---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I played the game for 20 years, and I…"
description: "\"I played the game for 20 years, and I think that kept me on the football field, being adjusted. Getting hit so many times, being all out of whack, and ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/jerry-rice-11220_fields_i-played-the-game-for-20-years-and-i-thi_1058135.jpg"
---

#  I played the game for 20 years, and I think that kept me…

![“I played the game for 20 years, and I think that kept me on the football field, being adjusted. Getting hit so many times, being all out of whack, and going in to see my chiropractor kept me back on the football field.” quote by Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/jerry-rice-11220_fields_i-played-the-game-for-20-years-and-i-thi_1058135.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/jerry-rice-11220_fields_i-played-the-game-for-20-years-and-i-thi_1058135.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/jerry-rice-11220_fields_i-played-the-game-for-20-years-and-i-thi_1058135.jpg)

> “I played the game for 20 years, and I think that kept me on the football field, being adjusted. Getting hit so many times, being all out of whack, and going in to see my chiropractor kept me back on the football field.”

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Physical strain and regular chiropractic care helped him maintain his athletic performance over decades.

**In simple terms:** Chiropractic care kept him playing football.

Key Takeaway

Maintain routine health care for longevity.

Themes

health sports maintenance

Mood

reflective pragmatic

Type

advice personal experience

When to use this quote

- professional sports
- long‑term training
- rehabilitation
- career longevity

Key Concepts

body mechanics injury prevention

Questions to Reflect On

- How does regular physical therapy affect career length?
- What other habits support athletic durability?

A Different Perspective

Chiropractic care alone cannot prevent all injuries or age‑related decline.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football/) [Football field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football-field/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/)

## Related quotes

> [To me, it was never about what I accomplished on the football field. It was about the way I played the game. I played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/to-me-it-was-never-about-what-i-accomplished-on-the-football-field-it-2/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [To me it was never about what I accomplished on the football field, it was about the way I played the game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/to-me-it-was-never-about-what-i-accomplished-on-the-football-field-it/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [I suppose listening to a double album is kind of like going to the chiropractor... It's pretty good for you but you can't force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-iha/i-suppose-listening-to-a-double-album-is-kind-of-like-going-to-the/)

[James Iha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-iha/)

> [I've been going to chiropractor for as long as I can remember. It's as important to my training as practicing my swing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiger-woods/i-ve-been-going-to-chiropractor-for-as-long-as-i-can-remember-it-s-as/)

[Tiger Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiger-woods/)

> [When I was in Japan with my girlfriend Jessica, she would have had acupuncture every day if she could. I can just about stomach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenson-button/when-i-was-in-japan-with-my-girlfriend-jessica-she-would-have-had/)

[Jenson Button](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenson-button/)

> [I have to have an adjustment before I go into the ring. I do believe in chiropractic. I found that going to a chiropractor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evander-holyfield/i-have-to-have-an-adjustment-before-i-go-into-the-ring-i-do-believe/)

[Evander Holyfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evander-holyfield/)

> [During the offseason, I didn't take any time off. And I played this game for over 20 years. So right after the season, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/during-the-offseason-i-didn-t-take-any-time-off-and-i-played-this/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [Montana and I had a chemistry that was unbelievable. When I first came into the league he told me I added five years to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/montana-and-i-had-a-chemistry-that-was-unbelievable-when-i-first-came/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [I think the thing about that was I was always willing to work; I was not the fastest or biggest player but I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/i-think-the-thing-about-that-was-i-was-always-willing-to-work-i-was/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [I think just what my parents instilled in me was hard work and being able to always go out there and focus and be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/i-think-just-what-my-parents-instilled-in-me-was-hard-work-and-being/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [I played sometimes about as dull as you can play it. I did things the right way, you know. I think I modeled my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-aaron/i-played-sometimes-about-as-dull-as-you-can-play-it-i-did-things-the/)

[Hank Aaron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-aaron/)

> [I was a Packers fan growing up, and just to see the way he played the game and how excited he was about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-kaepernick/i-was-a-packers-fan-growing-up-and-just-to-see-the-way-he-played-the/)

[Colin Kaepernick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-kaepernick/)

> [I want to be remembered as a guy who played the game of football right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gore/i-want-to-be-remembered-as-a-guy-who-played-the-game-of-football-right/)

[Frank Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gore/)

> [I didn't play the game to make friends; I played the game to win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pronger/i-didn-t-play-the-game-to-make-friends-i-played-the-game-to-win/)

[Chris Pronger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pronger/)

> [I've played this game since I was 7 years old, and I played D-line the entire way through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bosa/i-ve-played-this-game-since-i-was-7-years-old-and-i-played-d-line-the/)

[Nick Bosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bosa/)

