Annabelle's Diary: Philip Rivers
11/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 21, 2003
Philip Rivers by Annabelle Vaughan, Assistant Athletics Director for Media Relations
Author's Note: For four years, I have had the privilege of working with Philip Rivers. He's never complained about his responsibilities to the media - no matter how tired, how hot, how cold or how disappointed he's been, he's faced every situation with a positive outlook. In that same time, I've never heard a member of the media complain about him, an even greater accomplishment. Recently, a member of the national member told me, "Philip isn't just the type of person you want your kids to be, he's the type of person you want to be yourself." I agree. Thanks Philip and Tiffany and Halle, for giving so much of yourselves and for making my job so easy. It has been an honor to work with you and to be your friend.
"Who woulda thought....?"
NC State head coach Chuck Amato was standing on the tower high above the practice field on the Tuesday evening before the Pack's trip to Tallahassee, watching the guy wearing #17 direct the team in a drill for what could have been the millionth time in his career. The eyes behind the red Oakley's grew a little misty and his voice trailed off as he repeated, "Who woulda thought...?"
A simple sentiment, but probably one that could be repeated by just about anyone involved with the Wolfpack football program. Who woulda thought that a tall, lanky kid with an Alabama drawl and not-so-much hype coming out of high school, would four years later be considered the greatest player ever to suit up for the Wolfpack? Who woulda thought that a kid who was barely recruited by the schools in his home state would end up being arguably the most powerful offensive force in the 51-year history of the venerable Atlantic Coast Conference? And who woulda thought that the guy listed third on the depth chart heading into his first spring workout would end up starting more games at quarterback than anyone in the history of Division I college football and would become one of the top passers in the history of the college game?
"Who woulda thought...?"
"You should have seen him in his first mat drill," Amato continued with a chuckle. "He had two left feet. And when he threw the football ... Have you ever seen anybody throw a javelin? That's kinda what he looked like."
"Who woulda thought...?"
Saturday will mark the 50th game that Rivers has led the Wolfpack offense as the starting quarterback. No other player in the history of Division I football can claim to have started that many games, much less consecutively. In spite of all the records he holds and the accolades he's won, he quickly replies that this streak is the "neatest."
"Who woulda thought...?"
Even though Amato still chuckles when he remembers his young proteg?'s early endeavors in mat drills, from the first day he was ever asked about his first and only quarterback as a head coach, he always replied that Rivers just had that "It." "I don't know what 'it' is," he said when responding to a question about Rivers in the spring of 2000, "but I know that he's got it."
That "it" may still be difficult to define, because there are so many things that Rivers has. He's the winningest quarterback in the nation, seeking his 34th today against Maryland. He holds every ACC and NC State passing and total offense record for his career and several single season marks as well. He's balanced being an athlete with being a student and with being a husband and father, and has earned success in each of those endeavors.
Who woulda thought that a young man who as a freshman put weights in his shorts so he would weigh in where he thought a starting college quarterback should would one day be mentioned in the same sentence with college football's most prestigious award? That he would be mentioned in newspapers and on networks and on websites whenever folks were discussing the nation's best players?
I'll never forget his first meeting with the media. White tennis shoes, blue jeans on mile-long legs and a nice plaid shirt, looking like everybody's All-American. I remember thinking, "How can this young kid be so poised?" The only thing that gave away any sense of nervousness were his feet, constantly tapping out a drumbeat under the table. As I got to know him better, I realized that the constant motion didn't betray nervousness, but an unbelievable energy and excitement. Four years and countless interviews later, I still see that foot tapping under the table and it makes me smile to realize that the energy and excitement are still there.
Nobody can remember too many stories about Rivers making rookie mistakes in the huddle. From the first day he walked onto the field at Carter-Finley, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that #17 was running the show. He says he's always felt right at home on the field, although he does remember the first time he ran through the fireworks onto the field.
"I remember plain as day. When we went into the lockerroom, everybody wasn't in the stands yet, but when we ran out ... all those people ... I couldn't believe it. I mean, there were a lot of people at my high school games, but this was crazy. We were on defense first in that game, which was good, because I was over on the sidelines just staring."
Four quarters and two overtimes later, Rivers had notched his first win for the Wolfpack, 38-31 over Arkansas State. He threw for 397 yards and three touchdowns that afternoon, but the memory that stands out the most for him is how exciting the crowd was.
