Philip Rivers of Los Angeles Chargers is a devout Catholic who is thankful for adversity, saying it “has made me not just a better player but a better husband and father,” writes Pat Macken.
As Super Bowl LII was approaching one couldn't help but think about how significant a role the quarterback position plays in football.
Arguably it is the most important single position in any North American team sport. The man playing pivot has to have significant leadership skills, ability to observe opponent patterns and then dissect them (with the help of the offensive coordinator), plus he must gain every teammate’s respect and trust. Their success, fortune, and even health depends on him.
The two quarterbacks starting this year’s version of the big game have travelled very different paths getting to this day. Tom Brady of New England (whose father is a devout Catholic) is to many football fans the best QB in NFL history, as this is his eighth Super Bowl and he already has five titles. Making the Super Bowl has become routine for Brady.
The Philadelphia Eagles have Nick Foles, a very strong Christian who has been a backup quarterback for much of his career until late in the season when starting QB Carson Wentz suffered a season-ending injury. Foles was thrust into the limelight and has not let the Eagles down bringing them to the big show.
These stories made me look closer at some of the current and past top quarterbacks and I found a significant number have an incredibly solid Catholic faith. You can look at the legendary Dallas Cowboy QB Roger Staubach, for example, who coined the phrase "the Hail Mary pass."
He believed that life will be full of hills and valleys. “Have the perseverance to maintain your faith and to do the right things as you deal with obstacles,” he said.
There is one franchise in the NFL currently that has both a starting quarterback and a backup quarterback who are devout Catholics, namely the Los Angeles (formerly San Diego) Chargers. With both Philip Rivers and Kellen Clemens under contract they have a truly holy tandem.
Attention was thrust upon Philip Rivers before he even played a snap in pro football. After being drafted in 2004 he was involved in a controversial trade for Eli Manning. The San Diego Chargers became his team and he has not looked back in his very successful career thus far.
He has set numerous team and league records. Like Staubach, Rivers understands the ups and downs of pro sports and feels his faith helps keep him strong through tough times and in fact allows him to embrace the difficulties. “I am thankful for the adversity; it has made me not just a better player but a better husband and father.”
Even though games are often played on Sundays he always finds time to go to Mass, saying he needs the Eucharist, the body of Christ. He was strongly influenced by his father, a convert, who told the family that going to Mass was not optional, period.
Unlike many athletes Rivers has not hidden his Catholic faith from the public eye. Being a father of eight children he is especially well known for speaking publicly on Church teachings that are not always popular especially holy purity and natural family planning.
He has done conferences and other projects with well known Catholic Answers speaker and apologist Jason Evert who is popular for his abstinence talks and books. “Young people don't realize what a gift their sexuality is within the context of marriage,” he said.
He uses his popularity to promote the truth on sexuality which he feels is not represented accurately in the media today. Rivers and his wife Tiffany started a pro-life foundation called Rivers of Hope, which finds permanent homes for foster children. They also refer women who need help to crisis pregnancy centres.
During his career Rivers has suffered injuries but he looks to Jesus and the saints and the suffering they endured and feels that he hasn't really suffered at all.
Kellen Clemens has been part of five NFL organizations starting with the New York Jets, Washington Redskins, Houston Texans, St.Louis Rams, and now the Chargers. Like Rivers he is very pro-life and he prays to St. Sebastien, the patron saint of athletes.
He wears a brown scapular in devotion to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and one of his life highlights was seeing their infant daughter blessed by Pope Benedict at a papal Mass in Washington.
His Catholic upbringing taught him a great deal about right and wrong and has given him humility. “I'm Catholic in my bones, in my blood.”
He said he came close to losing his direction during his university years, a time that is challenging for all young people. Being on your own for the first time in your life can be exceptionally difficult, especially for young Catholics on campuses that are often anti Catholic/Christian. “I look back with gratitude to that time for the grace God gave me to make the right decision.”
His pro-life activism has become well known, and he sees the protection of human life as the most important political and social issue. He and his wife Nicole regard their family life with their two children as resembling the Holy Family, with God as the foundation for everything they do.
Quarterbacks are expected to lead on the field but Philip Rivers and Kellen Clemens are also leading through faith in the game of life.