Evan Siegle/Green Bay Packers
Mr. Cranky McCrankypants is playing as well as ever.
Back in August, there was some grumbling among many Green Bay Packers fans that maybe it was time for quarterback Aaron Rodgers to move on.
Stories about his discontent with team management started to surface last spring, along with rumors that he was looking to force a trade, and the future Hall of Famer did nothing to dispel them. Indeed, he later confirmed that he was considering retirement up until a week before training camp.
Having weathered a messy divorce in 2008 with Brett Favre, Rodgers’ predecessor, some fans argued on sports talk radio that a clean break was better than a drawn-out separation. The hard to watch, 38-3 loss to New Orleans ratified that sentiment. Rodgers looked disinterested in the game as he recorded a 36.8 passer rating, his worst since 2014.
And even as the Packers and Rodgers show that loss to the Saints was an aberration — they have won seven straight and are the top team in the NFC — a definite tone of foreboding endures among fans. Could this be Rodgers’ last year as a Packer? Is he going to retire? Worse, will they have to see him play in another team’s uniform next year?
As fans dig into their anxiety, Rodgers continues to show signs of his own crankiness. Take a recent appearance on Sirius XM’s The Pat McAfee Show, in which Rodgers appears to wade into the culture wars.
The Oct. 19 conversation covers Rodgers’ antics following a touchdown in Chicago a couple of days earlier when he celebrated with his trademark championship belt gesture and bellowed “I own you!” in the direction of Bears fans who were extending their middle fingers in his direction. It’s a brash display and Rodgers predictably catches some flack for it. Instead of ignoring it, he digs in.
“That is the state of our media and, really, our culture,” Rodgers tells McAfee. “This woke, PC culture.”
McAfee, who mainly kisses up to Rodgers, does not jump in to correct the misinterpretation of what cancel culture is and Rodgers expands on what he calls the “woke mob,” fueled by “personal miserability or distaste for their own situations,” that polices his actions. The examination of his public actions constitutes a “game within a game,” he argues.
“In this game, there’s a player and there’s a game. And if the player abides by the rules of the game, he’s a part of the game. Now, the rules of the game are that you must acquiesce to the woke mob at all times. You must,” Rodgers says. “However, when you live above the game, the game does not exist. And Pat, that’s where I’m at. … This game is being played out by these individuals and I see it, I hear it, but to me it’s comedy.”
It’s not the first time Rodgers has insisted he’s above all the sturm und drang over his actions, especially since last spring, when those reports first surfaced that he was unhappy in Green Bay and wanted to be traded.
In a mid-August interview with Miami-based sports talker Dan Le Batard, Rodgers is asked what criticism of him is the fairest.
“I don’t know, Dan. I don’t pay a whole lot of attention to what the lines are out there,” Rodgers says, before going on to make it clear that he pays quite a bit of attention to what is said about him, complaining in particular about those who think he’s too conservative.
Last Saturday, when the University of California honored Jeff Tedford, his college coach, Rodgers tweeted his disapproval with the way it was handled.
What’s the source of this moodiness, which seems more in keeping with the whispery singer-songwriter Rodgers portrays in his insurance commercials than the quarterback of a 7-1 football team?
When stories about Rodgers’ discontent first emerged, we learned that he wanted to be included in more of the team’s personnel discussions, particularly as they related to getting rid of teammates he has been tight with over the years. The Packers’ front office appeared to offer a concession on this point by bringing back his pal, wide receiver Randall Cobb.
And aside from the New Orleans game, the future Hall of Famer has looked as dominant as ever. While he’s not at the top of the league’s statistical leaders, he has led thrilling, game-winning drives against San Francisco and Cincinnati. He’s thrown just one interception in the last seven games.
But the radio interviews, particularly his remarks responding to criticism of his mild trash talk in Chicago, reveal Rodgers as a guy who notes every slight and carries grudges. There has been speculation that this surliness is what motivates him, that he’s still irked about being passed over by the San Francisco 49ers, his favorite team as a child, in the 2005 draft.
Between Rodgers’ orneriness and Packers fans’ trepidation, is anyone going to actually enjoy what has so far been a highly entertaining football season?
Big Games
UW-Whitewater football vs. UW-La Crosse
Saturday, Nov. 6, 1 p.m.
The Warhawks are 8-0 and ranked the second best Division III team in the country, as is often the case. But the Eagles are 7-1 and ranked fourth. The drive to Whitewater takes less than an hour, tickets are $13 and you can impress your friends with your knowledge of Warhawks football if they make it to another Stagg Bowl.
Wisconsin men’s hockey vs. Minnesota
Saturday, Nov. 6, 8 p.m., Bally Sports Wisconsin
With Hobey Baker winner Cole Caufield in the NHL, the Badgers (3-5) are having a hard time finding consistent scoring in the lineup. But series against the Gophers are always tense, competitive and fun.
Wisconsin men’s basketball vs. Providence
Monday, Nov. 15, 8 p.m., FS1
Quick! Name the Badgers’ starting five! We have no idea how good this year’s team is going to be, so let’s find out together as they take on Providence, whose “Friar Dom,” was recently described as the creepiest mascot in college sports.
Green Bay Packers vs. L.A. Rams
Sunday, Nov. 28, 3:25 p.m., FOX
November offers the most challenging month on the Packers’ schedule, so fans will know a lot about the team’s playoff prospects by the time former Detroit QB Matt Stafford and the Rams come to Lambeau Field.
