A biography for Merlin Olsenhasn’t been written yet.
“I don't know where I got this size. Good nutrition, I guess.”
“I just wanted to be an athlete.”
“When a man lies, he murders some part of the world.”
“Parenting is perhaps the most important job we have in our lives.”
“You are the land. The land is you.”
“Most exciting for me was to make the Pro Bowl in 14 of 15 years.”
“I probably played hurt a lot more times than I should have.”
“It took me a while to realize that basketball wasn't football.”
“I bet I made close to 20 tackles because nobody on either side knew what they were doing.”
“Team doctors' jobs those days were to keep you on the field.”
“Our whole philosophy was to intimidate the quarterback. We were able to do it. We were pioneers. People still recognize us as, maybe, the best defensive line of all time.”
“The basketball coach cut me within two days, so I was back in the pool. I was the first one in the wall after the first 25 yards, but the last one out because I didn't have a flip turn.”
“After a few games I knew I was going to be able to compete. The idea of being a star never crossed my mind.”
“One of life's most painful moments comes when we must admit that we didn't do our homework, that we are not prepared.”
“I believe in dreams. Being a Merlin, I also believe in magic; the kind of magic that begins when someone who cares reaches out for a child.”
“Economics comes easily to me, and we all seek out what we do well in life. I had in mind becoming a businessman. And I was good at logic and reasoning; figures were comfortable inside my head.”
“I can ski out of my back door.”
“Jogging is my idea of nothing to do.”
“Fight for time with your family. They grow so quickly, and they are gone.”
“I was captain and should have set the example. I would lift a minimum of weights. Mine was natural physical strength. I always thought quickness and agility were much more important.”