Chris Long is currently playing his tenth season in the NFL, and his first as a defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles. The first and only active University of Virginia football player to have his number retired, Long’s record in the NFL is also impressive. Drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft, Long has accumulated 58.5 career sacks (40.5 of them during a 4-year span from 2010-2013). The former second overall draft pick is a four-time Pro Bowl alternate. Chris won his first Super Bowl with the New England Patriots in 2017.

Long was born in Santa Monica, Calif. into a football family. The son of Diane Long and Pro Football Hall of Famer and NFL broadcaster Howie Long, Long grew up in Charlottesville, Va. along with his two brothers: Kyle, Pro Bowl guard for the Chicago Bears and Howie Jr., Oakland Raiders player personnel. In 2013, he married his wife, Megan; in 2016, they welcomed their first child, Waylon.

The mission of The Chris Long Foundation is to support bright futures for communities and the individuals that make up those communities.They believe borders do not limit caring about our fellow neighbors. They engage in both international and domestic programs focused around clean water, military appreciation, homelessness and youth. Their programs strive to generate impactful results by creating opportunities and providing resources, financial support and meaningful experiences to those they serve. Visit www.chrislongfoundation.org to find out more about the foundation’s work.

Waterboys began during a 2013 trip by Long to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Long was struck by the beauty of Tanzania and the vibrancy of its’ people; he also witnessed great suffering due to a lack of clean water. While in Tanzania, Long met Doug Pitt, Goodwill Ambassador for Tanzania, and John Bongiorno, President of the non-profit WorldServe International, and was further educated on the needs and available solutions to the clean water crisis. Returning home, Long began to envision a pathway to champion the need for clean water in East Africa while engaging other NFL players in the cause. In 2015, Long created the Waterboys Initiative, selecting WorldServe International as its benefiting charity. Waterboys works with WorldServe International to build wells to provide life-giving water and all that comes from it – the opportunity for education, good health, and economic stability.

Art Eddy: Let’s first talk about your organization, Waterboys that can be found at waterboys.org. There have been 26 active NFL players involved as “Waterboys” since the intuitive launched in August of 2015. To date, over $1.3 million has been raised, resulting in the funding of 24 wells in East Africa. Nineteen wells are currently completed providing water to over 69,000 people. Tell me about how you started this organization.

Chris Long: My foundation does a couple of things, but Waterboys has been the thing where I have been able to pour the most energy in to. It started when I traveled to Tanzania with a teammate to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. It was a huge undertaking. I had my mind on that while I was there, but also what struck me was the extreme poverty that I saw. It was so different to what I was accustomed to in the United States.

We certainly have our own issues. They are well documented in the States. This is on another scale. There are children who are fighting for their lives with waterborne illnesses. There is a lack of community growth. There is a ceiling on how far a community can go if they don’t have clean water. It really stifles people in Tanzania and in Africa. It was something that I stumbled into. I decided if I am going to change the world as an NFL player the best way that I can do that for the more bang for my buck is with clean water. It is very trackable. It is easy to see where your donation is going and how far it is going and how many people it is affecting and how many lives it is saving.

We started that. We have been very lucky to raise over one million dollars. We are in the twenties as far as wells funded. We are trying to get to 32. That is our initial goal. Eventually I would like to be part of providing water for one million people. That is the big goal. We will see how that goes. It has been a real blessing.

AE: I looked at the images from your time over in Africa and to see the pure joy of people having clean water is a reality check. We take things like clean water for granted. I know that people can make donations to Waterboys, but how are other ways people can help out the great work you are doing?

CL: You can educate yourself. Anybody listening can learn about the water crisis and just how dire the situation is on so many places on the planet. There are issues that we are going to have to grapple with before long with conservation and those types of things. As far as clean water goes and our role in it we are not trying to solve the big problem. We are trying to save some lives.

I am very confident in saying we have been able to do that and transform some communities. It is worth it if you can save a child’s life. The money that we have raised has hopefully been able to save a lot lives. When you look at some of the figures that pertain to clean water as far as the efficiency in which our world operates. Half the world’s hospital beds have been taken up are from people who are suffering from waterborne illnesses. That stat alone always jumps out at me. Think about all the increased efficiency we could run on in the world if we solved that problem.

