USA Football

GREY RUEGAMER REALIZES that he’s playing with the football equivalent of house money.

 

Since the average length of an NFL player’s career is three years, and because Ruegamer is in his ninth season, he long ago beat the odds.

 

“There are a lot of reasons why you can stick in the NFL and a lot why you can get out,” said Ruegamer, who capped his second season as an offensive lineman with the New York Giants by winning the Super Bowl on Sunday. “You need the right combination of luck, hard work and smarts. You have to know what you’re doing and how to do it. Right now, I can play any position on the offensive line and I know everybody’s job. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re not going to be good no matter what you do.

 

“You must be physically fit, keep your body fresh and know your role in the system. If you’re a journeyman guy like me, you don’t expect to get accolades like a Michael Strahan. If I go in and play a few games for an injured starter, I have to know my role and accept it.”

 

Ruegamer traces his versatility back to his days at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. He played tackle, guard, center, tight end and linebacker.

 

In addition, he was a three-time letterman in track while competing in the shot put and discus. And he also went undefeated as a senior while wrestling as a heavyweight.

 

“I can’t say enough about how my time in high school helped lay the foundation for my career,” said Ruegamer. “I was more prepared than I thought I might be when I went to college.”

 

Ruegamer was a four-year starter at Arizona State and as a senior was voted to the Walter Camp All-America team and earned First Team All-Pac 10 honors as a center. He also was one of 12 finalists for the Lombardi Award.

 

A member of the 1997 Sun Devils’ Rose Bowl team that went 9-3, he still reflects with a bit of amazement that he was even drafted.

 

“I was fortunate to be drafted by Miami in the third round (in 1999),” he said. “Going from making $525 a month to a sizeable check was unbelievable. This transition alone was great, to be able to help out your parents and pay the rent.

 

“The biggest surprise was getting paid for living a dream.”

 

Ruegamer’s career has taken him from Miami to New England to Green Bay and the Giants. In fact, he was blocking when Adam Vinatieri kicked the field goal that gave the Patriots a victory over the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. But that’s one of the few times he’s been in the harsh glare of the spotlight that engulfs some NFL players.

 

“As an offensive lineman you want to go out and mash some heads, play the game and then be left alone,” he said. “As a group, you generally hang out together. We’re not the type who loud talk and seek the limelight.”

 

Ruegamer long ago developed an affinity for young people who’ve encountered tough times in their lives. As a result, he’s been involved in a list of charitable endeavors that would stretch from goal line to goal line if it were laid out on a football field.

 

For example:

 

* In 2003 while with Green Bay, he founded Ruegy’s Readers (the website is www.RuegysReaders.com) whose mission is “to create well-rounded students through literacy by providing additional support to public and private school elementary students.”

 

* Last fall, along with Giants quarterback Eli Manning and in conjunction with the anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, he participated with BGS Partners (a world-wide brokerage firm) in the third annual Global Charity Day. They raised over $6 million for charities.

 

* He’s worked with a program in Boston to clothe inner-city children.

 

* He’s worked with organizations like the Salvation Army, the YMCA and D.A.R.E., plus events that benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

 

The obvious question is why does he spend so much on these endeavors?

 

“When I was at ASU, I saw how kids and people looked up to athletes,” said Ruegamer. “One well-known guy on the (football) team was asked for an autograph by a little kid and he flat-out denied the kid. That was one thing that didn’t click with me. He could have made the kid’s whole week.

 

“People who taught me the work ethic - my parents, my high school coaches - also taught me to remember where you came from that everything comes full circle. I give back because it’s the right thing to do. I don’t expect anything in return.”

 

As much as anything, he relishes Rugeys Readers, which was established at Elmore Elementary School in Green Bay.

 

“The school didn’t have a lot of money and was in a blue-collar area,” said Ruegamer. “I started out buying books for kids who needed to read. If students met certain criteria we got them tickets to Packers’ home games.

 

“But when you see the kids, their expressions and their appreciation, it holds you in awe. It’s refreshing to know you can influence them in school. If I can affect one kid at a school then I feel I’ve done my job.”

 

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Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images.