November 24, 2006

Sweet Home...Athens, Alabama (continued)

[RM: This is a continuation of the narrative by Athens, Alabama,
resident Teresa Morris about Philip Rivers.]

*Did you observe him dealing with any particular obstacles/hardships
that might explain his resilience and belief in himself to lead comebacks?

Okay, you got me on this one. Philip just has never had that “look at me
and what I’ve had to go through” way about him. If there were personal
things going on that could have affected his on field performance, you
never saw it. The family as a whole seems to value their privacy very
much. I think, because of people’s admiration for Philip, that has
always been highly respected. Disrespecting a Rivers around here is a
good way to start a fight.

There was a time when Philip played at N.C. State that my respect for
him, admiration for him, and belief in him as a football player and more
importantly, as a person went through the roof. As I said, the family
values their privacy and I respect that privacy so this is a delicate
question for me to answer. The best way to answer it without doing what
I feel would be disrespectful would just be to say that I can only
answer it based on what I observed as someone on the outside looking in.

I’ve seen people who were twice his and Tiffany’s ages and who had been
married much longer, go through what they went through and watched them
crumble; mentally, emotionally and physically. These two young people
dealt with the situation that was before them with a huge amount of
grace and dignity, surrounded by a loving family and their faith. If you
asked 99%% of the people who were watching Philip play football during
this time period, they would have never noticed that something that
would have been a huge distraction to most people, was even going on
behind the scenes.

Philip kept doing all the things he’s always done, be a wonderful son to
his parents, be a loving husband to Tiffany, be a great Daddy to his
little girl Halle, and be a phenomenal football player to his teammates
and fans. If there was ever a “test” to this young man’s ability to get
through most anything that life could throw at him, I know he passed
that test and once again, showed what an exceptional kind of person he is.

As far as on the football field, as I answered earlier, Philip’s Dad
never played favorites. If Philip was to be the starting QB at Athens
High, he had to earn that spot. Considering the type of man that Coach
Rivers is, he probably had to “over” earn that spot. Respect wasn’t
given, it was earned. Games weren’t a given, they were fought for and
fought for hard. Some kids may have just expected to be given that
starting position. Philip never gave that impression. He was always a
hard worker, studying the game, practicing hard, always trying to give
more than he was asked. He was a team first player. He still is.

During the time that Seniors in the State were being recruited, Coach
Tommy Tuberville, as much as it pains me to say, from Auburn University,
came to watch Philip play one night. The coaches at The University of
Alabama felt at the time that they didn’t need another quarterback.
Coach Tuberville wanted to see what the young Rivers had to offer.
Everyone in the stands was excited. You could hear the buzz everywhere.
A Coach from one of the Universities was there to watch Philip.

That whole crowd stuck their chests out in pride. They figured Coach
Rivers would air it out and Philip, being Philip, would awe Coach
Tuberville right into an in-state scholarship. I think Philip threw the
ball less than 10 times that night. We had the opposing team on the
ropes with our running game, so Philip is said to have told his Dad,
keep running the ball. Athens won. The crowd scratched their heads in
bewilderment. Coach Tuberville asked Philip to come to Auburn to play
safety or some other insane position but not quarterback.

God bless Coach Joe Pate at N. C. State for having the foresight to see
what others did not. Philip signed with the Wolfpack and Coach Pate was
instrumental in getting it done. The fan base at Athens High mourned the
loss of our quarterback to out an out of State college. Until of course,
we became Wolfpack fans after Philip’s first game with State.

People in Athens, Alabama quit asking, “Where in the heck is N.C.
State?” and the people in Raleigh, North Carolina quit asking, “Where in
the heck is Athens, Alabama?” The mutual admiration had begun.

I say all that to say that Philip’s belief in himself has always been a
part of him. As much a part of him as him loving the game of football,
as loving his family and as his falling in love with a beautiful young
girl named Tiffany when he was barely a teenager. It’s not a cocky
attitude of being better than anyone else. On the contrary it’s his
belief that he can always improve and his ability to tackle whatever
comes his way with this fierce determination to face it head on, make it
better than it was, and to not make excuses but focus on the positives
that make Philip such a believer in himself...and all of us, believers
in him.

He absolutely believes in himself but there’s no arrogance. To sum him
up, he’s a winner. There’s absolutely no quit in him. Not in his
personal life, not on the football field. He’s purely a winner.

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