Philip Rivers = Decent fellow (1 Viewer)

[Andy Dufresne]

Story

Rivers' commitment impresses

By Christopher Smith, Chargers.comPosted Mar 11, 2011

Scheduled to speak at a conference in Phoenix, Philip Rivers’ flight plans were nixed. So he got in his car and made a 700-mile round trip to give a 20-minute talk.

SAN DIEGO – You’re scheduled to give a 20-minute presentation in Phoenix.

However, inclement weather makes you think your flight may not arrive on time.

What do you do?

If you’re Pro Bowl quarterback Philip Rivers, you get in your car and drive. Rivers, scheduled to speak to 1,200 men on faith, family and football for Catholic Men’s Fellowship, completed the 350-mile drive and arrived an hour before he was due to speak.

After making the 20-minute presentation, he got back into his car and returned to San Diego.

Rivers told no one of the effort, which would’ve gone unnoticed but for a letter to the team from Terry Sweeney of Mesa, Ariz.

Sweeney did not attend the conference after waking up on Feb. 26 with the flu, but spoke with the event’s director, Mike Phelan, days later and learned the story.

“I cannot tell you in this day and age of star athletes how humbled I was to hear this, and how humble and special Philip Rivers truly is,” Sweeney wrote in a letter addressed to Chargers Owner Alex G. Spanos.

“As a man struggling to make ends meet myself, with six children of my own, I am in awe of Mr. Rivers. He has changed my life for good now, by this simple act, when I would have ‘packed it in.’”

Asked about the deed, Rivers declined to comment and said he did not want to draw attention to himself.

Phelan, director of Marriage and Respect Life for the Diocese of Phoenix, met Rivers backstage at the conference.

“I’m so impressed with him. I’ve met maybe seven, eight professional athletes and he struck me as by far the most humble,” Phelan said.

“Everybody would’ve understood if he said, ‘You know what, the flight’s not leaving. I’m not going to make it. I apologize.’ To take his commitment that seriously just says a lot about his character. Honestly, I don’t know if I would’ve gone.”

Rivers emphasized integrity in his talk and told the audience that football goes better for him when he prioritizes his faith and family.

Phelan estimated Rivers got back to San Diego around 1 a.m. and said the quarterback also seemed to be fighting a cold.

Impressed, Sweeney wrote a letter to Rivers to ask for advice.

“I (wrote), ‘How did you do that?’” Sweeney said. “I hope he responds to me because I want to be like that. He made a commitment and he kept the commitment no matter what.”

He sometimes comes off as a tool on the field, but this kind of story has to impress just about anyone.

 

[glumpy]

Always liked him, since college days. He's always seemed like a down to earth, hard working, blue collar guy from outside looking in.

 

[krsone21]

Always liked him, since college days. He's always seemed like a down to earth, hard working, blue collar guy from outside looking in.

I have always liked him as well. I always thought that peoples perception of his so called "toolishness" was over blown. Nice read, thanks for sharing.

 

[Insein]

He gets a bad rap on the field because he's intense but I always liked that part about him. I would love to have him as my team's QB and this just helps solidify his stature in my mind. Hopefully he wins a bowl one day.

 

[JbizzleMan]

Score another one for Rivers. Dude's a baller and a great person.

 

[Dr. Awesome]

I don't know how anyone who follows this guy can hate him.

 

[DanFouts]

Great story! Rivers does seem like a great guy!

 

[Sabertooth]

He's like the anti-Ben.

 

[Tau837]

Thanks for posting.

Rivers exemplifies what any team wants out of its players. Great skill, strong work ethic, intense competitor, intelligent, leader, great character, humble, etc.

 

[Kimbo Slice]

Too often, people who do great things have a camera crew with them or a reporter. The ones that do it quietly are the ones who truly do it for the right reasons and this in itself speaks to the character of Philip Rivers.

