Nick Foles Case Study

Worldview Case Study on

Nick Foles

By Shannon McGurty

06/10/18

01

Biography

Who is Nick Foles?

Growing up Foles

Who Nick Foles was before becoming a household name for football fans

Nick Foles was born in Austin, Texas on January 20th, 1989 to parents Larry and Melissa Foles. He has two sisters, Katie and Lacey (Onye). Nick grew up in a Chrisitan faith household where they were active in their church community and regularly attended Sunday services (Movieguide® Staff). He went on to attend the University of Arizona where he played quarterback. This is where he connected fully with his Christian faith. After losing two families members within a month of each other and healing from an injury, he turned to God and began to truly live his life in the image of and for Christ (Movieguide® Staff). While in college, he also met his future wife, Tori. The two married in April of 2014. In June 2016, they welcomed their daughter, Lily, into the world (Ott).

NFL Career

Nick Foles' NFL career starts off in 2012 draft picked where he joins the Philadelphia Eagles. After suffering an injury during the 2013 season, he is traded to St. Louis. However, he comes back to the Eagles in 2017 as a 2nd string quarterback(Ott). When Carson Wentz becomes injured and delared out for the rest of the season, the team turns to Foles to carry the team forward. The Eagles end up facing the New England Patriots in the Superbowl and winning with a score of 41-33. Nick Foles is named MVP of the game for his efforts in securing the win. When Foles looks back on this moment, he reflects on what this means for him within the lens of his Christian worldview. In a press conference covered by NBC Sports Philadelphia, Foles is quoted saying, "Just like when I hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, the reason I'm smiling, my faith was in Christ. In that moment, I realized I didn't need that trophy to define who I was because it was already in Christ. That's my message when I played" (Campitelli). Foles career at the moment seems undetermined. He was recently released from his most recent team, the Indianapolis Colts, and has not annouced whether he will take this opportunity to retire or get picked up by another team for the upcoming season (Kownack).

Christian Theism Worldview

02

How Nick Foles' worldview affects his professional life and where it impacts the communities around us

The Foles Believe Foundation

Foundation's Mission Statement: The Foles Believe Foundation is dedicated to impacting & serving those in need. Youth initiatives, family crisis counseling, homelessness, military, mental and overall health are areas close to the hearts of Nick and Tori Foles. Serving these areas will be done in Jesus’ name(Foles Believe Foundation).

Nick Foles worldview of Christianity is seen in the mission statement of his foundation. One example of what his foundation has done is when they partnered with Chicago Delivers to provide hot meals to families in need. The group was comprised of local churches, "committed to serving as the hands and feet of Jesus in Chicago" (Nick Foles Foundation). Another form of giving back with Foles Believe Foundation is when they gave out nine grants to various food banks across the country like Philabundance in Pennsylvania and the Food Bank of New Jersey (Nick Foles Foundation).

Donation to Alma Mater

Nick Foles donated $250,000 to the University of Arizona for a new student-athlete facility in 2016

This facility provides student athletes with tutor rooms, study areas, and a computer lab (OSDB). This is another example of Nick Foles giving back based in his worldview.

Life after football

How does Foles worldview impact his career goals post NFL?

Nick Foles knows that one day he will have to retire from football. However, he has chosen to enter a journey towards a new career that shares his faith. In 2017, he started to take seminary classes. His goal? To become a high school pastor (Faith Driven Athlete).

03

Nick Foles faced several injuries in his NFL career. Between 2012 and 2023, Foles got injured six times, some being so severe to bench him for several games(Draft Sharks). His 2014 clavicle shatter, which put him out for eight games, almost drove him to quit. However, he ended up perservering and that lead him to the 2017 SuperBowl win. In a press conference on his struggles with continuing his career, he states, "No. Right when I felt this thing break, that's when I went into the locker room and I realized, 'god, this wasn't exactly what I was thinking...But at the end of the day, if this is the journey you want me to go on, I'm going to glorify you in every action, good or bad.' I still could have joy in an injury. People hear that and say that's crazy, but when you believe in Jesus" (Campitelli). This revalation in his faith helped him push through the challenges he faced by recognizing all of it, according to his worldview, was a part of God's plan.

