliche, but it… you do sing about what you know about. And I grew up in a small town, and I grew up in a place where your whole world revolved around friends, family, school, and church, and sports.