Here's some other things Mike Rucker had to say at his retirement press conference on Tuesday.
On when he made the decision to retire: One of my goals coming in about a year ago was to get healthy and not be carried off the field. That was my main goal. I put every ounce of energy that I had into getting back on that field. I was tired, I was tired. Going through that (last) season when we started winding up, I had it in my mind I was preparing myself to shut it down. Friends and family said, "Just relax. Don't just make a decision off of emotions right away." Even though down deep inside I had prepared myself and I kind of thought that's what I wanted to do, I went ahead and took that time. As time went on, as I got to do more things with my kids, whether it was going to their plays...I don't know why, but we packed the kids up in the car and rented a mini-van. I don't know why I rented a mini-van because I felt so funny in that. But we drove back home to Missouri for Easter. That's stuff that we haven't been able to do over the last nine years of playing ball and that's something that excited me. That's a piece that I want to fill in now, and I need to take advantage of that. Doing things like that kind of helped my say that I've been fulfilled with my career of playing football. The time has got to come, and I just felt it was now.
On his best memories: Having the opportunity to line up next to Reggie White is something I'll never forget. He meant a lot to me. He taught me early on what it was to be a pro, how to carry yourself. Another memory I'll never forget is the Super Bowl run. You think 1-15 is something you that you wouldn't want to remember, but it showed me the work that we had to do and where we came from. I think sometimes you've got to understand your past to get to your future. We didn't want to go back there. Coming home from the Philly game (NFC Championship) was something I'll never forget. Being early in the morning, that place (Bank of America Stadium) was like a football field outside. Our fans. I just can't thank you guys enough out there in North and South Carolina and all of the Panthers fans across the country for the support that you've given us as an organization and me as a player. It doesn't work without the fans. So I thank the fans for that. I think one of the biggest memories was breaking the sack record at the time on Monday Night Football and doing it against one of the guys that I loved playing against probably the most, and that being Brett Favre. That's something that I'll never forget.
On starting and ending his career with the same team: That was one of my goals probably five years ago, to do something that a lot of people probably don't do. I feel like my situation was unique because my situation might not always be for the next guy. But being part of an organization that is built the way that it is built I felt was a big part of my decision to stay here at the time and sign my second contract. All organizations aren't like that, and I felt like happiness over money was the best fit for our family. That's the reason why we stayed here. At that point in time, I knew that one of my goals, next to winning championships and Pro Bowls and all that kind of stuff, was to be able say that I played with only one team.
On what he has told his brother Martin, who is a senior tight end at Missouri, about his decision to retire and what to expect in the NFL: I talked to him this morning and I told him that I loved him and that I was passing the baton to him. Two of our goals were to either play with each other, against each other or pass the baton. Remembering him when he was 10 years old at the University of Nebraska, seeing him looking over the fence and being goo-goo over what we were doing was something that I'll never forget. To see him be right at the doorstep of playing in the National Football League and that great honor of entering this fraternity I think is great. I think that I'll be able to spend more time with him and be able to see more of his games than I have in the past because of being here. At the end of the day, I told him I was passing the baton and he's got it.
On what is next for him: I got D-Lew's (Damione Lewis) number the last time that D-Lew and I went fishing. I beat him. I had a six or seven pounder or something like that. Definitely fishing is (something I want to do). I would love to be able to do that as a pastime. Definitely this is home. As I said, all of those things that have been part of my life and the people that have been part of my life, this community is a part of my life. This is home. When people say, "Where are you from? Where do you live?" I say, "Charlotte." Being part of a region that is growing and being in a community that embraces this organization, that embraces people that love the community is where we want to be. That's a big factor in our lives because not only are our businesses here, but our organizations are here, our foundations are here. I think it's important for us to stay part of those things, to stay here in this community. We wouldn't want to go anywhere else. We wouldn't want to be anywhere else.