Philip Rivers

Philip Rivers, otherwise known as El Capitan, is starting to hit the apex of a very interesting career. While establishing himself as one of the 5 best QBs in the league, he has also managed to stay under the radar (somewhat) and managed to earn duel reputations as a classy/quiet leader (in San Diego) and a cancerous cry-baby (outside of San Diego). How the heck does that happen? He's like a mix of Peyton Manning, Dan Marino and Jim McMahon.

Broncos fans, in particular, are hilarious to listen to when discussing El Capitan's reputation. Part of this is because Denver and San Diego's fanbases might be the most intertwined of any other AFC West rivals. It's the matchup of two cities that aren't big hustle/bustle cities, both of vacation spots, and both are made up mostly of upper middle-class populations. It's not like San Diego/Oakland, where people from SD are generally terrified to just stop for gas in Oakland. And it's not like San Diego/Kansas City, where people from SD have never found a reason to visit the midwestern city except for maybe stopping for ribs on their way through.

To know how Bronco fans feel about Philip Rivers, you have to go through their history with him. It can be broken down into three eras:

Jay Cutler Era: Man, did Broncos fans hate Philip during the Jay Cutler era. Why? Well, they loved their "franchise QB" and didn't take too kindly when Rivers made him look bad and then openly mocked him on the field. Here's a blurry reminder:

Philip Rivers