I was always an Alabama fan growing up, but when the Alabama recruiter told me I would probably not be able to play until the end of my sophomore year, or the beginning of my junior year.
It occurred to me in my junior year of high school. I got my first letter from a big college. I still have that letter to this day – a letter from Indiana.
I guarantee you that’s what Jeff Gordon does. He uses everything the fans throw at him to stoke his fire and it drives him to be better at what he does.
By doing that and being very competitive, the grown-ups started telling me even back before I started playing organized ball that I was too physical and too advanced for the kids my own age.
I was a pitcher, shortstop and outfielder, and the Yankees tried to sign me out of high school as a first-round draft pick in 1981. I turned them down to go to college.