 

[Sudsy]

He honored a commitment at slight inconvenience to himself. Certainly the right thing to do, but hardly praiseworthy.

 

[Kimbo Slice]

He honored a commitment at slight inconvenience to himself. Certainly the right thing to do, but hardly praiseworthy.

700 mile drive..c'mon man.

 

[Ultima Thule]

Driving 700 miles to keep a commitment... Praiseworthy

Balling year in and year out among the top five in the league... Nearly unparalleled

Drafting him as your QB1 in a recent dynasty start up... Priceless

 

[Kleck]

Great read, thanks for sharing it.

 

[Sudsy]

He honored a commitment at slight inconvenience to himself. Certainly the right thing to do, but hardly praiseworthy.

700 mile drive..c'mon man.

Sorry, I just dont find that all that daunting or praiseworthy. Nice I suppose, but not really noteworthy. Given air tavel these days, and commutes to airports it probably only took him an hour longer each way, and during that hour I presume he was not in a '68 Galaxy 500 with a bad muffler, no air conditioning, an AM radio with no antennea, and bad seat springs. I suspect he had a pretty decent drive. If you find it prasieworthy I have no problem with that.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

He honored a commitment at slight inconvenience to himself. Certainly the right thing to do, but hardly praiseworthy.

It's not like he drove from Fargo to Beach, ND.San Diego to Phoenix is at least a 5 hour drive, right? So 10 hours round trip compared to what would be maybe 4 taking a plane? That's a little more than an inconvenience.

 

[RUSF18]

He honored a commitment at slight inconvenience to himself. Certainly the right thing to do, but hardly praiseworthy.

Slight inconvenience would have been if he showed up at the airport, was unsure if his flight would take off on time, stuck around an extra hour to see it get delayed again to the point where he wouldn't have been able to get there on time, and then left and went home. Slight inconvenience to sit in an airport for an hour waiting.

 

[Neil Beaufort Zod]

He honored a commitment at slight inconvenience to himself. Certainly the right thing to do, but hardly praiseworthy.

700 mile drive..c'mon man.

Sorry, I just dont find that all that daunting or praiseworthy. Nice I suppose, but not really noteworthy. Given air tavel these days, and commutes to airports it probably only took him an hour longer each way, and during that hour I presume he was not in a '68 Galaxy 500 with a bad muffler, no air conditioning, an AM radio with no antennea, and bad seat springs. I suspect he had a pretty decent drive. If you find it prasieworthy I have no problem with that.

In your opinion, what percentage of NFL athletes would have undergone this "slight inconvenience?" What percentage of everyday people? I say less than five percent of both groups. What do you think?

 

[redBourne]

He honored a commitment at slight inconvenience to himself. Certainly the right thing to do, but hardly praiseworthy.

700 mile drive..c'mon man.

Sorry, I just dont find that all that daunting or praiseworthy. Nice I suppose, but not really noteworthy. Given air tavel these days, and commutes to airports it probably only took him an hour longer each way, and during that hour I presume he was not in a '68 Galaxy 500 with a bad muffler, no air conditioning, an AM radio with no antennea, and bad seat springs. I suspect he had a pretty decent drive. If you find it prasieworthy I have no problem with that.

In your opinion, what percentage of NFL athletes would have undergone this "slight inconvenience?" What percentage of everyday people? I say less than five percent of both groups. What do you think?

Wouldn't have been me. I probably wouldn't have even considered taking the drive, and rescheduled the speech. Then upon entering my house I would hear this story and feel like a tool. I think it's definitely noteworthy/praiseworthy. Perhaps Sudsy is the type of person that would do this too, and doesn't find it beyond the norm. /shrugIt does remind of me of a friend I have as well. Dudes so extremely competitive he almost seems like every game is no fun for him. But just gets really into the spirit of competition. Then once the games over he's one of the nicest down to earth guys I know. I think this is the type of player you want on your NFL team. The type of guy that takes charge, is intense on the field, and can be a leader. That same guy that once the game is over, players in the locker room can look up to for a positive influence. I just wish it was he who had the great defense to win the sb...

