Bode Miller Quotations

A huge adrenaline rush is usually followed by a pretty low point.

Sometimes it's all about the win, sometimes it's about the skiing.

I'm still having fun and as long as skiing is enjoyable, I'm going to continue to do it.

I had crashes when I was small and Gumby-like that would have killed me now. I would just fly off jumps and go 40 or 50 meters when I was 6 years old - break skis, smash my goggles and get a bloody nose and go crawl inside for a little while and then come back out and ski more in the afternoon.

You feel the Olympics and you get chills and nervous and a little scared. You go through the emotional roller coaster at what it's like to compete at the Olympic level and you let that run through your whole body.

We should tell our kids to just have fun, participate and not get bent on winning or losing. But every coach, when they say that, they say it tongue in cheek, 'Don't worry about winning': If you win I'll get you ice cream, but if you lose I'm going to pout in the car.

My goal is the same as every year - to not hurt myself.

Obviously, you always want to win, but you want to win by skiing a race that you're proud of and you feel like you really challenged yourself and left it all out there.

I really am a thinker. I don't do things rash. I know some of the things I've said or the way I act seem rash. But I do take ownership of it. I don't say things I don't mean.

When you back off, it's easier to do mistakes. For me it's better to ski fast.

I simply think things through, and I look at problems. One thing I pride myself on is the ability to connect unconnected thoughts and come up with new, unique thoughts.

From 1999 to 2003 was the peak of equipment in ski racing. Since then, it's all gone in the wrong direction.

People think coming in under the radar is like being a fighter pilot and actually coming in under the radar. It's a completely ridiculous idea to come in under the radar. It's the Olympics; everyone is on the radar here.

I always do the contrary of what my coaches tell me.

My mom played the recorder. But not having electricity, we had minimal exposure to music. As I got a little older, we had Walkmans and things that were battery-powered, but it would have been nice to be growing up in the iPod era. A tape only has six songs on a side.

It's not quite as important who you beat as that you end up on top.

There's so many guys skiing so fast right now that you really have to be willing to take a lot of risks if you want to give yourself a chance to win. I'm prepared to do it; it's just a matter of if I can make it work.

I went through a period at boarding school when my coaches wanted me to switch to snowboarding because they thought I was no good at skiing. I was too skinny. I had terrible technique. They were saying I should be a snowboarder, and luckily, I resisted.

I've been exploring different options for when I'm done skiing. I have the Turtle Ridge Foundation, which is helping a bunch of worthy causes around the Northeast. I've also started SkiSpace, which is an online social network that basically deals with all things based around any snow sport.

I don't put anything in front of taking ski racing and sports seriously.

It does matter that it's the Olympics. I just did it my way. I'm not a martyr, and I'm not a do-gooder. I just want to go out and rock. And man, I rocked here.

My grandfather was very into horse racing, and I found some of his old journals and got into it from there. It has a lot of parallels to skiing. It's a fun lifestyle, being around the racetrack.

One kid's old, used-up equipment is another kid's brand-new, awesome, awesome equipment.

My sister has three kids so I've spent a lot of time around children and I've always really liked them and wanted my own. It's cool because you think all babies are the same but they aren't at all. They all have such different personalities. It's crazy.

It's nice, being brought up with no money at all. It's just not how I measure success, so that makes it a bunch easier.

It's important for me to live my life honestly.

Once the season starts for me, there isn't a change in my focus, just a change in my tactics and strategies.

The same people who recognize I came out with no medals should recognize I could have won three.

That feeling is the same whether you're on either side of the hundredths. Obviously, it's great to win the world championship, but if you put down that kind of skiing, it's awesome either way.

Eventually I'd like to have a family. I'd like to not be limping around when I'm 50 years old.

One of the really important things about the Olympics is, to enjoy yourself, you have to accept that it's different and feed off the enthusiasm of everyone and the inspiration and hopefully that will elevate your performance.

