What Makes RGIII so Popular

Robert Griffin III is more than just the quarterback for the Washington Redskins. He is a celebrity and while it all started with his talent on the field it is his talent off the field that has propelled him to this point. Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson are two other young quarterbacks who have brought their respective teams back to relevance. Luck is replacing a future Hall of Famer and Wilson is the leader of the team most people see

winning or at least making the Super Bowl. Yet, it is RGIII who gets the most hype. Griffin is the one who broke the one year record for jersey sales in only his rookie season. Yes, part of this is that he is in D.C. a huge market and a fan base starving for a hero or at least a legitimate starting quarterback. Part of it comes from Griffin leading the franchise to its first division title in over a decade. But there is still more to him. His teammates see it, the media sees it, and the fans see it. So, what is it that makes RGIII so popular? What is it that is causing him to be more popular than the President? What is it that caused tons of fans to buy things off his wedding registry and send them to him?

Without a doubt Griffin is one of the most charismatic people around and he is refreshingly honest. When he is at the podium he jokes with the press and is open about his thoughts even if they can sometimes lead to a perceived controversy. There have been others before him who opened up and where honest but the problem with them was their honesty was often polarizing while Griffin's has only made people love him more. He is not just open about his feeling but he freely allows access to his life like he did with ESPN's "Will to Win." Sure there have been some like Donavan McNabb who disagree with Griffin's openness but they are in the minority. There are also a few jealous or annoyed fans of rival teams that are tired of him and point out his injury issues. However, there are more people like Justin Tuck and other Giants players who he has simply wowed. 

You would expect a player who achieves a celebrity status so grand and so quickly would create some resentment but so far that hasn't happened. In fact its been the opposite. Griffin has managed to do the same thing to his teammates that he has to the outside world. How does he do this? Well, on game days he can be seen dancing and singing to his teammates on the sideline when a song he likes comes on. He jokes he makes his rounds talking to almost everyone on the team. To put it simply he has an electrifying personality and is someone who is very hard to dislike. It doesn't stop there though. He is also the kind of guy who works harder than anyone else around. Yes, he jokes around and can be fun but he knows when it is time to get down to business and is willing to work harder than anyone around. So many people have talked about players who are the first one to the gym in the morning and the last one to leave that it has become more of a saying than a reality. Griffin though is the exception. Even during his recovery process, or maybe especially is a better word, he continued to work harder than anyone. Some players have to be pushed to 'get back on the horse' but for RGIII he has to be held back. Sure that can be considered a fault to some but when the leader of your team has a serious injury for the second time in his career and his response is to set a goal (starting week 1) work for it and then make it a reality, well how can you not look up to him. 

Probably one of the most impressive things about Griffin isn't his ability to handle the media in an honest yet inspiring way. It isn't even his work ethic. People have had those types of things before like Adrian Peterson recovery from his injury just a year ago. It is his ability to work a crowd. While his media skills and team player attitude are part of it, his ability to really control a crowd is astounding. This is the type of stuff that politicians are taught and most celebrities can't handle. He is in every sense of the word a rock star. One day during training camp when it was time for players to sign autographs RGIII first hung out with the kids that were brought out onto the field and signed everything they brought to him. Then after the last kid had finally walked away he turned toward the massive crowd. The cheers of "R G III!" had started long before but as soon as he simply turned to face the masses it somehow grew louder. There was a sudden thought in every single one of the fans minds that maybe just maybe they would get to not just get his autograph but his attention for even a split second. He then moved toward one group but then slowly veered to the left and then back to the right. All the while you could hear the fans responding. When he went left those fans grew louder and the same happened when he went right. He was in control of them he had their undivided attention. This is only one example he has done other things in the past like pull a fan with a half a mannequin onto the practice field or dive dramatically on to the ground after his first run during 7 on 7s. 

It is not one thing that makes him so famous, it is all of it combined. Robert Griffin III affectionately called RGIII has done something very few have done in the past and something that may have never been seen on such a grand scale by an athlete. He has taken his fame and owned it. He hasn't crumpled under the pressure he has embraced it. As his shirt says no pressure no diamonds. It appears as there is nothing too big for him. While there is always the possibility that when he finally grows too big it will collapse around him as has happened to so many others, it doesn't seem like that will happen anytime soon. If anyone can survive and thrive with such fandom it is Robert Griffin III.