When you look at a place like in Africa that doesn’t have clean water and then see it once it does it is a staggering difference as far as agricultural growth, educational opportunities for kids who are at school since they are not gathering water. It is a gender issue as well. Much of the burden is put on women and girls to gather water. It is often miles and miles away. It is not just saving lives, but transforming communities. When you educate yourself about it you really realize how important it is.

AE: You find many ways to give back to the community. You are donating your first six paychecks this year to fund two scholarships in his hometown of Charlottesville, VA. This scholarships will promote equality through education by providing two students with a seven-year all expenses paid school program. What inspired you to donate those first six game checks?

CL: My wife and I have been involved in providing scholarship money in my hometown in the past, but I wanted to up the ante anyway and put some more kids through school. When everything went down the way it did in the summer I thought it was really important to amplify that action. You don’t do it so people can see it. The first donation was anonymous. This one I thought would be more powerful if it came out from what I earn from what I do for a living that I love which is football.

Sure I could just make the donation, but when I pledge the game checks it allows me to play for something that I really love. It is giving back to my community. It is fun to be able to go out there every day and realize that you are not just playing to play football, but you are playing for something bigger than that. I am just doing a little bit. I have made a lot of money in my career. I am in no way hurting for cash. I say that humbly. I have been very lucky to be able to play in the NFL for ten years. I am just doing my little part. Hopefully someone sees that and says investing in educational equity is a good way to fight inequality and promote diversity. I had the opportunity to go to school and get a top flight education. I want to give a couple of kids that opportunity as well.  

AE: From the time you started in the NFL to now what have you learned about yourself and how much have you grown as a person with everything that you have experienced?

CL: I have grown a lot. No matter how much of a man you think you are at 22 or 23 any one no matter if you are a football player or not you are just beginning to become who you are. I like myself a lot more now than I did when I was coming out of college. You are always trying to improve and evolve. I still got a lot of work to do as a 32 year old football player and as a man. I say that very humbly. Hopefully in the next ten years I will continue to change. I think that you are always a work in progress.

Certainly as a football player you are always trying to get better and to adjust your game. Improve every day as you go out. You say this can be my best year. I have worked harder and smarter than I ever have and let the chips fall where they may. The truth of the matter is that as a football player as you get older that mental aptitude goes up. That ability to work hard and smart and design a good plan for the offseason, study hard and study the right things goes up. Your physical abilities goes down. That is what makes your prime so easily identifiable. It is when those two things cross over. They pass each other. As you get older you get a lot smarter. You wish you when you were 22 and 23 that you knew them. You maybe can’t do some of the things that you physically did before. I feel really good now and it has been a fun journey. I am always taking the field every Sunday thinking that this could be my best game. Even though it may not be true, you have to have that attitude.

AE: You have played for a few teams since you get into the league. You are now playing for the Eagles. What is the transition like for you when you start up with a new team?

CL: Your mindset first and foremost is that you have a goal that you set. You think about your role and what it is going to be. I want to achieve this. This is why I came here. Everyday especially the first period with your team whether that is OTA’s or if you come later in camp you got to come into camp and earn your respect right away. That is by your work ethic and hopefully how you are playing. Those are the things that you can largely control in trying to be a good teammate.

If you can put that ahead of anything else hopefully you will be okay with whatever happens on a new team. Certainly it has been a new experience for me. I was on a team for eight years. I never thought about changing teams, but when that day came I had to do it. It was an interesting transition because I was coming from a team that struggled for a decade to a team that has been perennially competing for championships. It has been an interesting transition. Now I am transitioning again. It keeps you on your toes.

AE: What popped into your mind when you found out that you were going to be a father for the first time?

CL: Honestly excitement, but fear too. I am sure you hear that a lot. To be honest you are thinking that I am responsible for a human life. That is something that I have to take more seriously than anything that I ever have. It is certainly more important than anything that I have been a part of before. When I found out I was excited. I was afraid. You also feel good knowing that you will do whatever it takes.

Certainly as time went on and we got closer to the due date it is an excitement that builds, but you are just unsure. You can’t even picture what your kids is going to look like. This thing is going to be more important to you than anything in this world and you haven’t even met it, boy or girl. For me it was just having the journey of my son, Waylon and getting to know him. You are like hey nice to meet you.  His personality just comes out over the months and over the last year and a half. That is the exciting part.

