Gary Lineker Quotes

What the people say on TV means nothing to me, and it means nothing to anybody that's actually playing football. It's for the fans to watch and enjoy.

Even talking about serious issues - it's hard to fit in anything around calling a baseball game.

My dad was a sports writer when I was younger and then he became just a general columnist. But I grew up with him literally getting into brawls with football coaches.

I've called the spring game for Big Ten Network for Michigan State. It's a great opportunity to still stay around the game, to be able to feel like you're close to the action. I'm very analytical, so I think it fits the way I think.

The fight game and the commentary game are two different worlds.

I used to love watching Match of the Day and the goals. I used to love seeing people scoring.

One of my main goals is to become a sports broadcaster. That is the ultimate for me.

I have always been very comfortable behind a microphone. I love talking about basketball, I love being around people, I love being around the game, the travel and the excitement around the arena.

Someone wanted me to write a profile for ESPN about the commissioner of baseball, and I said, "He's just some suit! Some Republican. No!" I mean if you want me to write about baseball, boxing or football, I'll write about those things because I watch them, I think about them a lot and I like them. But I don't want to write about Barry Bonds.

I've always had an interest in the media, I love cricket, so why wouldn't I want to be around it?

For 30 years I wrote for newspapers and magazines, wrote books on the Dallas Cowboys' dynasties of the '70s and '90s, wrote about Michael Jordan in Chicago and Barry Bonds in the Bay Area, even wrote columns for ESPN.com from 2004 to 2006.

I watched 'Match of the Day' growing up every week and I'm talking until I was 29-years-old.

People are tuning in for one reason and one reason only: to find out what's happened. That's what took me a very long time at 'SportsCenter' to figure out.

I love what I am doing on 'SportsNation' and to now have the opportunity to do even more on 'Winners Bracket' as part of ESPN Sports Saturday on ABC is the perfect situation.

I work for the BBC now. I do it because I genuinely love football.

Obviously, I love the idea of athletic quarterbacks.

By the time I left ESPN in 2003, 'SportsCenter' had become a far different show than the one I initially joined in 1996.

After football, ideally I want to take Gary Lineker's job, but we'll see about that. I'd love to do that, present 'Match of the Day.'

I watched a lot of Jerry Rice's film just to learn how to run routes, but it was so difficult to imitate him, and he didn't play with the same body language that I wanted to play with.

I remember listening to my first World Cup in 1966. I was with my parents, helping them build our house and listening to it on the radio. We still didn't have a TV back then, but fortunately the first time I listened to a World Cup Jose Maria Munoz was commentating, and he's one of the best there is.

I'm passionate about the game - just like the fans are, and I've coached in the league for a long time, so that's the perspective I will bring to ESPN.

I don't watch football debate shows on TV, hardly listen to the radio or read the papers.

We want to give deep insight into sports at all levels and bring the viewer inside the journey for an entirely new perspective.

I'm very excited for the opportunity to work with Skip Bayless, the top opinionist in the business, and Shannon Sharpe, legendary NFL tight end and Hall of Famer. I love a good debate and look forward to sitting with these two and seeing what happens every day.

Debates are set up for nothing more than to tear down the candidates. It's pretty hard to be able to sit and lay out your ideas and your concepts with a one-minute response.