Although the Seattle Seahawks lost to the New England Patriots 28-24 in the final minutes of Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, quarterback Russell Wilson still looked on the bright side of life.
Justen Charters of Independent Journal Review reported that Russell Wilson considered other things more important than just playing football. When it comes to life outside the football field, Wilson told reporters on Super Bowl XLIX Media Day, which happened on Jan. 27, how people should remember his legacy.
"In terms of my legacy off the field, I want to be a Christian man that helps lead, and change lives and helps serve other people," Wilson said. "It's not about me, it's not about me. It's about helping other people. And that's where I keep my focus more than anything."
Although Wilson stated that the goal of playing quarterback is to win, he added that sport "really comes last for me."
"Even though I love the game of football and I love watching film and all that, it's going to end at some point," Wilson said.
Christine Thomasos of Christian Post reported about the importance of faith in Wilson's life, which he described to reporters.
"In terms of my faith, my faith is everything: God comes first, family and friends come second, and football comes third," Wilson said. "I think when you keep it in that order, great things happen to you. You don't stress out about much."
However, his life has its own struggles like everyone else. Susanna Kim of Good Morning America reported that Wilson quietly divorced from his wife of two years back in 2014 for undisclosed reasons.
"I have made the difficult decision to file for divorce," Wilson said back then.
Despite that personal setback, Wilson focused on the importance of integrity and character.
"We all make mistakes or whatever, but we're football players. We're able to use our gifts," Wilson told reporters. "For me, I'm able to use my gift to glorify God. That's what it's about for me."
Wilson added that he believed "God has put me on this earth to serve others."
A recent picture on Reddit showed that he puts into practice what he believes. The image was uploaded by Reddit user KirbyKoll123 and had over 2,000 comments.
"Two days after the lowest point in his career, Russell Wilson visits the Seattle Children's Hospital, like he does every single Tuesday," KirbyKoll123 wrote.
Former teammate Aaron Henry also described Wilson's character to Good Morning America. He and Wilson played college football at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
"He was a god in Madison, but he didn't handle it like a college kid," Henry said. "Once he started having a little bit of success you found out if God was real or not for him. Girls coming at him at 100 mph. I was with him one night and I watched him pushing girls away. Any other person would've taken that and ran with it."
Larry Stone of the Seattle Times reported that compared to the rest of the Seahawks team, Wilson seemed to process the Super Bowl defeat as an opportunity to do better next time around.
"Maybe I'm boring. Maybe I am sick in the mind in that way," Wilson said. "But that's just how I think. I think that's why we've been in two Super Bowls in the last three years, and we've been in the playoffs every time. We don't change our mindset."
According to Stone, Wilson's roommate, Robert Turin, told the quarterback that Sunday's defeat could be used to inspire children.
"Somehow, some way, that story is going to help that person get better, the same way the game is going to help him get better as a quarterback," Turin said to Wilson.
As for Wilson, he remained unbroken in the agony of defeat.
"Every time I'm in that situation again, I believe I'm going to have success again," Wilson said.
