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 ZZ: Do you consider yourself a celebrity, Bill?
BR: No, no. I don't feel I'm like that.
ZZ: How would you define Bill Rodgers?
BR: I think of myself as an athlete, a competitive athlete, one of those distance runners who put together a good record. That's how I think of myself, you know. I think of celebrities as political figures or somebody like Oprah Winfrey. Maybe some athletes have become celebrities, like Michael Jordan -- he transcends sports in a giant, giant way. I think I'm still within this sport, and I think I've been around a long time, maybe some people know my name, a bit.
ZZ: How does it feel to walk into a store that strikes me as the Bill Rodgers Museum, with all the pictures and mementos of the great victories?
BR: [Laughing] I know, it's kind of bizarre to look at these pictures.
ZZ: It has to be remarkably rewarding, too. Do you even notice it anymore, or is it something that just blends into the background?
BR: I never even see this. I come in and say "Hi" to Jack [Coakley], we chat a few minutes and I go downstairs to the office. The way I view it now is that this store has my name on it, and that came out of a time when at first you couldn't [make a living through your sport]. To be able to do it was a real stunner, in track and field -- distance running.
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"I think of celebrities as political figures or somebody like Oprah Winfrey."
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Bill Rodgers
;)