 

[FreeBaGeL]

I just wish it was he who had the great defense to win the sb...

Or simply an average (or even below average) special teams unit may do the trick.

 

[Sudsy]

He honored a commitment at slight inconvenience to himself. Certainly the right thing to do, but hardly praiseworthy.

700 mile drive..c'mon man.

Sorry, I just dont find that all that daunting or praiseworthy. Nice I suppose, but not really noteworthy. Given air tavel these days, and commutes to airports it probably only took him an hour longer each way, and during that hour I presume he was not in a '68 Galaxy 500 with a bad muffler, no air conditioning, an AM radio with no antennea, and bad seat springs. I suspect he had a pretty decent drive. If you find it prasieworthy I have no problem with that.

In your opinion, what percentage of NFL athletes would have undergone this "slight inconvenience?" What percentage of everyday people? I say less than five percent of both groups. What do you think?

I think less than 1% of professional athletes would have, unless they were accompanied by a camera crew and a publicists, in which case the number would have gone up.I think around 50% of the general population would have. As I said, between taveling to the airport, parking, going through security, boarding, flying, limo ride to the event, and back again his day was toast either way. I doubt driving added more than an hour or so each way. I think the general population who had made a commitment would attempt to honor the same. Of course I believe there are subsets of the general population that are more likely than others to honor commitments if possible.

 

[D.J.]

He honored a commitment at slight inconvenience to himself. Certainly the right thing to do, but hardly praiseworthy.

700 mile drive..c'mon man.

Sorry, I just dont find that all that daunting or praiseworthy. Nice I suppose, but not really noteworthy. Given air tavel these days, and commutes to airports it probably only took him an hour longer each way, and during that hour I presume he was not in a '68 Galaxy 500 with a bad muffler, no air conditioning, an AM radio with no antennea, and bad seat springs. I suspect he had a pretty decent drive. If you find it prasieworthy I have no problem with that.

In your opinion, what percentage of NFL athletes would have undergone this "slight inconvenience?" What percentage of everyday people? I say less than five percent of both groups. What do you think?

I think less than 1% of professional athletes would have, unless they were accompanied by a camera crew and a publicists, in which case the number would have gone up.I think around 50% of the general population would have. As I said, between taveling to the airport, parking, going through security, boarding, flying, limo ride to the event, and back again his day was toast either way. I doubt driving added more than an hour or so each way. I think the general population who had made a commitment would attempt to honor the same. Of course I believe there are subsets of the general population that are more likely than others to honor commitments if possible.

I think you are giving the "average person" way to much credit and the athlete way too little. it's not just the time it took to travel. A flight takes little energy, driving several hours is a significant commitment compared to a flight, in my opinion.Good for Rivers. I'm glad to hear a positive story.

 

[Sudsy]

He honored a commitment at slight inconvenience to himself. Certainly the right thing to do, but hardly praiseworthy.

700 mile drive..c'mon man.

Sorry, I just dont find that all that daunting or praiseworthy. Nice I suppose, but not really noteworthy. Given air tavel these days, and commutes to airports it probably only took him an hour longer each way, and during that hour I presume he was not in a '68 Galaxy 500 with a bad muffler, no air conditioning, an AM radio with no antennea, and bad seat springs. I suspect he had a pretty decent drive. If you find it prasieworthy I have no problem with that.

In your opinion, what percentage of NFL athletes would have undergone this "slight inconvenience?" What percentage of everyday people? I say less than five percent of both groups. What do you think?

I think less than 1% of professional athletes would have, unless they were accompanied by a camera crew and a publicists, in which case the number would have gone up.I think around 50% of the general population would have. As I said, between taveling to the airport, parking, going through security, boarding, flying, limo ride to the event, and back again his day was toast either way. I doubt driving added more than an hour or so each way. I think the general population who had made a commitment would attempt to honor the same. Of course I believe there are subsets of the general population that are more likely than others to honor commitments if possible.

