We grew up as kids watching those movies and we were exposed to themes of civil rights, unfairness, bigotry and fathers struggling against the kind of mob of the town, so you remember how you felt as a kid being taken seriously, that you are part of the human drama.

You know Texas is - even more now that Enron has bit the dust - it's held up on the back of small businesses.

I grew up on cricket and I think Australian kids are getting so Americanized, you know?

But just playing the partner of someone famous, I had a lot more freedom.

The trouble is that right now I want to put as much work into football as I can. It's very important for me to get off to a good start. By the same token, I feel a responsibility to handle the media and those sort of things.

Football is something I enjoy doing, something I'm well-paid to do, and obviously that's a great privilege, but I'm just trying to be happy, and if there's an opportunity to do something fun, then I'll just do it. I don't hold back; I just want to be a regular guy.

I used to go to some Harvard parties with my athlete friends, and they would introduce me as 'Winona, the Indian activist.' It made me uncomfortable. I felt like a novelty.

I'm just ready to play football. I'm ready to get involved in the community, I'm ready to just do positive things and move forward.