Tony Gonzalez

The game is exploding for Latinos... They've embraced the game.

Here's what I always tell people: It's a mentality that you have to have in the NFL. It isn't about if you have the athleticism. When they bring you in, you've already shown what you can do athletically.

It's great because growing up, especially being a Raiders fan and then playing with Marcus, I was like, 'Holy smokes, that's Marcus Allen' when I first walked in and saw him.

There aren't many football players other than kickers who are Latin.

My grandfather spoke fluent Spanish and I have family members who speak fluent Spanish.

I don't get hurt because I'm so slow.

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

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 have soaked this league up for everything it's worth. I've had fun. Made some great relationships. I don't regret anything. Don't regret being in Kansas City. It's all been very good to me. So why would I take that approach? There will be no pity party thrown here.

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 accept the cards that were dealt to me.

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.

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 didn't start my whole rookie year.

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.

There were guys from different parts of the country, and absolutely I heard, 'Why are you playing football?' You just didn't see a Gonzalez out there or any kind of Latin name.

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

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

For me, I'm really tired of living and dying with the game. Every game. I've tried to turn it off. I'm still trying. I can't. It sucks. Believe me, it sucks.

As far as the regrets go, that's just not part of my makeup.

Dealing with bullies when I was in sixth and seventh grade has made me a better football player, believe it or not. You have to come to a point when you're like, 'I've had enough, and I'm not going to be kicked around and pushed around anymore.'

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.

We were a single-parent household for a while. It was just my mom, me, and my brother. We were on welfare for about a year and a half. But I remember my mom never complained, and we never wanted for anything. She always made ends meet and she's been the rock for the family. She instilled in me work ethic and toughness.

When I first started playing in a youth football league, I was the worst kid on the team. I quit the first year. And then the next year, I was still the worst kid - I didn't even play.

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

You should really cast a big net when it comes to life and learning. In the end, you're so much better for it.

I think consistency, that's one thing that I look back over my career. You could count on me catching around 80 balls a year or whatever, almost eight, nine touchdowns. And I only missed two games out of 17 years, I'm pretty proud of that, too.

There's nothing else like playing at Arrowhead Stadium.

Coach Vermeil was the greatest.

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

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

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

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

We're not all like Tom Brady, who just keeps winning Super Bowls.

I like seeing people achieve great things.

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

I'm always very honest.

I always wanted to play in the Super Bowl. That never happened. It hurts. I'm not going to lie about it. It's reality. You deal with it.

I don't eat a lot of fast food and I stay stay away from fried foods. I don't eat much meat either.

I love philosophy and spirituality and leveling-up books and science books.

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.'

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.

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

I love Atlanta, even the city.

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

I've been on some really good teams, but we weren't able to get over the hump. It's offense, defense and special teams, and then the ball has to go your way.

The Super Bowl obviously wasn't in my cards, and I'm OK with that.

My career, it's turned out to be something more than I ever thought and more than I ever dreamed. It's been an unbelievable ride. It's amazing.

Records are made to be broken. I got to break them, and now it's up to somebody else.

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.