As a football player, you just deal with injuries. It's all part of the football game. I've dealt with injuries as much as everybody else. People have dealt with worse injuries than I've dealt with. It's all part of the game, all part of getting that tackle.
For me, managing my energy means slowing myself down before the big event. I slow down the racing thoughts in my mind. I concentrate on and slow down my breathing. I listen to and steady my heart rate.
I'll tell you the truth; I had a double brandy before the game but, before, it used to be four bottles of whisky. Not any more. I was fine. I had a glass of wine after the game. But it was just a mouthful.
I'll tell you the truth: I had a double brandy before the game but, before, it used to be four bottles of whisky. Not any more. I was fine. I had a glass of wine after the game. But it was just a mouthful.
I never had problems with injuries as a kid or in the youth team. My injuries started at Chelsea, when I broke my foot during a pre-season game. That was just pure bad luck, but after that, I had some muscular injuries, too, so I had to get to know my body better.
Heroes' really changed the game for me in a way that nothing before it had.
'Heroes' really changed the game for me in a way that nothing before it had.
I failed, I think, seven [or] eight times before I finally got my first [championship]. It was just, you know, just about me growing up. Now that I'm an old, old veteran-age 29-I do things a lot differently. I don't go to the gentlemen's clubs anymore. I had to slow that down.
You had to decompress the pressure before the race. I taught my heart to relax. I lay down before the race. It gave me more energy just before the race.
In order for me to get right, I had to go back to Memphis, I had to close myself in, get in the studio, lock in, and just think about everything before all the ice, before the money, before everything, and just vent.
You know what I mean. And by the way, you should slow down.” I sighed. “You’re kidding me. This is coasting. This is little old lady speed.” “NASCAR drivers would have heart attacks. Slow down before we get a ticket.” “Chicken.
Ten minutes before starting a game in Akron, they said, 'Sit down, you're done.' Then I went to Arizona and sat there. There was no one to tell me what to do. I just had to wait.
I've had injuries before. They are just obstacles to overcome.
I wasn't feeling well in the first half. I felt down, man. I had three slices of pizza before the game and the food took me down.
Before I go to those teams, I say, 'Hey, I'm a Muslim and I have to pray five times a day.' And they respect it so much that they give me a prayer room. So before the game, after the game, before practice, before I fly out, I can go to that room whenever I want and pray.
I met my grandfather just before he died, and it was the first time that I had seen Dad with a relative of his. It was interesting to see my own father as a son and the body language and alteration in attitude that comes with that, and it sort of changed our relationship for the better.