The last game I played in college was in the NIT against St. Mary's. That was the first time I had come to the Oakland area. So, the last game I played in college and the first game of my NBA career were out here in the Bay Area. It's pretty cool.
It was kind of good to get my feet wet with my first NBA game. I felt comfortable out there, let the game come to me. I played within myself and I thought I did pretty good.
I think the last game console I had was Super Nintendo. I remember once I played the Sega Genesis. But Super Nintendo was my last game device. I played outside more. I liked kickball and baseball.
I was how I was in college because I had to be. I played angry. I played hard. I stepped on guys' chests, I hit a game-winner against UConn.
Where I came from, my upbringing, the ups and downs it took to get my career started, when I made it, I played every game like it was my last game.
The ticket out of the Depression was an education, a college degree. It really didn't matter if you knew anything. You just had to have the degree. My dad, up until the last two years of his life, thought he had failed miserably with me 'cause I didn't go to college. I mean, you've seen postgame interviews with the star of the game and the players always talk about how proud his parents are because he's the first guy in his family ever to attend college. I'm the first in my family not to! I'm the first of my family not to have a degree. It's thrown everybody for a loop.
I played without fear. I've done that since I first kicked a ball in my back garden as a five-year-old, whether it's been my first game, my 100th game, or my 500th game.
I don't know if anyone's ever done that, where they do a big college game and then do a game in the NFL. It would have to be a Monday game, obviously. If it were a Sunday game I wouldn't be able to do college and pro. Ideally, in a perfect world, I would love the challenge of trying to do both.
My first game, I played the first play of the game and called a timeout and got sat down, got benched for the rest of the game, and we won the game. It was the longest day of my life. Long day. Very embarrassing.
I grew up in Europe, and soccer was the first organized game I played. When we moved back to the U.S. in the middle of 4th grade, I switched to American football and stopped playing competitively until college, when I played intramurals.
The first time I retired, only Sir Alex Ferguson and I knew that the last league game of the 2010-11 season against Blackpool was to be my final game at Old Trafford. I was a little bit sad, but I am not one for tears. The end of a career comes to us all, and there is not a lot you can do about that.
I played in the Super Bowl in my first year, and the last game I ever played in was the Super Bowl. There's something to be said for going out on a high note.
I understand how much everyone wanted to see a British winner at Wimbledon and I hope everyone enjoyed it. I worked so hard in that last game. It's the hardest few points I've had to play in my life. I don't know how I came through the final three points... that last game ... my head was kind of everywhere. That last game will be the toughest game I'll play in my career, ever.
I remember, playing in college especially, I cried in almost every game I played. I just felt so much stress and pressure that I was letting everyone down if I didn't score a goal or win the game. I carried that weight with me into every game.
Last year in Germany at a town hall in Leipzig there was a game music concert played by the orchestra and some of the Final Fantasy scores were played. This year there is another concert scheduled in the same location, for game music.
They should have a rule: in order to be a sportswriter, you have to have played that sport, at some level; high school, college, junior college, somewhere. Or, you should have had to have been around the game for a long time.
I've been back to the Kansas City area a lot in the past. My sisters went to college in the area. My brother went to college in the area. I've got friends there, so there's some ties to the area.