People want athletes to cater to their image of what an athlete should be, but they also want them to fail so they can feel like their screwups are all right. If I make a priority shift, I'll make it because it's best for me.

I had to think about ankle torsion, where the screws are on the ski, how that affects the forces going into the ski and how the ski bends, your leverage points. It was a challenge. I was having the greatest time, making the mistakes, crashing.

I like to keep my private life private for the most part.

When you get old, it's hard to tell what's memory and what you've kind of created in your head as memory, you know?

I think four Olympics is probably enough. Five Olympics is a long time, but there's nothing wrong with that if I'm into it and I'm healthy and my priorities can fit around that.

In some ways, that's the story of my season - when I wasn't making big mistakes, I was winning races and being on the podium. And when I made mistakes I was still fourth or fifth, just off the podium.

My daughter's name is Neesyn Dacey but everyone calls her Dacey. Her mom chose Neesyn and I chose Dacey after she was born. The mother is a good friend of mine who I was seeing a while ago. We are no longer together.

But there was no question in my mind that I was gonna still go for it. I was still going for the win. I wasn't skiing for second or third place today, and in the end I think that's probably what got me there.

My team has been very unreceptive about the fact that I consistently show them that I train slightly differently than they do, that I consistently show them that I am in better shape for ski racing than anyone else on the team.

There's been times when I've been in really tough shape at the top of the course. Talk about a hard challenge right there. I mean, if you ever tried to ski when you're wasted, it's not easy. Try and ski a slalom when … you hit a gate less than every one a second, so it's risky, you know. You're putting your life at risk there. It's like driving drunk only there's no rules about it in ski racing.

Some people say I make mistakes. I just say that in fact this is the secret of enjoying life. I hate monotony. Why don't they leave me freedom of choice? People want to impose choices which aren't necessarily mine. That's the mistake people make.

At the end of the day, you have to make sure you're at least listening to what your head is telling you, what your heart is telling you. That's hard to do when there are a million other people shouting as loud as they can.

Some of them I probably would like. Some of my fans probably beat their wives or run over little kids and they just happen to watch me on TV and like the way I ski. Obviously I clearly wouldn't like that person if I knew 'em better.

When I was little, I spent a lot of time by myself. When other kids were in school, I was skiing and thinking about things. I was alone on the mountain.

The only mental games in ski racing is the mental game against yourself. Is the whole goal of life preserving your life as long as you can? No. The goal is to enjoy your life, challenge yourself, to sometimes make stupid decisions-which are sometimes fun and sometimes idiotic and sometimes just a big fat mistake you regret.

If I could wish one thing for anyone, it would be to not have to do anything his entire life-just go along and when you feel like doing something, do it.

Despite all the pressure and the caliber of accomplishment, I still can honestly say that it's not all about winning.

I can take $15,000 a year and raise kids on that. Later, they'll figure out I've got millions, but hopefully they'll have the values to say, 'So what?

I don't care what other people's judgments come down to-I care what my judgments come down to.

The way I judge myself is not on how many World Cups I can win in a row.

I've been myself my whole life.

At this point in my career, I have the privilege of choosing my partners. In the beginning, you more or less take what comes in the door - or what matches up with your brand. But you're always subject to what's available, especially in the ski world where there are not infinite choices, especially on the fashion side.

If you're unhappy with the way you played, what's the point?

Arousal-control has been an issue for me since the beginning of my career.

I would say most of my style is driven by functionality and comfort.

I have an eight-year-old girl and she does have some appreciation for fashion, but she's stuck in that: "Oh my God, this is cute" phase, so when I go shopping with her and my wife, I can only last about 10 minutes before I have to start exploring other parts of the store.

I still love racing and the challenge of it, but at some point, you get to a place where you're perfectly happy moving on and doing other stuff.

People in the U.S. will watch anything if it's put in front of their face over and over again. I like to see what's possible, more than anything.

I couldn't be happier with where my life's at right now. I have great partners, I have great stimulating relationships on the business side of things, I've been really busy and productive.

