After spending two years with the Golden Bears, it was time for Aaron Rodgers to step into the Big League. His dreams came true as the Packers opted to select him in the first round in 2005, but he couldn’t have guessed what was to come next. The California native had to warm the bench for three seasons before landing the starting job in Green Bay, with Brett Favre announcing his retirement for good this time. However, filling the shoes of the three-time NFL MVP came with its own set of hurdles.
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During his recent chat with athlete and writer Cameron Hanes on the ‘Keep Hammering Collective‘ podcast, Aaron Rodgers revealed how he woke up to hundreds of texts in the year 2008, breaking the news of Favre’s retirement and congratulating him for finally taking over the starting role. A-Rod revealed that he was certainly happy with this development and started honing his skills even more, but Favre announcing his return to the league made things worse for him. The cheeseheads wanted their Super Bowl-winning QB back, and they didn’t shy away from making ‘bizarre’ statements about Rodgers, even sending death threats.
“There were some really bizarre statements…death threats…bodily harm threats— to my face — (while) walking back from training camp practices,” Rodgers said.
It’s undeniable that Rodgers, at that time, had a long way to go before he could match Brett Favre’s all sorts of accolades over the years. Nonetheless, in his starting debut, Rodgers secured a win against the Minnesota Vikings in a 24-19 game at Lambeau Field. The achievement was applaudable for sure, and according to Rodgers, he drew motivation from the skeptics, including the fanbase he was vying to become the face of.
Aaron Rodgers Started His Journey With Chips on His Shoulder
The future four-time MVP, at the time, understood the weight of responsibility he had on his shoulders, replacing Favre. In an interview with ESPN in 2008, Rodgers mentioned how he was aware of ‘having a short leash’ since he was set to walk on the path of a legend with 250 straight starts and all the records one can imagine.
This was quite the motivator for Rodgers, and surprisingly, he used the death threats as a motivator too. Decoding his perspective, Aaron Rodgers spoke of ‘having a chip‘ even against the fans who mistreated him.
“There was a lot of opportunity for motivation that I drew from comments from a number of people, including our fans,” Rodgers stated, adding, “I actually had some chips built up against some of my own fans during that ’08 offseason… But, I think anytime you take the field it’s never a bad thing to feel that — I got something to prove.”
Rodgers’ journey with the Packers in the following years was nothing short of legendary. He answered the threats with a Super Bowl win and four NFL MVP honors, but most importantly, he is still going strong.
Just as the initial turmoil could not stop the young Rodgers from getting onto the field and delivering his best, his latest days with the New York Jets depend on the same emotions. Recovering from his Achilles injury in the last season, A-Rod is set to make a comeback in 2024, to impress his fans with what he does best — quarterbacking.