"Every game has been exciting," he said. "You would think that after so many, I'd go out there one time and it would be normal. But every time, it still feels that exciting to me. The biggest compliment I get is when somebody stops me and tells me that it seems like I have so much fun out there and I don't play like a robot."
"Who woulda thought...?"
There are so many things that set Philip Rivers apart from other players ... from other quarterbacks ... from other people. On a bus or a sideline full of tough, hard-nosed athletes in the heat of the moment, the only expletive you will ever hear in that now-familiar twang might be "Gawlly" or "Dang" or maybe an occasional "What in the world?" Four years and I've never heard him say anything worse than the time his freshman year when I made the mistake of calling him "Phil." It's "Philip," he said with as much sternness as he could muster. Now, he's known as Phil or "Cheese" by most of his teammates, but always as Philip by his media relations director.
Rivers could never be described as cocky, but he's exuded a quiet confidence from the first day he set foot on the NC State campus as an 18-year-old who had left high school a semester early. And although he never could have dreamed of the pomp and circumstance that would surround him as his career draws to a close, the world "can't" never crossed his mind.
"Did I ever think about the records?" he asked. "Nah, I never thought that far ahead. I didn't really think about any of that stuff. I was too caught up trying to figure out how I was going to get to class at 8:05. But I do remember that people would say 'No freshman quarterback can do this,' and I would think, 'Why?" I've been like that ever since. 'You can't be so-and-so,' 'You can't run that play,' 'You can't do this or can't do that.' And I always thought, 'Why?'"
At times, Rivers' confidence hasn't been quite so quiet. His former teammate Levar Fisher, now a starting linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals, laughs when he remembers his friend's freshman year. "After I got to the league, I was talking to [Julius] Peppers and [Ryan] Sims from Carolina. They said that they would KILL him - knock him on his butt, HARD, and they'd hear this country voice saying, 'You boys can't handle it. You ain't no good.' They said they kept hitting him hard and he would just get up and keep talking trash. They both said they gained a lot of respect for that young kid that day, because he just never gave up."
"Who woulda thought...?" Those two defenders went on to be first-round NFL draft picks, but in college, their rival beat them for the first time in eight years, led by a freshman quarterback with a country drawl.
Fisher also remembers Rivers' first go-round with mat drills. "He might not have been the most coordinated person in the world, but he would just go so hard. I mean, I was supposed to be the stud of the team and after a week, I was sore! But Phil? He just kept going and going."
That competitive nature that is obvious to anyone who's ever seen him play football, is not characteristic of Philip Rivers the player, but of Philip Rivers the person. During the spring of his sophomore year, the strength and conditioning staff decided to have an early morning competition before school let out for the summer. The offense would go against the defense in several matchups - tug-of-war, keg tossing, sumo wrestling, and a relay to finish off the festivities. The whole team was pretty competitive, but Rivers took it to a whole new level. He spent the whole night before developing strategies, figuring out what personnel should be entered in each event. While everyone else was laughing and cutting up, when the offense would lose an event, his face bore a look of utter disgust. The competition came down to the 4x100 relay. Rivers ran through the infield, screaming at the top of his lungs as his offensive team was defeated.
"He's one of the most competitive guys I've ever met," said Dantonio Burnette, who lined up across from Rivers at linebacker for three years. "Sometimes Phil would take a lick and you could tell that he was hurting real bad, but he'd get up and shake it off. He's not only one of the toughest quarterbacks I've ever seen, he's one of the toughest players I've ever seen. I've seen him take a lot of shots, especially his freshman year, but he'll never lay on the turf."
"Who woulda thought...?"
Rivers' love for the game of football has been well documented. Since he was a little boy, he stood on the sidelines of his dad's high school games, his small face finding a spot between elbows to listen in on the play calls. At halftime, he would stand up with his imaginary baton and direct the high school band. Young Rivers even asked his mother Joan once if when he grew up, he would be able to play football AND direct the band at halftime.
He couldn't wait for the day when he would play for his dad. "After my last high school game, when we lost in the third game of the playoffs, I remember not wanting to leave the lockerroom. We just sat in there bawling our heads off. It was the last time I would ever play for him. We had waited for it and waited for it since I was five and then it was over. And then who would have thought that this would be so good too."
Yes, who woulda thought...?
Now, most of Rivers' Friday nights are spent with his own team, but every once in a while, the schedules don't conflict and he's able to stand in his dad's huddles once again, this time towering over most of the players. He's just as excited when Wakefield High School is listed in the local newspaper's regional rankings as he is when the Pack is listed in the national ones. He's signed responses to fans that write into his website, "Go Wakefield!"
