For the players, these top, top, top games or these top, top, top events - like a World Cup or a European Championship - are not common but, of course, something special.
On television, I have watched countless athletes from different countries, sports and Olympics stand proudly at the top of the podium and shed tears. They symbolized the Olympics for me because Olympic medals represent all of the hard work and sacrifices made by the athletes as well as the people who helped them reach the top of their sports.
Playing college soccer was going to be the top of my athletic feats. I wasn't going to the Olympics. I was a decent player, but it's because of hard work, not because I was Freddy Adu. I wouldn't have a medal from the Olympics if I wasn't in a chair. I wouldn't have gone to the Olympics and experienced the whole atmosphere.
To even get to the Olympics, I have to qualify for the 2013 World Championships and the standard is high. I know I am always going to be a few points behind the top guys.
I have to work harder than what I am now to make sure that I stay on top of this and stay on top of the world and be competitive in major championships.
With athletics, you put all that training in for only two major championships a year and the Olympics every four years. So when you get on top of the podium, it is relief and excitement and... Oh! it has all been worthwhile... the hard work, the sacrifices.
The goal for the top American isn't the top twenty - it's top ten, top five, number one in the world.
I think in any profession, in general, you always imagine yourself at the top of it. And I'm not trying to say I'm at the top of my profession, but I've seen what the top people do and what the top people live like. And that's definitely something I want to be a part of.
I was with top CEOs in 2009, and they were clearly shaken. Top leaders of Wall Street and elsewhere, shaken. The ones at the top did get by because if they are seeing a decline somewhere, there is also growth elsewhere, like in emerging economies.
I would be really excellent in a horror film because I have a great scream. I'd be really good in a comedy too. I'm top, top, top quality.
I thought those three years when we won championships, I really was good enough to play in the All-Star game. I felt I deserved to be in the top whatever that would be, the top 20-some players in the league. Really felt that comfortable and confident on the basketball court.
Nothing fails like success. Because when you are at the top, it's so easy to stop doing the very things that brought you to the top.
Once you've been at the top, you're always gonna know what it's like to be at the top. If you've never been at the top, you're not worrying about what it feels like being there.
As a scientist, I play in the top league - the Olympics, the World Championships - and I want to be in the lead. As a runner, I set personal goals, and I want to push beyond my own personal limits. I was very happy when I practiced for several months and then reached my goal to run a marathon in 2:50.
The people who live the life of their dreams take risks. And on top of that, they persist. And on top of that, they trust themselves. And on top of that, they don't let circumstances hold them back, because they know that they are more powerful than their circumstances.
I was a defensive lineman coming out of high school who was considered amongst the top... maybe the top six guys, top five guys, and wanted to prove to my team that I was going to be a top guy going into college.