Mike Eruzione

It drives my wife absolutely nuts.

And we've been together for 50 years.

So it's not like, you know, I always tell my kids all the time the same thing about, I was very happy with who I was before the Olympics.

Why should your life change because of an athletic event?

It clearly changed a lot of things in my life, but it shouldn't change who you are.

you know, my friends are my friends, my family's my family, and I still live where I belong and stay where I am, because if we didn't win, I'd be living in that town.

I'd probably have more than three kids because I'd have been home more.

Just because I didn't play, let's just say this, if I didn't go to Boston University, I'd still be happy with my life, whatever that was, because that's the direction I was going to go in.

I'm always very positive and very upbeat.

There's so much out there for me to do if I didn't play hockey, if I didn't play football.

I'd have done something else, and I'd have been happy with what I did and what I was doing.

But my life took a different turn and my life went this way, but it shouldn't change, as I said earlier, who I am.

And why should I be different?

Just because I won a gold medal doesn't make me better than people in this room.

There are certain things that you can do that I sure as hell can't do.

So everybody brings something to the table.

I happen to bring something to the table in terms of my athletic ability.

and then it turned out to be what it's become today but I think for me like I said if we didn't win I'd be living in my hometown I'd be married to the same girl I'd be coaching and teaching and that's just the way it was going to be that's the way it was going to be yeah so this is and for everybody here I really lock in on this the the lack of attachment that Mike has the outcome he shows up he gives everything he's got and then what happens happens

Yeah.

Let's hear it.