I think you are giving the "average person" way to much credit and the athlete way too little. it's not just the time it took to travel. A flight takes little energy, driving several hours is a significant commitment compared to a flight, in my opinion.Good for Rivers. I'm glad to hear a positive story.

Perhaps I am giving the average person too much credit. If so tht speaks poorly for the average person. I was raised to believe that if a man made a commitment he lived up to it if at all possible. Maybe my midwestern upbringing, and the times I were brought up in are very different. Perhaps people no longer believe a man's word is his bond.I'm not trying to tear Rivers down here. I just don't think that this builds him up as much as some seem to think. No offense meant to those who have taken this more positively than I. Carry on without my percieved negativity.

 

[Kimbo Slice]

He honored a commitment at slight inconvenience to himself. Certainly the right thing to do, but hardly praiseworthy.

700 mile drive..c'mon man.

Sorry, I just dont find that all that daunting or praiseworthy. Nice I suppose, but not really noteworthy. Given air tavel these days, and commutes to airports it probably only took him an hour longer each way, and during that hour I presume he was not in a '68 Galaxy 500 with a bad muffler, no air conditioning, an AM radio with no antennea, and bad seat springs. I suspect he had a pretty decent drive.

If you find it prasieworthy I have no problem with that.

In your opinion, what percentage of NFL athletes would have undergone this "slight inconvenience?" What percentage of everyday people? I say less than five percent of both groups. What do you think?

I think less than 1% of professional athletes would have, unless they were accompanied by a camera crew and a publicists, in which case the number would have gone up.

I think around 50% of the general population would have. As I said, between taveling to the airport, parking, going through security, boarding, flying, limo ride to the event, and back again his day was toast either way. I doubt driving added more than an hour or so each way. I think the general population who had made a commitment would attempt to honor the same. Of course I believe there are subsets of the general population that are more likely than others to honor commitments if possible.

I think you are giving the "average person" way to much credit and the athlete way too little. it's not just the time it took to travel. A flight takes little energy, driving several hours is a significant commitment compared to a flight, in my opinion.Good for Rivers. I'm glad to hear a positive story.

Perhaps I am giving the average person too much credit. If so tht speaks poorly for the average person. I was raised to believe that if a man made a commitment he lived up to it if at all possible. Maybe my midwestern upbringing, and the times I were brought up in are very different. Perhaps people no longer believe a man's word is his bond.

I'm not trying to tear Rivers down here. I just don't think that this builds him up as much as some seem to think. No offense meant to those who have taken this more positively than I. Carry on without my percieved negativity.

Based on the divorce rate and bankruptcy filings, I would say your view of the average American is slightly skewed.

 

[tommyGunZ]

I don't know how anyone who follows this guy can hate him.

This. Guy is probably the most misunderstood player in sports. I've listened to him on talk radio and read every local newspaper/website tidbit on him for the last 6 years and he comes off as by far the most humble and likeable athlete I've ever followed.

 

[metoo]

I think people don't like Rivers because he talks a lot and usually you don't see this from the QB position. If he played any other position this would not be an issue.

 

[JbizzleMan]

I think people don't like Rivers because he talks a lot and usually you don't see this from the QB position. If he played any other position this would not be an issue.

He truly loves the game and his teammates love him as well because he always has their back. The guy drives a mini-van for pete's sake. How can you hate a guy that drives a mini-van???

 

[Tau837]

I think people don't like Rivers because he talks a lot and usually you don't see this from the QB position. If he played any other position this would not be an issue.

Rivers played LB in high school in addition to QB. IIRC Alabama recruited him to play defense (he is from Alabama), but he wanted to play QB so he went to State. He is definitely not a typical QB in terms of his mindset/attitude.