Why I Currently Hate Aaron Rodgers

Sorry Aaron, it goes way back.

Photo by author

Straight away, I’ve never been a fan of the Green Bay Packers. I respect them and their Hall of Fame roster of players past.

Who didn’t like Vince Lombardi, their longtime, NFL Championship (5 times) and Super Bowl (2 times) winning iconic coach?

One of his players so delicately put it, “ He treated us players all equally, like dogs.” What’s not to like?

I love the way the fans own shares in the team and that they haven’t gone corporate on the name of their stadium. Still Lambeau Field (one of only three that don’t have corporate-sponsored names in the NFL)

Ahhh — what’s a few 100 million to a pro football team?

They’ve got integrity!

When Bret Favre became their quarterback with much fanfare, I didn’t go to the fare (fair).

Although physically and intellectually, he checked all the boxes on what a quarterback should look and act like (no, I haven’t seen his sexting).

I didn’t like his reckless running around like a beheaded barnyard fowl and eventually, almost as often throwing a touchdown as heaving an interception.

When the Packers drafted Aaron Rodgers, the intellectual phenomenon out of the University of California, I was surprised.

The initial time I even saw Aaron Rodgers was when he was drafted in the first round by the Green Bay Packers in 2005.

It was surprising how unimposing he was, didn’t look or talk like any QB I’d ever seen or heard.

This guy was going to be the heir apparent to the charismatic wild man Brett Favre?

He looked like an accountant who might moonlight as an extra in a porno movie.

And he was quiet. Hey, maybe this guy was the soft-spoken intellectual leader who deserved to be drafted on the first round. He may give the Packers the inside track on their 4th Super Bowl.

An unlikely successor but just maybe…..

The Packers really took their time with Rodgers, having him play back-up for three years. The team then shipped the wild man Favre off to the Jets. In New York, which is in a different division, Favre wouldn’t show up on the Packer’s schedule anytime soon. This cleared the way to finally install Rodgers as the Packers starting quarterback.

Aaron didn’t look like a quarterback, act like a quarterback, or even quack like a quarterback.

Management must know something I didn’t.

It took only 2 years for Rodgers to lead the Packers to a victory over the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. He earned the Super Bowl MVP

I after this important victory, I saw an interview with one of his protectors on the offensive line. When the big fella was asked whether Aaron was liked by the other members of the team said,“ We respect Aaron we don’t have to like him.”

Interesting!

After many years of slowly winning my respect with his unparalleled excellence, I was won over. I became an Aaron Rodgers convert.

No matter he was condescending with no personality, did scary ads for State Farm, was a failed Jeopardy host, broke Danica Patrick’s heart, grew a gray scruffy old man beard — he won games in dramatic fashion.

After many years, although a Packers fan only once or twice every decade (when they played the Cowboys), I finally became an Aaron Rodgers fan.

I continued to be amazed that someone who looked and acted more and more like an out-of-shape data scientist be a pro football player?

Fascinating!

Oh yeah, he still gave awkward interviews. When asked whether he was vaccinated back in preseason (August 2021) he mumble-shuffled his way around the question by saying something about being immunized. Still the condescending intellectual. Still, the self-appointed smartest guy in the room.

Still the quarterback extraordinaire!

Then he outright lied- not an in-your-face Trumpian piece of bullshit. That, my newly minted cynical mentality could take.

Aaron Rodgers was diagnosed with COVID and was forced to sit out of the important showdown between Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs and his Green Bay Packers.

When questioned if he was vaccinated against COVID as per the NFL mandated rules ( or at least getting daily tests), Rogers complained of unfair treatment by the media. The familiar “Witch hunt” phrase was thrown in. “Woke mob” was quoted ( inaccurately). Rodgers offered he was not an anti-vax, flat-Earther (whatever that thread of words mean) and he was a “critical thinker!”

Rodgers credited the prominent podcast host Joe Rogan as his advisor in matters COVID.

The world let it slide for 5 days, probably confused as to what to do. After all, it was Aaron Rodgers and he was winning games in his inimitable dramatic fashion before he was sidelined by COVID.

He let his himself down, he let his team down, he let the Packers fans down, he let America down.

During his interview with Pat McAfee on Friday before the Chiefs game, Rodgers said exactly what every Aaron Rodgers fan, Green Bay Packer fan, every football fan, every American, didn’t want to hear.

If his answers to McAfee’s questions were scripted for a villain in the new Batman movie, it couldn’t have been more infuriating to the American public.

Americans can be lied to, Americans can be taken advantage of and Americans can be tricked. However, the one thing that Aaron Rodgers managed to do is the one thing Americans cannot accept.

Feeling betrayed.

We’ll see how this plays out: fines, slaps on the wrist, or to quote one of the main influencers of public opinion in the country today, Howard Stern:

“Throw him the fuck out of the league.”