Rodgers More at Ease as Celebrity

The Green Bay Press Gazette yesterday made public the longest interview or Q & A session with Aaron Rodgers, ever.

The length and the depth of the interview alone shows, what Rodgers admitted as being, a higher comfort level with the media and the public. Since being drafted in infamous fashion in 2005, Rodgers has been known for being rather high-strung and uncomfortable in the public eye, the media and his own skin. Even a 60 Minutes piece on Rodgers broadcast two years ago took an unfortunate turn when it decided to focus on his apparent sensitivity and insecurity rather than on the good work Rodgers was doing for children with cancer.

Through the years even this site has taken plenty of shots at Rodgers for his handling of perceived slights and the perception that he is notoriously thin-skinned. Really, just by looking at Rodgers’ path to get where he is, it shouldn’t be a big surprise that he might be defensive or anticipating criticism. From being forced to play juco ball, to his embarrassing tumble in the draft, to being harassed by his own fans when trying to take over for Brett Favre, Rodgers has pretty much been doubted and criticized at every turn. Somehow, through it all, he managed to still believe in himself and overcame every obstacle with room to spare.

Look, this isn’t blind fan-dom. This is just the facts. Rodgers turned junior college ball into a scholarship at Cal, turned two years at Cal into being a 1st round pick in the NFL Draft, and then turned falling to the Packers into an opportunity to learn the game and start his career quickly when he finally got on the field. When Rodgers finally took to the field as a starter against the Minnesota Vikings to kick off 2008, probably 25% of even Packer fans wanted him to fall right on his face. He would never amount to anything, they said. He was too soft and wouldn’t last 4 games, let alone an entire season, and he never EVER would be Brett Favre. The Packers’ days of winning were over.

With about as much pressure as any player has ever had on their shoulders, Rodgers beat the Vikings and went on to pass for over 4,000 yards in his first season as a starter. The following season he became the first NFL quarterback in history to begin their career with two 4,000 yard seasons. The following season he brought the Lombardi Trophy back to Green Bay.

Still, it wasn’t all the success or silencing the haters, as much as haters can ever be silenced, that changed Rodgers’ difficulty with mixing his private life with his public one. In fact, we never really saw a change, until recently.

In the interview, Rodgers was asked if his relationship with actress Olivia Munn was the real catalyst in changing his comfort level with the public. Certainly that helped, but Rodgers put it more on simply getting older, which we all probably can relate to. Getting older has a way of mellowing people. You become more comfortable with yourself and learn to accept the things that you can’t control. You learn to let go and enjoy yourself.

With a QBR at 106 for his career, no other quarterback in NFL history is in triple digits, Rodgers was asked if he has a shot to be considered one of the greatest of all time, and he immediately replied that he needs to win more Super Bowls for that to happen. Obviously, at this point of his career, that is the goal. Win as many Super Bowls as you can, and then let the media sort it out.

When asked if the Packers would have won last season’s NFC Championship Game if he were fully healthy, he wisely didn’t take the bait and said that they still had plenty of chances to win the game. He said he didn’t believe there would be a hangover from that game, but that it was more likely to fuel their fire for this season, as tough season-ending losses typically do. He candidly admitted that the 2011 team was probably not as hungry because they had won it all in 2010.

As far as this year’s team goes and its chances, Rodgers was careful to point out that every team is different and you never know what you are going to get or how a team is going to come together.

Unfortunately, Rodgers’ recent struggles in the playoffs were not discussed. I would be curious to hear what the more mature and mello Aaron Rodgers has to say about what are surely some of his biggest disappointments. How much accountability does he take? Was it the opponent? Or was he just off those games? How does he plan on changing the outcome in the future?

I guess we might not be quite ready to go there yet. At least, not in public. But let’s hope that Rodgers has asked and answered those questions for himself. Regardless, it is obvious that Rodgers is in a good place with the right goals in mind.

When Brett Favre, and possibly Bart Starr, are both at Lambeau for Thanksgiving, the Packers will have three Hall of Fame quarterbacks on the field. Has that even ever happened before? There will be no better reminder of how lucky Packer Nation has been at the position, especially when in juxtaposition with the guy standing on the opposite sideline.