Quotes from Steve Largent

I might not be a great athlete, but I think I'm a real good football player.

Frequently I get asked if I'd rather have spent my career in a big city like New York or Los Angeles, where the exposure would be greater than in Seattle. My answer is no, not at all. Exposure is not important to me.

When you start thinking about taking pictures, sending an e-mail, receiving an e-mail, speaking into your phone and have it transcript voice into text and then sent as an e-mail, it's mind-boggling.

Where is the harm in the wireless industry?

People are very interested in having access to wireless data while they are on a plane.

They say politics is a contact sport, and I have to agree with that.

Steve Jobs was a visionary in the technology and telecom community. His contributions to innovating communications have forever changed our industry and our lives. He will be greatly missed.

While I am a fervent believer in free markets and limited government, there are rare instances in which government involvement is necessary.

I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop themselves. Sometimes I've wondered what I could have done with their talent. On the other hand, the tag that I was too small and slow made me work hard.

When I look back over my career, having an opportunity to compete against really good players like Lester Hayes are some of the highlights.

I always thought of myself is a private-sector person. I was a reluctant candidate. I put in my time. Now it's somebody else's turn to take charge. But I am still very interested in politics.

Football players should always remember there's a whole lot more to life.

If I conduct myself publicly and privately in a way that is honorable, not just to the people of the district that I represent but to God, then I will feel like I have been successful.

The tag that I was too small and too slow just made me work that much harder. Besides, quickness is more important than flat-out speed. How often does a receiver run 40 yards straight down the field? Not very often. Lateral speed is what counts. How quickly can you get in and out of a cut? I can do that as well as anyone.

I don't think I was a year too late or a year too early in retiring. If the Seahawks had been in the playoffs a year later, I might have had some regrets.

People say, 'I'm for job training. We can train people to increase the likelihood that they can be self-sufficient.' Okay, that's great, you're for job training - I like job training - but do you think the federal government should have 163 different job-training programs?

It brings a smile to my face every time I look in the record book and see my name with the likes of Hutson and Lance Alworth and Raymond Berry, some of the fabled receivers of the NFL. It's all like a dream to me. I can't believe it's true.

Some receivers are like sports cars: they have a lot of speed and flair. Me, I'm like an old pickup truck. I just bounce around and try to get the job done.

Sometimes Congress likes to milk an issue.

I think leadership is more than being able to cross the t's and dot the i's. It's about character and integrity and work ethic.

I've always had this nightmare of going back to the Kingdome and seeing myself waddle in bald, overweight, with a big belly hanging over my belt, and I just imagine people going, 'That's Steve Largent?'

I can't tell you how important it is for people on the public stage to utilize that stage in a constructive, positive way. When you're in the public eye, you have a decision to make - whether you are going to be an influence or not.

The more studies that come out that talk about concussions and so forth, it makes me wonder. I wonder, more importantly than the stroke, the impact that concussions have had on my life, particularly as I get older.

I never dreamed I'd be in Congress, or even in the NFL, for that matter. Well, I guess I dreamed about being in the NFL, but I didn't believe it would happen. I'm not the biggest guy. But I guess that's the story of my life.