Dale Earnhardt Jr. Quotes

I looked up to Cristiano Ronaldo, and then it was always Didier Drogba.

Ryan Giggs and David Beckham were the two players I've always looked up to.

We started playing the Baltimore Colts early, and I was still very impressed with Johnny Unitas, who just passed away recently. I thought he was one of the best quarterbacks at the time when I was very young, he was in his prime.

We're in a leadership position in sports. People look up to the National Football League.

Our goal was to win, to win a Super Bowl, but also to win in the right way, to be role models to our community, to represent Indianapolis, the state of Indiana and the National Football League.

Luckily, I have the good fortune of being on the same team as Ray Lewis. I don't have to face him on Sunday.

I know personally as a young player when coaches came to my school that is someone you want to be like and I think that helps massively.

Other kids were watching John Elway. I was watching Tom Landry.

I feel like my game is more like LeBron's than Kobe's, so that's why I think I gravitated toward his game more.

I had a lot of idols like Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, and Xabi Alonso - all of them. I really looked up to them.

My four older brothers were my favorite players. That's why I got into football and sports.

My biggest hero was Roman Gabriel, who was the QB of the Rams, and Roger Staubach. Those were the two guys I tired to emulate when I was little.

I wanted to emulate my parents - Mum captained India in basketball, and Dad won a bronze in hockey in 1972 Olympics. My focus has always been to achieve excellence whether in the field of tennis, in the corporate field, in the art of acting or in motivating youngsters.

I remember how inspiring it was to meet players like Bobby Charlton or Bryan Robson when I was a kid. I still remember Clive Allen showing up when I received a trophy for my Sunday league team.

Johnny Unitas was my hero.

I would have loved to have played for Joe Gibbs. Look at his record of winning three Super Bowls.

You see guys in the NFL when you're younger, and you try to model your game after that.

We've seen the kind of social impact a professional sports team has on a city. A team brings high-profile role models into your community who are healthy and they're great images for the city to gravitate toward, especially for kids.

I think there are a lot of good people, a lot of good football guys in the NFL.

It's an awesome responsibility, not only to maintain the level of success the NFL has, but to build on that.

Growing up, I looked up to major league baseball players, and now these young women have amazing, incredible women all across the board, from swimming to gymnastics to softball to basketball.

I'm thrilled, I'm grateful, I'm blessed. I played for the world's greatest professional sports team in history. Once a Dallas Cowboy, always a Dallas Cowboy.

All of us growing up, if you're a professional player or a college player, you're molding your game after guys. You see guys, you see things guys do. Like Randy Moss, I'm a Randy Moss guy.

I was at UGA playing with Champ Bailey and Hines Ward - both guys who will probably touch the Hall of Fame one day.

I come from a very athletic family. But I didn't have the typical Jewish sports heroes. I mean, like lots of Jewish kids I admired Sandy Koufax. But I didn't look up to him as the one person who gave me the desire to push on and succeed. My brothers did that for me.