Todd Hays Quotations

Tomorrow will be my last two bobsled runs. I'm not getting any younger, and I don't think I'll be able to get it done in Vancouver when I'm 40. I have a medal but none of those guys do. I really, really wanted to get it done for those guys. They deserve a medal.

Tomorrow will be my last two bobsled runs, and you'll see every ounce of energy that I have in this sport. I've got to try to do a lot better job for my teammates.

Unfortunately it didn't go as I'd hoped. But fortunately I know there's a lot worse things in life than not finishing the Olympic Games with a medal.

We're finally starting to catch up with the Europeans on the equipment and the technical side of things.

I got to put on the red, white and blue. I got to represent the greatest nation on earth. That is a fantastic thing. And I happened to be able to win a medal along with it.

I don't care what the margin is. We're coming out tomorrow and we're going to leave everything on the track and see what happens.

I came to compete. I came to represent the United States. I did all those things. The only thing you can ask for in life is a chance. I had that.

I feel great, I came to compete and represent the United States. All you can ask for in life is a chance and I had it the last two Olympics. I just wish I could have done better for my teammates.

If Brock keeps pushing the way he has, we're going to be just fine.

Four-man is my event really. I haven't been quick here but I've been fast in the four-man. I'm hoping we can pull it off.

If anyone else had a mistake like that, it would have cost them 15 places.

Hopefully we can get it all together for the games. I think we're definitely starting to peak.

The pain was extreme. I still had to drive the sled down the track. I could feel the blood rushing out of my shoe. That's when I got concerned. I thought I'd lost a couple toes.

I was definitely unhappy with the result. We got beat all the way around. There's no excuses.

I thought the driver must have been unconscious and that we certainly were going to die. You have to remember on these bobsleds, there's no suspension and it's a steel frame mounted to a steel axle. When you start approaching speeds of 90 mph you can feel every vibration. It's like some someone pushes a piano on you and pushes you to the bottom of the sled. You go up to the top and you see your buddies doing it over and over again, so you want to continue to do it. As you do it, it gets less scary and more exciting and then you start searching for the speed.

I think we're going to be right there at the end in the medal count. I'm definitely looking forward to being a part of this U.S. team.

Our chances are very good. There aren't but about five or six teams that will be right there for the medals. We have as good a chance as anybody.

My parents live 16 miles out on a dirt road and another mile on a different road. How the heck did they find the way out there? These guys are like the post office. Rain, snow, hail, they're there.

We get to hang out with some of the other athletes in the lounge. We talk to them and find out about their sports. It's good getting to know them and their experience.

What I don't want to do is come across like I'm making excuses. I need to get it done with whatever runner I'm on. I'm not going to sit here and say it's all runners. I needed to drive better. I needed to find a way to get it done, and I didn't do that.

This track is different. You've got to drive a lot more than I like to drive. I don't like to pull on the ropes. I like to let the sled fly. And it's really hurting me here in Italy. I can't get used to the idea of yanking the sled around and it's really killing my splits.

The only thing you can ask for in life is a chance. I had that today. I had it the last two Olympics. I got to win a silver medal in my home country. Unfortunately, I just didn't get it done for my team. It's not going to be a sad thing. It's just part of life and I certainly can deal with it.

We've not been advised (about security plans). I think it's going to be a standard protocol security situation. This day and age, you have security. I'm not real concerned about it.

We had the best velocity on the top of the hill almost every time and that's an indication that your brakeman is loading and accelerating into the sled better than anybody. I think he's one of the most talented guys in our sport. He deserved an Olympic medal.

Could be worse. Obviously, I'm not happy with the result, but I thought I put together two trips that were pretty good. The sled didn't seem to be working today. We didn't have a good start today. We got beat all the way around it. There's really no excuses, no regrets.

People don't realize the technological advantages that can make a difference. And there are rules, but great engineers seem to find the loopholes. And, of course, they don't want to expose that. You learn pretty quickly that you want to protect your intellectual property.

The old driver just didn't get it done again today.

It's much like any other team, like a baseball team, a football team, where each year we have guys, older, veterans, all trying out for the same few spots. Each year, every summer they push athletes and drivers are evaluated on their speed and strength, and ability to push a sled. They run through a battery of tests.

It's not going to be a sad thing. It's just part of life and I certainly can deal with it.

It's an amazing track. It's going to be a crapshoot. It has every type of corner and every type of speed killer that you can think of and if you don't hit every corner perfectly, you're going to find yourself in 10th place.

It kind of clipped my foot and split through it. The pain started to get extreme and originally I thought I just hit a funny bone. I still had to drive the sled down the track, but then I could just feel the blood to start to run out of my shoe. When I got to the bottom, I quickly realized it was worse than I thought.

It's time for someone else to have a chance. I had mine, and I'm thankful for it. I saw the world through my sled, but now it's time for the next challenge.

It's time for me to move on. I'm not Michael Jordan or one of those guys. I'm not making a million dollars at this. 'Retire' is a pretty strong word for a bobsledder. It's more like I've got to find something else to do. Michael Jordan retires. Bobsledders find another job.

It will be the same thing as the two-man, get the sled down the hill without beating up too many walls.

I'm not missing the Olympic Games for any reason. I don't care if there is any security or not,

I made (the decision) a long time ago. I'm a little long in the tooth and I'm not getting any younger. I don't think I'll be able to get it done at 40 years old in Vancouver. I'd love to do it. It's time for me to start my football coaching career.

I'm afraid that some of his practices might end up being like the Junction Boys when Bear Bryant was at A&M. But his kids will be tough and disciplined. And he'll have them ready to play, I can guarantee that.

I knew the track was slowing down so I was going to have to have a big-time run, ... I needed to make up 18-hundreths on the Russians. And you can't do that driving a safe line, so I went to the other line and landed on my head. That's racing.

I knew I was in trouble when I got to the bottom of the run.

I haven't been fast in the two-man here at all, not last year, not in training. I just, for some reason, haven't been quick here. I have been fast in the four-man. ... I'm hoping we can pull it off next week.

I had this big, long, ice roller-coaster in my mind, This is kind of a joke.

I never dreamed about actually going to compete for a medal. We hadn't won a medal in 46 years, and I never dreamed a guy from Texas would be the one to get it done.

I really have fun every day I do it. I'm a grown man, I get to put on Spandex, get in the fastest flexible flyer in the world and have fun with my buddies all day long. You can't get any better than that.

If you watch his trips today, all four trips, all four starts, he was great. I don't know that he would have needed hot runners to win it today. That's the best two-man team in the world. They deserve the gold medal.

He's my coach, he's one of my idols, so I've seen it done before. It's going to be real, real tough. I'm not going to kid you.

I couldn't believe they found the place so quickly.

The Germans have been winning races for a long, long time. They're on a whole other level. I'm hoping one day our program will get there.