He gave me my push.

It's amazing when you think about it. You would think that over this amount of time somebody would have won it, but there's some potential on this team.

I just want to see how the organization continues to grow. Having played my career here, you're naturally concerned about what the new generation of players is doing for the team to make it better.

There are some things I do remember. I know there's a lot of fire in him.

Years ago, it was pretty hard to get people to empathize even a little bit with scaly, cold-blooded critters; now, thanks a lot to good PR from television, it is easier to get the message of reptile conservation and tolerance across. We have a lot to be thankful to reptiles for, not the least of which is their control of rodents.

We definitely started the game better, and whether we put it down to Mat, his involvements ... I spoke about his infectious attitude that everyone gets and everyone seems to lift.