In addition to his love for local high school football, Rivers knows everything there is to know about the college game. He pours over media guides and remembers football facts with the retention rate of a rocket scientist. After countless interviews and television experiences, he still gets excited about ESPN Gameday and still maintains a sense of respect for other college players. It's almost as if he doesn't really realize that he is at their same level or beyond.
A story about Philip Rivers would not be accurate or complete without talking about his family, which he feels is the foundation for any success he has enjoyed. When he signed with NC State, his parents, Steve and Joan, made the decision to leave Alabama to come to North Carolina, bringing his brother Stephen, now 11, and sister Anna, now five. After games, his family would wait patiently outside the interview room, as he has always been the first guy in and the last guy out of the postgame press conferences.
It's a joy to see him greet his family after games and immediately begin discussing every minute detail with his dad. Now Stephen is the face at the elbows, listening and absorbing everything there is to know. (Stephen is already two inches taller than Philip was at his age and his big brother swears he can throw a football 30 yards).
"It's crazy when our family gets together," Rivers continued. "We're all talking 100 miles an hour." He added that it gets so loud and crazy when the Rivers' clan talks about the sport they love so much, no one can get a word in edgewise. "The other night, we were going on and on and my little sister, Anna, couldn't get my attention. Finally, she just yelled out, 'Hey, Cheese!' It was so funny it got all of our attention."
After one game during his freshman year, a beautiful, dark-haired girl waited with the family. Rivers introduced her as his girlfriend, Tiffany Goodwin. The two weren't only high school sweethearts, they were junior high sweethearts. Rivers told me later that when he was just a little boy, he pointed Tiffany out to his mother at a ball game and said, "See her? That's a good girl."
Who woulda thought that "good girl" would end up being his wife so many years later? That spring, he not only asked Tiffany for her hand in marriage, but he also asked her father and one other person - his head coach.
That will always be one of my favorite memories of Philip," laughed Amato. "I always ask him what he would have done if I had said no! But it just shows the type of person he is that he respected his commitment to his team enough to ask me."
It's hard to imagine Philip without Tiffany now. Like his parents, she's not interested in being in the spotlight with her husband, but is content to support him behind the scenes. It's not always easy, between class and weights and film and practice and games, she's spent a lot of time without him, hundreds of miles away from her family and friends in Alabama. But not once have I ever heard her complain. Instead, she talks about how lucky she is to have Philip's family here and how wonderful they are to her. She opens her warm, cozy home to Philip's teammates and friends, even to an occasional television crew or two.
The young couple welcomed Halle into the world on July 6, 2002, with the same aplomb with which he's faced so many other challenges. "I guess I was prepped a little bit with my little sister, but I wasn't ever worried about being a father, just excited." Rivers has frequently been asked whether marriage and fatherhood have made it difficult to handle his other responsibilities. He's always replied with hesitation that his wife and daughter have only enhanced the experience of playing college football. Since Halle's birth he might spend a little less time playing video games and he might show up for press conferences with stains from small fingers on his sleeve, but the responsibilities of fatherhood have not dampened his excitement.
Halle is a good combination of her parents, but she definitely exhibits her father's tenacity. When she was learning to crawl, for some reason she could only master going backwards. Tiffany recognized the frustration and determination of her young daughter when she saw her intended destination getting further away instead of closer. She's seen those same characteristics and that never-give-up attitude from her husband since the day she met him.
Today, Halle will be at midfield with her mama, her grandparents and aunt and uncle as her father enters the field for his last home game. When she gets older, she probably won't remember anything about when her daddy played football for the Wolfpack, but his memories are so special, I'm sure he'll share them with her.
"It's sad, but it's happy at the same time," said Rivers about the prospect of his last home game. "There are so many things that I'll miss, mostly my teammates. The football part has been great, but it's the rides on the bus, the jokes in the lockerroom, the talks in the dining hall, the times in practice when we get on each other - all of those little things that I'll miss so much."
"Being a teammate is something that Phil cherishes a whole lot," Burnette continued. "He takes that relationship very seriously. When Coach Amato came in, the transition was kinda tough on a lot of the guys, but Phil made it easier. I mean, he beat out my best friend for the quarterback position, but you can't find it in you to be mad or jealous at Philip. When you see his level of commitment to his team and his friends and his family, you really see the kind of person he is."
""Who woulda thought...?"