Kadie Smith
Ryan Phillips is one of my favourite people. He’s one of a lot of people’s favourite people. You just can’t help it. Everybody loves Ryan, and in his 11th season, he shows no signs of slowing down.
He’s a veteran presence and a leader in the Lions’ locker room, a fan favourite, and a media dream – the king of the sound bite, always able to make people laugh.
He’s a beast on the field, the ironman champ. His 180-game streak is the longest in the CFL. He’s managed to avoid injury while racking up 40 career interceptions and 424 tackles. Add two Grey Cup rings and four CFL and West Division All-Star nods and you have one of the best players in the league, well respected by his teammates, coaches and opponents as a true example of a leader.
“The passion for football and to succeed, that’s something that was instilled in me as a young child and I don’t think that will ever change,” he says. What keeps me going is that now on top of my own expectations, the fans and the team have them of me as well.”
Phillips talks with such ease and a clear perspective about the game that you forget for a moment that he hasn’t always been the veteran of the team.
We’re sitting in one of the dorm kitchens at the Lions’ training camp facility in Kamloops, BC, alternating between football talk and random tangents concerning whether or not candied yams are any good. For the record…they’re not. Don’t let him tell you differently.
As Ryan does with most people, he’s got me in stitches for a good portion of the interview. He’s done a thousand of these interviews, but with each answer he inject his brand of humour and humility. He’s thoughtful in his responses; a planned 20-minute chat turns into an hour.
It’s hard to imagine now, but there was once a time when he was the youngest starter on the team, a 21-year-old, free-agent signing from the Lions’ Seattle tryouts playing alongside now defensive coordinator Mark Washington, Barron Miles and Geroy Simon, the three Phillips credits with teaching him everything he knows.
“It’s surreal,” says the part-time teacher and father of two of how his role on the team has evolved over his 10 years in orange.
“The game has changed a bit for me,” he says. “When you come in as a young guy you don’t really know what to expect. You just want to make the team. You’re still learning how to be a professional, but now at this stage in my career, I’m looked at as the example. The expectations grow along with the success.”
So too has his position as a role model. Just ask Ronnie Yell or Josh Johnson who’s been the biggest influence on them and they’ll say Ryan Phillips.
“Your job is to always pass your knowledge on. I see great potential in those guys and I want to teach them how to be a professional on and off the field,” Phillips says of his mentor role as the longest-standing Lion. “We have a lot of young guys and they have to know how to carry themselves they have to understand the expectation. That’s what will give you longevity and a presence as a professional athlete, that’s what Mark, Barron and Geroy taught me.”
He’s wearing his role well. Watch him on the sidelines pumping up his teammates, or in practice reviewing a play with a rookie one-on-one, or in an interview, poised and confident, and it’s clear that Phillips understands what is expected of him; there’s no sense of entitlement or contempt for the new guys that can plague some players in the later years of their careers.
He’s completely devoid of ego. In a world full of self-aggrandizing, Ryan’s no-BS attitude is refreshing.
“Every year the competition gets harder and harder. I’ve got 20, 21 year olds running around, running faster, they’re bigger and stronger,” he says laughing. “You have to almost re-establish yourself each season. Who am I? I can’t come in every season thinking ‘oh, I did this in 2009 or I did this in 2010’, it’s about what you’re doing in 2015.”
That willingness to let go of ego is perhaps what has helped Phillips sustain longevity and avoid any serious injuries.
“I actually have water shoes now,” he says, laughing. Ok. Explanation please.
“I train differently. I can’t go as hard as I used to. I’m in the pool all the time. I run in there with one of those floaty things and aqua 
socks,” – now we’re both laughing.
“Guys see me and they probably laugh, but I can’t be in the gym banging weights around. When you go to the weight room and you see the young guys doing 400lbs of this and 350lbs of that, you’re the older guy and you’re doing 225lbs, but you have to let that little ego go. That’s how guys my age get injured.”
That mentality will be crucial to Phillips’ and the teams’ success this season. With tempo being the name of the game for the 2015 Lions, expect to see a sped-up defence along with a sped-up offence, and coach Jeff Tedford means business. Phillips welcomes the changes.
After a disappointing 9-9 finish last season, the veteran DB is eager to turn the page. “That taste in my mouth all offseason was one of the worst in my career,” he says. “The way coach Tedford wants it to be is, first off, our approach has to be different, and that starts with our attitude. Our attitude towards the game and towards being a professional, the intensity that we have on the field and our drive, has to change for us to be a better team.”
See? Perspective.
After 10 seasons, I have to ask him the age-old question: what comes after football?
“I knew you were going to ask me that,” he says, jokingly. Phillips has always maintained that he would seriously consider coaching after his playing days wrap. “I think when it comes to leaving the game, everyone goes through their phase of hardships with it. If I were to go to coaching it would be, in one way, to stay close to the game that I love, but also, it’s something that would give me a chance to continue to mold and teach the young guys.”
There’s nonchalance in his voice though that tells you “after football” is not in his repertoire right now. He’s not even close to hanging them up. He still gets rookie jitters every home opener. He still tears up at the national anthem. He still looks into the stands and can’t believe how lucky he is.
“That first new video coming on with highlights from your last season, it’s like a surreal feeling to know that you’ve made it this far and that you’ve made it another year. It brings butterflies. There have been times during the national anthem when I’ve gotten emotional. You sit back and reflect on how far you’ve come. You get that two minutes where you think, ‘man I’m still here and I get to do this again’. It’s lovely.”
Ryan Phillips is at that sweet spot in his career where what he’s learned from the game of football and what he’s given back meet, where he can look back on all that he’s achieved and look ahead to a possible third Grey Cup ring.
“2015 could be the best year of my career,” he says with a nod.