Football just brings a different atmosphere that other sports don't bring.

[It was the intensity of Italian football which troubled the former Hibs striker most.] It was cruel stuff out there as Italians, at that time, were quite prepared to play without the ball, ... Foreign players - and we were the pioneers - were regarded with deep suspicion. Not only were we kicked up and down the park but regularly spat on as well. When I returned home for the close season, I knew I couldn't go back.

[So big games in baseball or football? Which are more compelling?] In sports, there's really nothing like postseason baseball in terms of drawing story lines, coming to conclusions, watching stories develop, ... In the Yankees-Red Sox series, Games 4 and 5 were two of the most thrilling games you'd want to see, and when you have a buildup like that, people are going to be excited to see Games 6 and 7. In football, the games can be just as thrilling, but they stand on their own. A regular-season game in the NFL has almost a playoff feel some weeks.

Being a woman is of special interest only to aspiring male transsexuals. To actual women it is merely a good excuse not to play football.

My best girl is dead.

Marta was watching the football game with me when she said, "You know, most of these sports are based on the idea of one group protecting its territory from invasion by another group." "Yeah," I said, trying not to laugh. Girls are funny.