## More by Jerry Rice

> [I feel like I'm the best, but you're not going to get me to say that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/i-feel-like-i-m-the-best-but-you-re-not-going-to-get-me-to-say-that/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [My first experience with football was not very good because I didn't plan on playing football. I was just playing hookie one day and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/my-first-experience-with-football-was-not-very-good-because-i-didn-t/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [During the offseason, I didn't take any time off. And I played this game for over 20 years. So right after the season, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/during-the-offseason-i-didn-t-take-any-time-off-and-i-played-this/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [I think just what my parents instilled in me was hard work and being able to always go out there and focus and be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/i-think-just-what-my-parents-instilled-in-me-was-hard-work-and-being/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [The chemistry between a quarterback and a receiver is almost like a dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/the-chemistry-between-a-quarterback-and-a-receiver-is-almost-like-a/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [The same thing I applied to football, I applied to trying to be an actor and hopefully it came off well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/the-same-thing-i-applied-to-football-i-applied-to-trying-to-be-an/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [Like I said, repetition in practice and hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/like-i-said-repetition-in-practice-and-hard-work/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [I think the thing about that was I was always willing to work; I was not the fastest or biggest player but I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/i-think-the-thing-about-that-was-i-was-always-willing-to-work-i-was/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [Monday Night Football. That was everything to me because you get a chance to show everybody what you're capable of. It's only two teams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/monday-night-football-that-was-everything-to-me-because-you-get-a/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [Montana and I had a chemistry that was unbelievable. When I first came into the league he told me I added five years to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/montana-and-i-had-a-chemistry-that-was-unbelievable-when-i-first-came/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [I had that hunger, that desire, to be successful and I wasn’t going to let anything stand in my way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/i-had-that-hunger-that-desire-to-be-successful-and-i-wasn-t-going-to/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [I think with my hands, it was catching a lot of footballs and working with my father during the summer because he would always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/i-think-with-my-hands-it-was-catching-a-lot-of-footballs-and-working/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [Defensive backs are the best players on the field. But when you get an exceptional player like a Deion Sanders or a Darrell Green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/defensive-backs-are-the-best-players-on-the-field-but-when-you-get-an/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [I was always in search of a perfect game and I never got it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/i-was-always-in-search-of-a-perfect-game-and-i-never-got-it/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

> [There is still a lot of football in me and I enjoy watching the players go out there and be the best players they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/there-is-still-a-lot-of-football-in-me-and-i-enjoy-watching-the/)

[Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

[Explore all 61 Jerry Rice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/)

## More Fields quotes

> [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/)

[Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/)

> [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/)

[Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/)

> [Turn over the pages of history and read the damning record of the church's opposition to every advance in every field of science. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/turn-over-the-pages-of-history-and-read-the-damning-record-of-the/)

[Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/)

> [It's a great lesson in modesty that you realize you're illiterate in a field that you think you're an expert in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wim-wenders/it-s-a-great-lesson-in-modesty-that-you-realize-you-re-illiterate-in/)

[Wim Wenders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wim-wenders/)

> [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [From the grasses in the field to the stars in the sky, each one is doing just that; and there is such profound peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/from-the-grasses-in-the-field-to-the-stars-in-the-sky-each-one-is/)

[Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/)

> [I don't think people will ever forget I was an 'Angel,' anymore than they'll forget Sally Field was 'The Flying Nun.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-don-t-think-people-will-ever-forget-i-was-an-angel-anymore-than/)

[Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/)

> [ I can't imagine that I would be asked that by the president-elect \[Donald Trump\], or then-president \[Barack Obama\]. But it's - I'm very clear.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mattis/i-can-t-imagine-that-i-would-be-asked-that-by-the-president-elect/)

[James Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mattis/)

> [My dream is to see India as a nation of well-looked-after and respected sportspeople in all fields.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saina-nehwal/my-dream-is-to-see-india-as-a-nation-of-well-looked-after-and/)

[Saina Nehwal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saina-nehwal/)

> [ By profession a biologist, \[Thomas Henry Huxley\] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-huxley-covered-in-fact-the/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [Karma means changing planes of reality or changing fields of attention. There will be perhaps a resulting physical action stemming from the change of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/karma-means-changing-planes-of-reality-or-changing-fields-of/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [I've been screwed by as many women as I have by men, in terms of lawyers. But lawyers don't count. If you take lawyers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-love/i-ve-been-screwed-by-as-many-women-as-i-have-by-men-in-terms-of/)

[Courtney Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-love/)

> [I am sympathetic to developing countries’ concerns: because of our emissions it’s their crops that will disappear; because of our inaction, it’s their fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/i-am-sympathetic-to-developing-countries-concerns-because-of-our/)

[John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/)

> [No matter what. Wherever your mind wanders, it seems to turn up at the same Field of Dreams. It's the vision you wake up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/no-matter-what-wherever-your-mind-wanders-it-seems-to-turn-up-at-the/)

[James C. Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-collins/)

> [I don't think that a company should own a studio and the network, and program for their own network. It hurts the creativity -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bakula/i-don-t-think-that-a-company-should-own-a-studio-and-the-network-and/)

[Scott Bakula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bakula/)

Browse all 4,699 Fields quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I played the game for 20 years, and I think that kept me on the football field, being adjusted. Getting hit so many times, being all out of whack, and going in to see my chiropractor kept me back on the football field.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jerry Rice"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/i-played-the-game-for-20-years-and-i-think-that-kept-me-on-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Fields"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/i-played-the-game-for-20-years-and-i-think-that-kept-me-on-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/jerry-rice-11220_fields_i-played-the-game-for-20-years-and-i-thi_1058135.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/jerry-rice-11220_fields_i-played-the-game-for-20-years-and-i-thi_1058135.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/jerry-rice-11220_fields_i-played-the-game-for-20-years-and-i-thi_1058135.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I played the game for 20 years, and I think that kept me on the football field, being adjusted. Getting hit…” — Jerry Rice",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Jerry Rice",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I played the game for 20...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/i-played-the-game-for-20-years-and-i-think-that-kept-me-on-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/i-played-the-game-for-20-years-and-i-think-that-kept-me-on-the/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
