Two Temple football teammates had different ‘Love Is Blind’ experiences. Their time in Philly helped them navigate it.
Neither Michael Neal or Rob Feeley left the show with a ring on their finger. But their time in cherry and white helped them navigate the spotlight.
When Michael Neal got a call from a former teammate at Temple, he thought they were just going to catch up. But Rob Feeley had lots of “very in-depth” questions about Neal’s experience on Season 9 of Netflix’s hit reality TV show, Love Is Blind.
“He was asking me all these questions, and I thought, ‘Oh wow, man, I didn’t know you were such a reality TV fan,’” Neal said with a laugh.
Turns out, Feeley was not a superfan of Love Is Blind. Instead, he was preparing for his own season on the show, on which contestants blindly couple up with the goal of getting married by the end of 10 days. Though neither former Owl left the show with a ring on their finger, both used lessons they learned on the gridiron as they took their turn in the spotlight.
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Feeley began filming for Love Is Blind over a year ago. Now 40 years old, the Bostonian and former fullback says he hoped that the leap of faith to join the show would pay off in finding the love of his life.
“I’ve always been kind of brave in my own way,” Feeley said. “This was an opportunity to do something different, find love in a way that was not traditional. I’ve been called vain by my friends in the past. They’re like, ‘Hey, you don’t need to always go after the shiny.’ But I was like, ‘You know what, maybe this will work.’”
After a proposal behind a wall, a dramatic reveal, and public outbursts, Feeley’s engagement to Michaella Giorgio was called off following a fight in a bar. The fallout was difficult to navigate, he says.
“I’d much rather run down Lincoln Financial Field full speed and have to go hit somebody than go on this show again because it’s been intense,” Feeley said. “There were a couple moments in the show that I probably didn’t handle the best. I think I’m looking forward to this chapter being closed and moving on because it’s been a long chapter.”
To handle “the internet trolls,” Feeley said, he drew on his years at Temple, where he played from 2006 to 2010.
“For me, it was one of the most intense times of my life,” Feeley said. “You’re trying to balance playing, doing well academically, being away from home, and all this stuff was crazy. It just taught me that you had to be tough to play at Temple … I feel like if I could do that, I can handle the show.”
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Neal, a running back who’s also from Boston, called Feeley his “little brother on the team.” He committed to Temple in 2003, but suffered a neck injury in practice that curtailed his football career.
“When you’re playing D-I, the mindset shifts. When you’re around the best, you can’t really slack,” Neal said. “You become brothers. Like, me and Rob became so close. I saw him almost die. He saw me almost die. So when you see that, and then you go to dinner after, you’re like, ‘Yo, bro.’ You’re amazed.”
Neal and Feeley also spoke to the Philadelphia spirit that shaped them during their time at Temple.
“Philly’s grit is unapologetic,” Neal said. “We say Broad Street Bully, but it’s really not a bully. It’s a standard. They should just say Broad Street Standard.”
Added Feeley: “Philadelphia always holds a special place in my heart, with that Philly grit.”
The city also will get its time in the Netflix reality spotlight soon. A future season of Love is Blind recently was filmed in Philly.
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For future contestants and Temple football players — or perhaps both — Feeley had similar advice.
“Go in with an open heart, an open mind, and good intentions,” Feeley said. “Trust the process, and just try to enjoy it. Because it is a very unique and challenging experience that only certain people go through. Unless you do it, it’s very hard for people on the outside to understand — and that goes for Love Is Blind and playing football, honestly.”
