Football is a chess game to me. If you move your pawn against my bishop, I'll counter that move to beat you. Football is the same way. I study so much film that I know exactly what teams are going to do. I love knowing what a offense is going to run and stuffing that play.

You see a hockey player, you'd never know he's a professional athlete. But you put the skates on him, and he becomes a beast.

When my TV show, 'Sports Jobs with Junior Seau,' assigned me to be a 'Sports Illustrated' reporter for a weekend, I didn't realize I'd have to squeeze it in around another sports job. I had planned to retire from the NFL to enjoy the cushy lifestyle of a full-time reality TV star, but I wound up getting run over by a bull.

I'm afraid of being average. I have a real fear of being just another linebacker.

No excuses and no sob stories. Life is full of excuses if you're looking. I have no time to gripe over misfortune. I don't waste time looking back.

I'm not afraid to fail. I'm afraid to be mediocre.

I had parents who instilled in me the importance of love, morals and hard work. I give God all the glory because he has brought me through so much.