Parenting & Family Quote by Nancy Kerrigan

Kerrigan’s line lands with the quiet bluntness of someone who learned early that talent is expensive. She’s not romanticizing sacrifice; she’s naming the social bill that comes due when a childhood is scheduled like a job. The key tension is in the plain contrast: “always practicing” versus “other kids… getting together.” That “always” does a lot of work. It suggests repetition, monotony, and a kind of inevitability, as if the decision wasn’t made once but renewed daily, at the cost of belonging.

The emotional pivot, though, isn’t a triumphant “and it was worth it.” It’s a practical reframe: isolation didn’t magically become fulfilling; it got rerouted into family intimacy. “It just made me closer to my family” reads like a coping mechanism that hardened into philosophy. For elite athletes, especially in individual sports like figure skating, family isn’t just emotional support; it’s logistics, money, rides, gear, advocacy. Her loyalty is also a recognition of dependency, and the line “no matter what” hints at the volatility around competitive success. Friends at school can drift with status. Family, ideally, doesn’t.

In context, Kerrigan’s era of skating sold a glossy narrative of poise and glamour while demanding punishing repetition behind the scenes. This quote punctures the fairy-tale packaging. It’s a reminder that the “champion” origin story often isn’t about exceptional confidence; it’s about accepting a narrower adolescence and finding stability where you can.