Howie Long

“The week of the Super Bowl takes on a carnival atmosphere. There are so many media commitments. There are so many NFL commitments, buses being shuttled from here to there. You are practicing at unfamiliar places. You are asked to do things that are outside of the norm of your typical game week.”

“Listen, if Bill Belichick were coaching in Poland, I think you'd be excited about playing for him.”

“Teams are often times a reflection of their coach both on the field and in the media.”

“I enjoy what I do on the field. In fact, I need it. But I don't have a problem separating my on-field life from my off-field life.”

“My family members were always there and I was very fortunate for that I mean, I played hockey growing up. That was the sport everyone in Charlestown played back then, and I had skates and the equipment, but I was growing so fast, it became hard to afford new stuff every year. But hockey was it for me.”

“Having grown up in that area, and being like every other kid that grows up in that area, it's John Havlicek, it's Bobby Orr, it's Sam Bam Cunningham, it's names and players like that who you kind of live your dreams through. Having come from there, I'm very proud of the fact I'm from Boston and continue to be proud of that.”

“I really did retire to spend more time with my boys.”

“I think people who had made the transition from sports into film, the mistake that they made in the past, they tried to be too much. They tried be the guy in the film.”

“Growing up in Charlestown, we didn't have money, but we weren't poor either.”

“You play to have an opportunity to win.”

“Philadelphia is a football town. Boston is a baseball town.”

“Punters are players, too. They got to learn to take the hits. If they dont want to get hit, they shouldnt be out there.”

“I never thought about money when I was playing.”

“Do I miss the players? Do I miss the smell of the stadiums? Do I miss the adrenaline that comes from being there? I miss that a lot.”

“I have this dying desire to be on top. I'm paranoid about it. It's almost a sickness.”

“It's not like I'm a Buddhist or anything, but I think we've all got, to a certain extent, a predestined life. My journey took me from Boston to Philadelphia to Oakland to Los Angeles and then as a broadcaster. I've been fortunate.”

“Lack of enthusiasm in the stands tends to be less inspirational on the field. It doesn't send the chills down your spine. It's not that magic moment that you dream about growing up.”

“You can recover from a concussion in a week. But a knee injury can end your career.”

“I looked at Randy White... I looked at Klecko. I looked at Gino Marchetti. I looked at a lot of players. Bob Lilly. There are players I looked at over the years when I was a young player and tried to steal a little bit from their game and fit it into my game. And Joe Klecko was someone I thought was a bear to deal with.”

“If wives or girlfriends are knowledgeable about sports, it only benefits their relationships. It's all about give-and-take negotiations, like saying, 'I'll see 'Unforgiven' if you'll see 'The Bridges of Madison County.'”