A Jedi warrior, you are not

I have my Wilson #3 Seahawks dark blue road jersey on today.  It seems they always play the Packers on the road and lose.  Let's hope today is different.  Half debating whether to plunk down the 5 euros to watch it on NFL Europe, as it comes on at 8 pm Lithuania time.  The only problem is that my wife hates me watching these games on the couch, looking down at my cellphone as I rub her feet while she watches something else on television.  There was a time I would get all excited about these games but the Seahawks are really struggling this year and it would be a miracle for Wilson to rally this team to the playoffs.  It's just not worth getting my wife upset, given I can catch the highlight reel on Youtube tomorrow morning.

Green Bay is going through its drama with Aaron Rodgers.  He is cleared to play today but apparently stubbed his toe and is limping around a bit.  The least of his worries after making such an ass of himself over COVID two weeks ago.  Aaron led everyone to believe he was "immunized," when it turns out he was taking some kind of vitamin regimen, afraid the jab might make him sterile and he wouldn't be able to have any kids with his new squeeze Shailene Woodley.  

I guess they aren't that new.  Elle magazine said they started dating in 2018 after his break up with Danica Patrick.  Shailene showed off her diamond solitaire engagement ring to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show this past February.  She being a big time Hollywood star and all, Aaron was thinking of making a move, as Green Bay is a pretty small town and he heard the Rams were looking for a new quarterback.  Only problem is that the Packers wouldn't let him go without a massive compensation in draft picks, and the Rams weren't willing to go that far.  So, they traded former Georgia QBs with Detroit.  

This led to some bad blood in Green Bay.  Rodgers threatened a hold out, but eventually chose to stay with the Cheeseheads and had been doing very well this year - 7 and one - until COVID hit and he had to sit out the Kansas City game, which they lost.  No one would have held it against him if he had just been honest, but apparently that's too much to ask of Aaron.  Making matters worse, Rodgers spilled out one ridiculous fake vaccine theory after another on the Pat McAfee Show. Chief among them the swollen testicles story that Nicki Minaj unveiled this past September.  You would think at this point, Aaron would just take the Regeneron treatment and be done with it, but no he consulted Joe Rogan and chose Ivermectin instead.  Honesty, Aaron?

The Packers still sit comfortably atop the NFC Central, but Rodgers has taken a huge hit to his reputation.  In fact, you might say he has no reputation at all at this point.  It seems his teammates knew he was not vaccinated, as he was more or less following COVID protocol, so it was no big surprise to them.  However, the way he has handled the situation makes you wonder how much trust they have in him at this point.

What is more bothersome is the way the NFL is handling this crisis.  Rather than severely penalizing the star quarterback, the Commish gave him a slap on the wrist.  What liberal audience that may have been lost by Rodgers' selfish motives, has been gained by striking MAGA bingo in his anti-vaccine stance.  He's the talk of the town among conservative circles.  He might want Tom Brady's red MAGA hat.  

It's a bit of an uncomfortable seat for Aaron, as he had been pretty adamant before about the rights of fellow players to kneel for the national anthem, even to the point of saying Colin Kaepernick got a bum deal.  Colin never got another shot at the NFL after he was blacklisted for his stance on police brutality.  For Aaron, it is just business as usual. 

The mainstream media hasn't been so forgiving.  He has been roasted by fellow sports stars, mocked by late night show hosts, and he was unmercifully skewered on SNL with Pete Davidson mimicking his radio broadcast comments to full effect in front of Judge Jeanine, played by Cecilia Strong.  Probably, the biggest ignominy was Mark Hamill calling out Aaron for wearing a Star Wars hoodie during his second interview with Pat McAfee.  Mark knows Jedi warriors, and Aaron is no Jedi.    

This hasn't made Shailene very happy, who considered persons like Jimmy Fallon her friend and confidante.  What's worse is that some of Aaron's fans are blaming her for leading their star quarterback down this road to ruin with her homeopathic remedies.  If that was the case, why did Aaron make ivermectin his drug of choice?  Seems he's going with Joe Rogan at this point.

Whatever the case, Aaron will most likely suit up today.  His bout with COVID was pretty mild, as he appears to have gotten over it pretty quickly.  He can count himself lucky in that regard, but he won't regain his reputation that quickly, if at all.  The damage is done.

The question is what is the NFL going to do about it?  More players will no doubt come out against the vaccine if Aaron can get away with it.  After all, these big studs don't want to lose their fertility or have tiny little chips planted inside them for the government to track them.  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar lamented Rodgers' decision because it perpetuates the "dumb jock" perception that many people have of professional athletes.  This is particularly odd as Aaron graduated from Cal-Berleley, one of the highest academic institutions in the country.

Meanwhile, Russ returns to his home state.  He played at the University of Wisconsin, and there was talk at one point that Seattle might swap quarterbacks with Green Bay as both were disgruntled with their current locations.  Most likely idle chatter, as it is doubtful Ciara would have approved of such a move.  She likes the limelight and Green Bay is exclusively a football town.  Not much glamour there.

I would love to see Seattle win, turn their season around and make the playoffs.  Mostly, I would like to see Aaron Rodgers' face rubbed in the ground.  I never liked him very much.  He struck me as a poser.  One of those guys who likes to be friends with everyone but is never there when you need him.  Shailene should take note of this.  This is not husband, and certainly not father material.  She'd be wise to shop around a little longer.