Nate Jackson > Quotes

“Players grunt, coaches yell, and pads and helmets crack, creating a frightening symphony of future early-onset dementia.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“Jake has retired. He is thirty-two years old and healthy. Still a star quarterback, he’s chosen principle over promise and left the industry that betrayed him.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“Dove Valley. That’s where Broncos headquarters are. Boy, Denver is Broncos crazy, I tell ya. I’m not a Broncos fan myself. No offense. Everyone takes football so seriously around here.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“I am meat, traded to the highest bidder: the only bidder. Fine, I’ll be your meat. I’ll be whatever you want me to be. Just give me a helmet.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“There are human subplots to every football game—ethereal manifestations of childhood dreams—but we rarely notice them because there just isn’t time.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“A football dream is easy to spot. Turn on SportsCenter and they’ll show you what it looks like. Tom Brady’s life. Peyton Manning’s life. Fairy tales. Storybooks. The football dream I had as a child unfolded much differently. But it has still unfolded. Every crease and every line, ever grunt and every pop, I’m playing the game I love. The grass is still green, the hits still hurt, and the ball in flight is still the most beautiful sight I know. I will chase it to the ends of the earth.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“The lesson is this: Do what you're good at and do it well. Don't try to be something you're not.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“How do you replace a legend? You don’t. But in the NFL, you fucking better!”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“The armor makes it more violent. It’s a dangerous sport because of the armor. The helmets are made of hard plastic and metal and that allows you to use your head like a spear.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“Our emotions are the only things that we truly have, that are truly ours, and we are taught to reject them. —Damn. You’re right. So what do we choose instead? —Darling. Pointy balls, of course.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“My hamstring rips off the ass bone with a bang, the sound of my season ending right there.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“I listen to the announcers and read the papers. The media narratives are sensational and simplistic, and when compared to what I know about the team, sound like drivel.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“routine foot care, continue shoulder strengthening exercises and treatment as needed. Continue anti-inflammatory medications and treatment in the training room for his left achilles tendon.” I’m given jersey number 14: standard-issue training camp receiver number. The eighties numbers go to active receivers and tight ends. The rest of us get numbers in the teens—the leftovers, basically.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“He’s a small man but outsized, with a presence as big as the Rockies.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“It’s my agent, Ryan Tollner. —Hello? —Hi, Nate. Have you heard anything from the Broncos? —No. —They’re releasing you today. No one called you? —No. —Wow. All right, we’re going to find you another team.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“Attitude and effort are nonnegotiable,”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“Football is fun.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“Halfway through practice I stand on my own with my helmet in my hand, trying to catch my breath after a series of scout team plays. A voice startles me. —You’ll get used to it. It’ll take a few weeks but you’ll get used to it. No one realizes how bad the altitude change is until they get here.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“Because of my many connections to the team, the fact that the 49ers didn’t draft any receivers (the Ravens drafted three), and the team’s proximity to my family, Ryan and I agree that the Niners are my best bet. I call them back, while Ryan delivers Baltimore the bad news, and not a minute later I’m out the door, making my short way to the facility again. I walk upstairs to sign my new NFL contract, complete with a $5,000 signing bonus. Look, Ma, I’m a 49er!”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“Our offensive line doesn’t speak to the media at all. They have an internal policy enforced by fine and degradation that no offensive lineman is to speak to the media at any time for any reason.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“Do what you’re good at and do it well. Don’t try to be something you’re not. T.O. dominates the cornerbacks who try to cover him, throwing them around like rag dolls. He doesn’t try to dance around on the line of scrimmage and look pretty. He picks them up and moves them out of the way. Then he runs his route. I’m not on that level, but I take note. Decide what you’re going to do and do it violently.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“They call it the No Fun League for a reason.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“What is it with the pointy balls? —It makes them easy to throw. They spin through the air and travel really far that way.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“Most cornerbacks tackle low. They shoot for the kneecaps or the ankles because that’s how you can bring down a larger man.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“Brew is mainly a run-blocking coach. He has only a nominal interest in the passing game. His bailiwick is biting someone in the fucking neck! He likes to get dirty. By that I mean that he likes for us to get dirty.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

“Yes, I could have gone in for injury treatment over the weekend, but I’m sick of being treated for injuries, sick of spending time in the training room, sick of feeling fragile.”
― Nate Jackson, Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile