Quotes About Admiration

As a kid, I looked up to Gazza, and to Wayne Rooney because he came through at Everton. Zidane has been one of my favourite players and I was always watching videos of him.

I always wanted to be like Mark Messier and I loved Wayne Gretzky, the same as other kids. But it was also really special for me to see the Black players that were in the NHL.

I love Lil Wayne for even having people look my way.

My dad and uncles listened to a lot of rap. My dad is a big fan of LL Cool J. Driving in the car with him, we'd listen to Jay-Z and Nas. My sister listened to a lot of No Limit, so I listened to Master P. and Cash Money - Lil Wayne and Juvenile. They had jewelry and nice cars. I was drawn to them.

Playing with Wayne Rooney was a dream come true. He's a legend and a role model to me.

When I was little I definitely listened to a lot of DMX and 50 Cent. Those were probably the two main rappers I was listening to when I was young, but my favorite rapper has always been Lil Wayne.

I would love to do something with many artists, you know: Fantasia, Cardi B, Lil Wayne, J.Lo, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson. There's so many of them! All of them are iconic in their own way and to collaborate with any of those artists of that magnitude would be such an honor for me because I grew up listening to them and I love their music.

Wayne was my hero. He really loved doing Mickey Mouse and was very proud that he did it 32 years.

Wayne Rooney would have been great to play with. He is one of the best strikers in the world and this is also a guy who has scored against me every time I've played him.

I am very fortunate to work with people I have seen on the screen so many times and admired, and they are in the public eye, and I have seen how they handle it. There are definitely ways to just keep on enjoying the profession and the work. Other people tell me that things are going to change.

When I look in the mirror, I don't see a person who's made the kind of impact that Mia Hamm made on the game. She's still my idol, the greatest player and the greatest teammate. She achieved so much in so many different ways. What she did for women's soccer can't be measured.

The people I admire unreservedly are my parents. They are the real pioneers of Africa in many ways. They were born and raised in rural Africa during the colonial period. They are the ones who came to the U.S. long before I did.

I continue to care for President Obama and for his family. I think that in many ways they are very courageous people, and I honor that, because I know what it means to live as a black person in a racist America.

We cannot all be great, but we can always attach ourselves to something that it great.

There is no way one can remake 'Mughal-e-Azam.' What my grandfather did, we cannot even think of emulating. The film is a legend, and we should leave it at that.

Having casual conversations with the likes of Lena Dunham and Kim Kardashian makes me weak in the knees. I have so much respect and admiration for Lena that it doesn't matter how many times I talk to her - I get starstruck.

I am convinced that our movement will be more demoralized and weakened by blind and uncritical admiration than by frank admission of past mistakes.

When I look back at my career it is nice to know that I've been appreciated on and off the pitch because not everyone is.

I'm very proud of my love for Whitney Houston. She really changed my life. She made my life a better life. She was so beautiful in her love for God, her love for her family and her love for music. She truly loved her music. She could do everything! She had flawless rhythm, flawless pitch, flawless feeling, and flawless beauty.

When I was young, I looked up to Andriy Shevchenko. He was so elegant, and on the pitch as well.

What I love about England is that the fans have great respect for the players on and off the pitch.

Goose Gossage is a friend of mine, and he's definitely a Hall of Fame pitcher in my mind.

I am so happy and proud to learn of Hideo Nomo's election to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. He was quite a pitcher and competitor, but he is also a very special and caring person.

Verlander is a guy every right-handed power pitcher looks up to since the beginning of time.