Points of tension for Nick Foles and his worldview

04

Practical Lessons

What can we learn from Nick Foles and his life through the lens of Christian Theism?

Perserverance

Pushing through hard times

Nick Foles consistently attributes his success through putting faith in God's plan for him and not losing his faith along the way. One life lesson everyone can relate to, regardless of your personal beliefs, is pushing yourself to get through the hard times. There does not necessarily need to be a belief in God to get through it. But, we should always remember that life has up and downs. Finding a way through the bad allows us to get to the good. I feel that Nick Foles exemplifies this, especially when he decided to keep playing after his third professional injury, leading him to winner the SuperBowl and being named MVP.

Giving back to the community

Nick Foles is a philanthropist always looking to give back and help the less fortunate

From donating to his alma mater, everything he's done with his foundation, and his career plan to become a high school pastor, Nick Foles has consistency put his wealth and strengths towards giving back where he can. He states that this is driven by his faith in God. Anyone can follow this lead in many ways. Of course the average American does not have the funds to donate a quarter of a million dollars, but, there are plenty of ways to get involved. From tree planting, donating clothing and food, volunteering at shelters, or even small monetary donations, we can all follow in Foles footsteps. If each person found a way to better their community, the world would be a better place for so many people.

Works Cited

Campitelli, Enrico. "Nick Foles Gives Incredible Answer on His Unwavering Faith in God." NBC Sports Philadelphia, 15 Nov. 2019, www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/nick-foles-gives-incredible-answer-on-his-unwavering-faith-in-god/342710/. Accessed 19 Jun. 2023. "Foles Believe Foundation." Foles Believe Foundation, www.folesbelieve.org/. Accessed 19 Jun. 2023. Kownack, Bobby. "Nick Foles Addresses Future After Release from Colts: 'Almost Every Year of My Career I've Almost Retired'." NFL, 7 May 2023, www.nfl.com/news/nick-foles-addresses-future-after-release-from-colts-almost-every-year-of-my-car. Accessed 19 Jun. 2023. Movieguide® Staff. "FORMER SUPER BOWL CHAMPION NICK FOLES ON THE MOMENT CHRIST SAVED HIM: ‘BEST DAY OF MY LIFE’." Movieguide, 5 Oct. 2022, www.movieguide.org/news-articles/former-super-bowl-champion-nick-foles-on-the-moment-christ-saved-him-best-day-of-my-life.html. Accessed 22 Jun. 2023. "Nick Foles- Injury History." Draft Sharks, www.draftsharks.com/fantasy/injury-history/nick-foles/5106. Accessed 21 Jun. 2023. "NICK FOLES PHILANTHROPY." OSDB, www.osdbsports.com/nfl/players/nick-foles/philanthropy/c8232b55-6617-4dd9-a7cf-cf14cd9a29ab. Accessed 19 Jun. 2023. "Nick Foles Super Bowl MVP for Philadelphia Eagles." Faith Driven Athlete, www.faithdrivenathlete.org/bios/nick-foles#:~:text=Even%20with%20his%20return%20to,'t%20play%20football%20forever.%E2%80%9D. Accessed 19 Jun. 2023. Onye, Harry. "Nick Foles Net Worth, Family, Wife, Children, Parents, Siblings." Kemi Filani News, 29 Nov. 2022, www.kemifilani.ng/breaking-news/nick-foles-net-worth-family-wife-children-parents-siblings. Accessed 21 Jun. 2023. Ott Tim. "Nick Foles." Biography, 19 Mar. 2020, www.biography.com/athletes/nick-foles. Accessed 19 Jun. 2023.

Thank you!