Tony Gonzalez Quotes

I miss the fears. I miss that. I miss going over the middle and not knowing if I’m going to make that play. I think that’s the part of the game you miss the most, that excitement of it. Then you think of the physical part as a retired player and I’m like, ‘hell no.’

I could have played in the NBA. I would have put up 1,000 jump shots a day. I’ve got that type of work ethic.

You take it one game at a time because it’s the most important game of the season.

Game after game, year after year, you never stop thinking about the balls you get your hands on and don’t catch.

I think when you give, that’s probably the highest form of living. It’s better than almost any feeling you could think of. It’s way better than scoring touchdowns to me.

I’ve always wanted a ring. That’s been my main goal as a player over the last 15 years of my career. You’re really trying to get that ultimate goal.

My mother was an administrator at a nursing home, and my first job was working at a nursing home as an activities assistant. She wanted me to do it because it forces you out of your shell, and it’s about giving back. That’s something that I learned from my mother at a very young age.

I didn’t start my whole rookie year.

I usually wake up around 7:30 A.M. without an alarm clock. I wake up naturally because I’m huge on sleep. I believe it’s the No. 1 thing you can do if you’re trying to create a better life.

You learn a lot more about yourself and the opportunity for growth is so much greater when you lose.

The Pro Bowl is an honor, and I don’t know why so many people skip it. I skipped it one time because I played the week before, but I always wanted to be out there.

When I go down to Mexico now, it’s not quite like I’m in Kansas City, but maybe it’s like when I’m in Atlanta the way I get recognized. That gives me a lot of pride.

It didn’t seem fair that no matter how many passes I caught or how many touchdowns I scored, I was considered a ‘lowly tight end’ and would never be paid anywhere close to a salary as high as the elite wide receivers.

I try to be me. I don’t have anything to hide.

Salaries should be set based on production and contributions, not positions.

It’s all about how you treat your body. It’s proper rest and proper nutrition.

Chiefs fans know how I feel about them and so do the Atlanta Falcons fans.

Everything happens for a reason, and hopefully it makes me a better person in the process.

I don’t care what you read, as long as you’re reading something ’cause when you read somethin’, you’re learning somethin’.

When I came into the league trying to party and having too much of a good time, I found out the hard way how it affected my performance.

While I was playing, I started a company that didn’t work out. I got a taste of the business world and realized I’m not going to be a 9-to-5 guy in the office after football is over. When the opportunity came for television. I thought, ‘Let’s go for it,’ even though it was nerve-racking. I enjoyed it.

When I got to the NFL, they asked me what number I wanted, and I said No. 44, but they told me tight ends are not allowed to have that number. So I said, ‘Just double it up for me if you can’ and took No. 88. I figured I’d be twice as good as I was.

Like a race car you can’t put in regular gas. That’s what food is: your fuel.

If I can’t win a Super Bowl, so what? What would it do for me?

I have a recurring role on ‘NCIS’ and that’s been a lot of fun.

It’s about getting hot, playing good football come playoff time.

What made me so different is they would use me all over the place instead of the traditional tight end where you’re taking off right next to the left tackle or right tackle. They would split me out wide and put everybody on the other side and throw me jump balls, they’d throw slants.

The first thing I do after I wake up is a morning meditation. It’s just as I awake and before I open my eyes. It’s where I’m feeding my gratitude and the love in my heart and opening my heart. A good morning meditation is key. It lasts about 10 to 15 minutes. Then I get out of bed.

My mom and stepdad had such open hearts, they taught me to like bringing people into my home. I’m not guarded about it.

There are injuries nobody’s even around the guy, and the guy’s getting hurt.

I’ve day-dreamed about raising that Lombardi Trophy. I can see it in my mind.

There’s a lot of growing you can have when you’re in adversity, when you’re in a losing situation.

What’s more important than your nutrition? What’s more important than workin’ out? It begins with gettin’ a good night’s sleep.

I’ve seen guys retire and then say they don’t feel their career was complete without a Super Bowl. They play that woulda-coulda game in their heads. Not me.

I love a sleep mask, havin’ total darkness is essential for good sleep, you know, cuttin’ that light out of your eyes.

It ain’t how you start out, it’s how you finish.

I’m a big podcast guy, I have my own podcast called ‘Wide Open.’

When you find yourself in those situations where you have to take action in a crucial situation, you just do it.

You can’t expect to be better than everybody else if you’re doing the same thing as everybody else.

I’ve been able to play for some of the best fans in the NFL.

When I first came into the league, we went 13-3 with a first-round bye, and I said, ‘OK, this is how the NFL goes. This is cake. I’ll have a Super Bowl trip every couple of years.’ That’s what I thought.

I grew up in Kansas City. I got here when I just turned 21.

When I was younger, let’s face it, Latinos in the league were almost always kickers. But Anthony Munoz was definitely a guy I looked up to.

I accept the cards that were dealt to me.