My philosophy on quarterbacks is, first and foremost, you've got to keep them healthy and on the field.

We wanted Peyton to have a chance to win another Super Bowl. We have a chance to honor him like we did other players that came back. He's one of the greatest players. In the end. you look for a great football game, and that's what you hope for.

I was 11 years old when the Beatles broke up. I was a Lennon fanatic - I mean, I loved Paul too, but Lennon was the guy - and there was always this dream of the Beatles getting back together; there was always this hope.

Part of me goes back to being 8 years old and going on the train 45 minutes to wait at a bank to get Ernie Banks' autograph. Or when I was a ball boy, becoming best buddies with some of the undrafted or late-drafted guys, them becoming like our big brothers, and then the pain of cut day and watching them get cut.

I love to go out and have fun, but I'm not all about partying, so that's a perfect place for me to get away from tennis with my friends. I think Canberra is the best place in the world.

But we have seen amazing things, good and bad, happen in this game, so you can never take anything for granted. I certainly don't. There are no guarantees, whether it is good bad or indifferent you just work hard to push the odds in your favour as regards myself and the team.

Some of my friends said I wouldn't have a future in football, as did some of my family, but I still believed in the potential I had. My mum would tell me I needed to get a proper job, but for me, I didn't want to be anything other than a footballer. That led to some tension and frustration between us.

Like life, the beauty of sports is that no two periods are identical.