It is not that I don't recognize the danger in ski racing, but that I don't fear the consequences.

Join the bold, the brazen, the unintimidated. Join not having excuses. Join the idea that fun is the source of all joy. Join the unwillingness to give up. Join doing things your way. Join not joining. Join that purpose is stronger than outcome. Join your gut. Join the constant challenge of seeking greatness. Join play. Join the hunger to find what makes you happy. Join karma and nature and the effect you have on your world. Join your philosophy. Join something bigger than you. Join what you believe.

Ski racers are built odd with overbuilt butts and legs.

The best way to protect your own freedom is to watch everybody else's back. That's the essence of community.

Sometimes I'm disciplined, but I like to be a total slacker, too. I party hard, but I train hard.

I tried retiring a couple of times and it just didn't really stick so, but at some point enough things conspire together and it does stick.

Obviously, the less change that happens all at once on the team, personnel-wise, is probably better for the team.

I don't have to put a finger on it. That's what's nice about being me instead of you. You're the one that has to put a finger on it.

If it's clear, it's clear. I don't plan to get disappointed.

He's been the leader on this team for a bunch of years. There's going to be a changing of the guard.

I absolutely skied the way I wanted, but when I looked at the board and saw that the way I wanted got a fourth, there was a moment of disappointment. But then it goes away for me right away. This was a confidence builder.

People in the U.S. will watch anything if it's put in front of their face over and over again. I like to see what's possible, more than anything.

To the people who I don't have any direct interaction with: fans, just people, parents who are trying to put all athletes up on a pedestal and show their kids what they're supposed to be like. Obviously, the message that came through was not something that I would promote or (what) I'm about in any aspect of my sporting career.

You have no chance whatsoever with these higher bib numbers.

This year, I wanted to race in a way that is exciting for me and that I like. Sometimes the results don't always match up.

I skied the way I hoped would reflect a positive objective. There's a discrepancy there. There's a moment of confusion and disappointment, but my objective criteria was satisfied.

The World Cup has no competition at the moment, the whole thing is a little rusty.

I've straddled probably more times than most people have finished slalom. It's a drag, but the downhill was good and I made it to the finish. That's at least half the battle for me.

I've straddled probably more times than most people have finished slalom.

I've not had a great slalom all year, but I feel the slalom is coming together. I know I can ski well on the downhill, so I have a chance in the combined.

The stuff after the Olympics was pretty aggressive.

There were just a couple of spots where I got a little out of balance. That's the difference between being fifth and being second. Obviously, it would have taken a hurricane wind to get first today. He was pretty much in control.

It's all totally out of my hands. If it's clear, it's clear. It's not the first time I hooked a tip. I've straddled probably more times than most people have finished slaloms. Obviously, it's a drag.

Nothing's changed about me. It's no different than when I was a kid and I wanted to ski during warm weather but needed to travel somewhere else to do it. So I got a job to pay for it.

I'm not very sentimental about anything. I haven't been back here in nine years.

I had dinner. Then I had a few beers with friends and went home.

I had a great time at Nagano in 1998, when no-one knew me and I could do what I wanted. I went out with my friends and went to watch all the sports.

I couldn't get a grip in the last three turns. I couldn't find an edge -- that was the difference between fifth and second. It would have taken a hurricane wind to get me to first.

(You) could die tomorrow. You've got to be aware of that. As a ski racer, that's definitely an option. You go 75, 80 miles an hour a lot of the time. You have to be focused on living each day the way you want in and of itself.

The jumps were a little bit harder for me. But when it's time to race I usually don't feel much of my knee pains. In general, I was really happy with the way I skied.

This hill is not as challenging as a World Cup hill but they could set it difficult, really difficult.

This hill is not as challenging as a World Cup hill, but they could set it difficult, really difficult. The only thing it's really lacking is the air ... but it's fine with me. I hate jumps right now. My knee hurts so bad.