Top 104 Quotes & Sayings by Howie Long - Page 2

As a broadcaster, I've always taken the approach that I want to be informed. I want to understand. It's easy to mail it in and throw a take out there.

My grandmother is the type of person, I'd be down playing cards in the park, and she'd take the dog and walk down to the park, like 10:30 or 11 at night. I was 12 years old. She'd come down yelling for me. I'd be embarrassed in front of my friends. She'd grab me by the hair on my head.

At the end of the day, it is not about money. It is not about cars. It is about legacy and it is about rings.

Running backs like Emmitt Smith and Barry Sanders, you were lucky to get a piece of them.

For a while here in L.A., we had a problem with the wave. They didn't quite know when to wave.

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

I'd never carried on a conversation with a black until college.

I hate to admit it, but my family was on the back burner for a good part of my career. I was so engrossed in what I was doing that I took my VCR home, ate dinner, went to my room and watched five games. Four days after the Pro Bowl, I'd be at the gym. But I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Football was my way out.

I was uncontrollable. I didn't like school. I was younger than everyone in my class by two years. I had few friends. I never had a girlfriend. I was kind of a grandmother's boy.

I have always felt a responsibility to pay it forward.

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

I was a quiet kid. I was very introverted, believe it or not. I never spoke above a whisper. I was always, 'Yes sir.' I was raised that way.

People are nice in Seattle.

I was a big kid who never played any organized sports. You played a lot of sports in the streets and I excelled at that, but I was never confident enough to go out for Little League. I was afraid I might get cut, or I might not be able to hit the ball.

I come hard every play.

I don't believe in beating people up just for the sake of grabbing a headline.

We had barracuda jackets and alligator shirts with the collars up. We were wearing the collar up before it was cool.

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

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.

I'm a nervous dad.

I really enjoy my time in Montana.

When Hall of Fame voters decide who is inducted, it's a really difficult process. Players have to have an advocate in the room, and it's typically their own local beat writer.

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

I'm far more nervous watching my kids play than when I played myself.

I had a mental block. I didn't think I could be successful at right end.

When I played, I thought I was one of the 10 baddest guys in the world and should change for work in a phone booth. You need to think that way.

I'm never one to question people's courage.

I usually wear my Hall of Fame ring on a more regular basis because it is more like a college ring. It is a little more understated. The Super Bowl ring is kind of loud, but I take great pride in those two things.

It's important for kids to realize nothing is given to you.

The identity of the Raiders was linked to Oakland, and the identity of Oakland was linked to the Raiders. They're synonymous. It's one and the same.

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.

When I talk to kids, I have a theme: If you work hard, life is easy.

I learned about FightSMA from a family in Virginia where I live. I was immediately struck by the great fighting spirit of the children and families involved in this struggle.

With the Raiders, you walk a little bit of a fine line. It's hard to be objective, and it's hard to be critical.

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.

For me, coaching in the NFL doesn't fit. I coach high-school football, so I get my fix.

I never thought about money when I was playing.

I got a concussion on the final play of a game, and I don't remember leaving the field. No one helped me off the field. Apparently I was on my feet and I just followed the crowd of players into the locker room. I don't know where I was or what I did for 10 minutes.

I'd never played on a team until high school. It gave me a sense of belonging, a focus, and helped build my confidence. I liked the feeling of accomplishment and the respect. Sports ideally teach discipline and commitment. They challenge you and build character for everything you do in life.

Some guys, when they retire, they say they're doing it to spend more time with their family and then they do five other things.

Sports ideally teach discipline and commitment. They challenge you and build character for everything you do in life.

In Montana, they renamed a town after an all-time great, Joe Montana. Well, a town in Massachusetts changed their name to honor my guy Terry Bradshaw--Marblehead.

I think it's important for fans to be involved in all aspects of the game. We saw the league certainly make that move towards involving fans with pro bowl voting, I'm not sure that fan voting will ever be a part of the Hall of Fame, but it is always interesting to get the perspective of the fans.

When I went to the Hall of Fame in 2000 and was inducted, it was a travesty the kind of carnage I saw out of these guys who were in their 50s and 60s, who had defined and in many ways laid the foundation for the NFL being what it is today.