Brats & Beer

On Aaron Rodgers

Saturday household chores lead to three somewhat random and unconnected thoughts on Aaron Rodgers, our new starting quarterback.

The Stache: It has spurred discussion the past couple years, it has been debated in these pages here, and I still hold firm to the belief that Rodgers should go clean shaven. His proclivity towards 70s-style facial hair was kind of amusing when he was #2 on the depth chart, but now he’s the starter for the most elite franchise in the National Football League. This year is a fresh start for the Green Bay Packers, let’s have a fresh-shaven quarterback to lead us into this new era.

The Nickname: I was very disappointed to hear that “A-Rod” has slipped into the vocabulary of Wayne Larrivee, the voice of the Packers. Maybe I’m just too old school, but the use of “A-Rod” or “A-Rodge” just seems like a desperate attempt to pimp-up a grand old football franchise for the ESPN generation, and we don’t need that. Thankfully, I have not yet heard Larry McCarren resort to the use of the nickname and hopefully that will rub off on Wayne over time.

The Outlook: Two good performances in the pre-season is hardly anything to hang your hat on, but I’m more confident now than in the past few months that Rodgers can have a long and successful career in Green Bay. Already he looks like a gamer and a leader on the field, his teammates seem ready to play for him, and he’s shown some resilience in the face of adversity. I’m not saying he’ll lead us to a championship this year (especially not if the defense continues to play like it did last night) and I wouldn’t try to convince anyone that he’ll topple the record books like Favre did, but on the QB front I think we’re going to be alright.