Top 104 Quotes & Sayings by Howie Long

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American footballer Howie Long.
Last updated on October 15, 2024.
Howie Long

Howard Matthew Moses Long is a former American football defensive end, actor, and sports analyst. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons and spent his entire career with the Raiders franchise in Oakland and Los Angeles. Selected by the Raiders in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft, Long received eight Pro Bowl and three first-team All-Pro selections while helping the team win a Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XVIII. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.

I really don't know what would have happened if my uncle hadn't taken me in. He took a hoodlum and turned him into a student-athlete from Milford.
You have to lead by example - my 80th play has to look the same as my first play.
I won't have the sacks of a Mark Gastineau and I won't get all those pursuit tackles. Our responsibilities are different. He's allowed to freelance all over the field. I have back-side responsibility. I have to play the reverses and cutbacks. Let me know when Gastineau decides to play the run.
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.
Marshawn Lynch is an angry, violent runner. — © Howie Long
Marshawn Lynch is an angry, violent runner.
I'd cut school and go over to the Lori-Ann Donut Shop and eat doughnuts. I got a job at the pet store near Lechmere, unloading fish tanks. They gave me $10 for unloading a full long-bed truckload. I never broke a fish tank. When I asked for a raise, I got fired.
The head coach is the director, the quarterback is the lead actor and the offensive linemen are the grips.
I'm a Catholic.
My philosophy with Hollywood is the same as when I played ball. I try to bring everything I know to whatever I do. If I fail, then it's not for lack of trying.
There is no easy way to greatness in any venue. But if you work hard, good things will inevitably happen to you.
I know I'm lucky to be where I am.
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.
I think people have a different perception of me than what I am. I think they get me confused with Lyle Alzado.
As a kid, my goal was survival.
When I was playing football, I was offered little parts in movies, but I always said 'No, thanks.' It didn't seem to be the right time. — © Howie Long
When I was playing football, I was offered little parts in movies, but I always said 'No, thanks.' It didn't seem to be the right time.
I played 13 years. I did quite well in professional football. Therefore, I do not need.
Growing up in Charlestown, we didn't have money, but we weren't poor either.
I was sick a lot, and doctors told my grandmother I'd never grow up to be big and strong. Isn't that ironic?
I just want to make a few action movies.
God gave me good people around me, and He gave me size. It's kind of a miracle, really.
You don't have to sell the fact that a football player has toughness.
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 almost said no to 'Broken Arrow.' I ended up doing it on a lark.
Unfortunately, everyone thought that Teri Hatcher was my wife. Matter of fact, I would be with my wife, holding my wife's hand at a football game, and someone would come up to me and say, 'Hey, I love those commercials you do with your wife.' My kids almost had shirts made up that said, 'Teri Hatcher is not my mom.'
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.
I went to Villanova.
The beauty of having played pro football for so long is that people haven't seen me angry, overly happy or despondent - the range of emotions a human being shows.
I've been operated on a whole bunch. I've broken everything there is to break.
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.
I just play hard-hitting football, but at least I look the opponent in the face before I hit him.
I have all the socks and underwear I need.
I don't think I had one personal foul in my career. Now, that being said, no one can ever say I never brought it.
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.'
I'm a hungry individual, but I'm not mean.
There are always guys that give you a glimpse of the future. Maybe Gene Upshaw. Ted Hendricks. Lawrence Taylor was a glimpse of the future. Kellen Winslow was a glimpse of the future. Mike Haynes.
I was lucky to make a lot of money in football, and broadcasting is succeeding beyond my wildest dreams, so I'm in the position to say no to a lot of things.
When I left for Milford I was in the 10th grade and had never read a book from cover to cover. From the fifth grade on I felt if you studied intently something was wrong. The coolest kid in class was regarded as the leader and you fell in behind him or you were frowned upon... and whatever else that entailed.
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.
Everything I've done after football requires so much less focus, less work, less stress, it's kind of like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. You no longer have to be the toughest guy in the world.
I've always been a nice guy, but let's face it football's a mean game. — © Howie Long
I've always been a nice guy, but let's face it football's a mean game.
I used to live at Jack-in-the-Box.
The Raiders hit straight up. And thats the way we expect to get hit.
You know, most of my friends are either dead or in jail. There were a lot of tragedies.
My poor wife, we stopped on the way back to the suite after our wedding reception so I could pick up a jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread. I mean, I'm not a real exciting guy.
I like John Riggins. He's one of the guys I look up to. He doesn't try to change his act to suit his profession. He just gets the ball and tries to ram it down your throat. I respect that.
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.
Listen, if Bill Belichick were coaching in Poland, I think you'd be excited about playing for him.
Run into other people for 20 years, you're gonna have pain. But I'd do it all again... It's like I say to my kids: 'Good things that happen are often a byproduct of a sacrifice you've made.'
I think you get used to being looked at. It used to bother me when I was young. But you get more secure with yourself at least as a man the older you get.
I was a street kid, but that meant hopping a ride on the back of the MTA down to Revere Beach - that's the beach that's made out of concrete - or sneaking into the Boston Garden to watch the Celtics or the Bruins.
I grew up in the streets in Boston in a row-home neighborhood playing hockey. — © Howie Long
I grew up in the streets in Boston in a row-home neighborhood playing hockey.
I have this dying desire to be on top. I'm paranoid about it. It's almost a sickness.
Professional athletes, like it or not, have a responsibility to the kids of America.
You play to have an opportunity to win.
I was an average football player in college.
I'm happiest when I'm in a helmet.
What it comes down to is, people either want to watch what you're doing or they don't.
Some teams hold a little more than others. It's an art, but it's not an art I appreciate.
Interestingly enough, on every team there's usually a minimum of two and a maximum of seven knuckleheads on a roster.
I don't really miss football anymore. I played for a long time, and played it well.
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