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I wonder what Pop's gonna do when he finds out Tony said he was in the army?
San Antonio Spurs Tony Parker discusses Eva Longoria and his secrets of success
Jack Dennis
San Antonio Spur's Tony Parker discusses his keys to success and happy marraige
"As a child in France, I was a dreamer," said NBA San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker to a crowd of almost 20,000 at the AT&T Center Wednesday.
"I always had a lot of dreams," he revealed at a rare on stage interview. "I would get up at 3 o'clock in the morning to watch NBA games."
Parker was a featured speaker at the Get Motivated business seminar at two venues in the Alamo city. One at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center and the AT&T Center.
"My parents gave me a lot of confidence," he said. "People would tell me you have a big head. You are too small. Too skinny to play in the NBA."
Parker attributed a high school coach with teaching "me not to be selfish and that I am part of a team."
"Now Coach Pop (Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich), he's crazy," laughed Parker. "You know he is from the army."
"It was never enough, no matter what I did," explained Popovich's mentoring to a younger Parker. "The number one thing he taught me was to never be satisfied."
My Mom always said "it was her fault that I had such fast speed because when she was pregnant with me she said she drink a lot of vitamins."
"I said no Mom, it was God," he smiled.
Parker attributed getting good mentoring from David Robinson and how Bruce Bowen would "challenge me and tell me you need to be more aggressive every night."
When he first came to San Antonio "my first thought was earning the respect of my team mates," he explained. "Coming from France I thought where is San Antonio, where is Texas?"
"All I knew about it was I had heard of David Robinson and the Spurs," Parker said.
"I think it is important to have great family and friends surround you," Parker elaborated as one key to motivation. "My team mates call my friends the French Mafia."
Regarding his wife, actress Eva Longoria, Parker said, "When I started dating her she was not famous and then this Desperate Housewives thing came along and my Mom said what are you doing?"
"I told Mom, it's OK Mom, she's not famous," Parker smiled. "Yep, now there is Desperate Housewives and now it's too late because I sort of like her a lot now."
"I always remember what my Dad tells me," Parker recalled. "Happy wife. Happy life."
"For instance last night we were decorating the Christmas tree and Eva said there was not enough decorations on it," recalled Parker. "I just don't try to understand because I thought to myself what do you mean not enough of them, I remembered what my Dad said."
"Then I said yes, you know, it's not enough," he laughed.
Parker said the bottom line for motivation and successful for him is to "just believe in yourself but you have to do the work."
I wonder what Pop's gonna do when he finds out Tony said he was in the army?
Must try to remember this advice.I always remember what my Dad tells me," Parker recalled. "Happy wife. Happy life."
Nice read. Thanks for posting.
Nice read!
First thing I thought also. After all these years, still refers to the Air Force as the Army. Come to think of it, so does my family on occasion....
Revealing quotes about the nature of Tony Parker. Think about this guy for a moment - he dreamed of playing in the NBA, he probably dreamed of having a beautiful wife like Eva too, and through his hard work, persistence, ability, no doubt (but ability alone doesn't get you where he is), and above all his wisdom, he got to where he always wanted to be.
Many of the quotes above seem simple but actually reveal his intelligence and depth of character - it is clear that Tony listened and learned from his elders all along the way, from his father to his high school coach, DRob and Pop (just to name a few). Many young people today could improve their lives if they followed Tony's example and took more heed of their elders.
Tony is an excellent young man and a great example for all.
PS Damn, I sound like a 65yo!It's the teacher in me. But what I say is also true - listen to those older than you, try to understand the lessons they teach... you'll end up a better person for it.
Last edited by RuffnReadyOzStyle; 12-03-2009 at 09:07 AM.
The Army - Pop is going to be more pissed than when he was called a bush supporter.
I'm shocked you started a Tony/Eva thread.
It was a good read though - thanks.
Tony is a smart man to remember and follow his father's advice. Now he just needs to start passing the ball to RJ and we'll be all good.
Tony is very mature
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