GREEN BAY – As a kid growing up in Southern California, Sean Rhyan was raised with a deep appreciation for his cultural roots and familial history.
Because of that, the Packers' 6-foot-5, 321-pound offensive lineman developed a pretty good understanding of where he came from and how it ties back to the man and football player he's become today.
Athletically, height may have come from his father Steve's side and a grandfather who hovered in the 6-foot-8 range, but there is little question in Rhyan's mind where his strength and resilience originated.
It's his mom, Mary Lou, a loving and fearless woman who immigrated from the Philippines to Walnut, Calif., when she was around 5 with her mother, sister and a few relatives.
"She's tough, tough," said Rhyan, lingering on the second tough for proper emphasis. "That's where my toughness came from, I think. Thick skin, she gave it to me. I take nothing personally unless it's about (my parents). Then, you gotta protect who you have to."
Mary Lou put herself through college at Long Beach State, eventually earning a master's degree. She met Steve, a police officer, while helping handle his insurance claim after an incident in which a perpetrator bashed in the door of his car.
Talk about serendipity. Fast forward a few years and the Rhyan family was off-and-running. The union produced Sean, a fun-loving kid who played every sport imaginable.
While Rhyan had some immersion to Polynesian culture through rugby and barbeques with extended family, it wasn't until he got on campus at UCLA that Rhyan began digging deeper into his Filipino roots.
He had a roommate and several Bruins teammates of Samoan and Tongan descent who inquired about Rhyan's own story. That led to deeper conversations with his mom about ancestry.
The family frequently took trips to Hawaii when Rhyan was a kid, but he didn't realize he had relatives in Oahu. Mary Lou also told Rhyan more about his connection to the Philippines, a country he's never been to but hopes to visit soon.
"Just hearing what she had to go through and the pride that all my family on her side holds close to their heart, being Filipino, … " Rhyan said.
"It's powerful seeing her work ethic and her sister's work ethic after starting from nil and then being able to build herself and push through adversity."
Rhyan carries that perseverance with him on the field. If practice gets a little hard or there's a missed assignment, Rhyan doesn't sulk about it. He knows he can handle it…because mom did.
It's a badge of honor for Rhyan that he wears proudly on his helmet after the NFL began allowing players to wear a decal of the country or territory's flag that represents their nationality or cultural heritage during the season.
An initiative intended to celebrate international diversity of its coaches and players turned into a conversation-starter inside the Packers' locker room last season.
While getting suited up for a game, Rhyan noticed the flag of the Philippines also on the helmet of Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs. It turns out Jacobs' paternal grandmother was from the Philippines, a connection close to the running back's heart.
A few years ago, Jacobs even got a tattoo on his left biceps of the Philippines' golden-yellow sun with eight primary rays representing the original eight provinces that rebelled against the Spanish during the 1896 Philippine Revolution.
"I didn't even know Josh was part-Filipino until I asked him about (his helmet)," Rhyan said. "That just gives you another connection to build a friendship."
Rhyan and Jacobs have since had several conversations about their background and upbringing, with Jacobs mentioning with a laugh how quickly the two bonded over Filipino-inspired food.
Rhyan jokes his 300-pound frame is partly caused by mom's cooking. Whenever Rhyan is back in California, the first question he usually hears is, "What do you want me to make?"
The answer is typically chicken adobo, kalbi ribs or Sinangag, a Filipino rice dish. Rhyan has tried to make it himself, but it just isn't quite the same.
The first time Rhyan wore the flag of the Philippines on his helmet he actually didn't tell his mom, a frequent attendee of Packers games during the warmer months of the season.
Rhyan wanted it to be a surprise for her…and it was.
"She said after the game, 'I saw you – you had the Philippines flag on your helmet,'" Rhyan recalled. "I'm like, 'Yeah mom, I'm part-Filipino. I'm going to let them know.'"
As Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month draws to a close, Rhyan recognizes and appreciates his place among the small contingent of Filipino Americans currently in the NFL.
Rhyan has learned a lot about his culture over his 24 years but looks forward to learning more. Fortunately, mom is never too far away.
"I'm proud to be Filipino, playing football and representing my family," Rhyan said. "Just being able to represent my culture and let those kids know, even though it's not widely represented, we're still here and it's possible to get here if you keep working hard and have discipline and that family backing to help you get there."