AE: As dads we look to show our kids how to do the right thing by our actions. You have given so much back to many different communities. That is a great value to share with your son. What are some other core values you look to instill into your son as he grows up?

CL: Happiness and self-worth. We will figure out what his personality is, but I think every kid should be happy and feel like they are worth a lot. I know that I always felt that way growing up in my household. It was a household full of love. I just hope that my son looks at me as a friend and someone that he can receive guidance from. It is not a relationship where he is afraid of his dad or am I going to be in trouble? Hopefully we can create a home where he is happy and he knows that he is worth a lot. He knows right from wrong, but the most important thing to me is that he is a happy kid.

AE: What is the one biggest piece of advice you have for new dads?

CL: Anybody on the fence about having a kid or thinking about what it will be like is to listen to the people that say things that sound so cliché. They are all true. It is amazing that somethings in life if enough people say them that it is probably true. It is a feeling that you can never imagine loving something that much or being loved that much. You hear it, but you can’t ascertain it because it is a feeling. Someone can’t explain a feeling to you. So just embrace that process and take that leap of faith. Having a child at the right time is going to be the best decision you will ever make.

For me I always thought that I was somebody that I thought my professional life was important. What I wanted to accomplish on the field, off the field. All of those things. I wanted to wait and wait. I was 31 when I had my son. I wish that I had done it sooner. Conquer your fears. Just trust the miracle that is fatherhood. It is going to speak to you in a way that nothing ever has.

Life of Dad Quick Five

AE: Do you guys have a favorite family movie that you all love to watch together?

CL: I put on Finding Nemo on my day off. That lasted about 20 minutes. My son has a really good attention span, but it just depends on what it is. Finding Nemo is probably my favorite animated one. Wall-E and Up are up there too.

AE: Do you guys have a favorite song that you all like to sing to or dance to as a family?

CL: He listens to lullabies, but he really likes Chris Stapleton. I used to play his album, Traveller. He just likes the guitar. He will dance. He started when he was about eight months old. That was an album that I listened to a lot. He just really likes the guitar. I will play anything with a good guitar or some solid Country music. He really gets into it.

AE: Describe the perfect family vacation.

CL: Probably Montana. He has been there already. I have been going to Montana since I was five with my family up in the Northwest corner in the summertime. It is an awesome place where time just stands still. You just really worry about your loved ones. There is TV. It is not like staying in a place where there is no electricity. It is really nice set up. I am up there with my parents. My brothers make it out there. It is a really fun family experience. As much as being a dad I love seeing him hang out with my brothers. That is a lot of fun too.

AE: Best piece of advice your dad, Howie gave you when you entered the NFL was…

CL: My dad said something to me that has always stuck with me in athletics was to take pride in everything that you do. It just comes down to competing at things that seems meaningless. It seems mundane. Everything matters as a football player. In practice just trying to get better. Trying to win. That doesn’t mean that 100 percent of the time that you are going to be running around 100 miles per hour. As you get older you have to know when you have to taper it off a little bit. Just take pride in everything that you do and in competing in everything that you do. It sounds simple, but when you really take it to heart it can help you.

AE: You played in the one of the best Super Bowls of all time last year with the New England Patriots as you and your team came back from the largest deficit against the Atlanta Falcons. When the game was over and you and your teammates were Super Bowl Champs what were you thinking as the confetti was falling from the stadium?

CL: Honestly I just wanted to find my son and my wife. My son didn’t really know what the hell was going on. He was up at midnight. He was delirious. He doesn’t know what is going. To find my dad was a unique situation since he was right on the field. There is nobody that knows better of what you have been through. We all have a story of getting to where we were going in the league. If you have been in there for ten years it has been a long road. There is nobody that knows better than your family. In this case my dad who has played in the game and knows exactly what I have been through. Seeing his face of holy you know what we did it. (Both laugh.)

Follow Chris on Twitter at @JOEL9ONE and Waterboys at @WaterboysOrg and go to waterboys.org to learn more about the great work Chris and his colleagues do to help those in need as well as chrislongfoundation.org.