Scott Hamilton

“Adversity, and perseverance and all these things can shape you. They can give you a value and a self-esteem that is priceless.”

“I had a ninth grade teacher who told me I was much smarter and much better than I was allowing myself to be.”

“I'm very accessible. I don't get into this ego thing.”

“The only disability in life is a bad attitude.”

“The high road is always respected. Honesty and integrity are always rewarded.”

“That's what makes the Ryder Cup in golf so much better than the Masters or the U.S. Open. To be a part of something that is not about personal achievement, but about representing everyone and sharing it with the whole country, it's wonderful.”

“Rationality is not one of this industry's attributes.”

“Always try to maintain complete tolerance and always make an effort to give people more then they expect.”

“From the fall of October, 1980 to March, 1984 I never lost a competition.”

“Each movement is only learned after you've perfected the one before it.”

“A bad attitude is the only true handicap.”

“So as an amateur Olympic competitor I loved criticism, because it made me better. But now as a professional I don't really know how to channel it or where to take it, so I don't take it quite as well.”

“I started skating and I kind of liked it because I could run circles around the guys that wouldn't pick me to play baseball.”

“When you turn professional, you become an entertainer, and like every other entertainer, you don't want to get a bad review.”

“Memories just get richer with time.”

“I don't want to look back-I want to keep looking ahead. I'd hate for my defining moment to be my past.”

“Everything that I've ever been able to accomplish in skating and in life has come out of adversity and perseverance.”

“I was more interested in skating and the girls and traveling than I was in calculus.”

“I don't think most teachers realize how much impact they have.”