Watching Aaron Rodgers grow before my eyes has been something special. I have been a Packer fan my whole life, but I don't remember much of Brett Favre's early days. I remember the Super Bowls and some games here and there, but it's fuzzy at best. My Aaron Rodgers memories, however, start back in 2005.
I was back in high school and my friend and I wanted to attend the NFL Draft. We had tried to go a couple times before that, but it was unsuccessful. My uncle agreed to take us into the city and go to the NFL Draft in 2005. The Draft was being held at the Jacob Javits center, and only about 1,000 people would be able to fit in the main room. They had a second room where you could watch it on TV, and of course we got there too late and we got tickets to the second room. However, while waiting on line, a woman gave us a ticket for the main room because she didn't want to go in. It was a blessing in disguise.
My friend was a Cowboys fan, so when the Cowboys picked, he took the wristband and ticket and went inside the main room to see the Cowboys pick. The Cowboys picked twice in the first round and took Marcus Spears out of LSU and DeMarcus Ware out of Troy. I was hoping the Packers would get Spears so I was a little mad about that. I was also hoping the Packers would get Channing Crowder, Matt Roth, or Shawn Merriman. As the Draft progressed, I noticed Aaron Rodgers falling. Alex Smith went number one and the experts were saying that whoever didn't go number one might fall out of the first round.
I started thinking about our new GM, Ted Thompson. I had heard that he was more of a "best player available" drafter. It started to dawn on me that if Rodgers was there, Ted was going to take him. At first it made me upset. I wanted to see us get a defender like Roth or Crowder. Our defense was pathetic and I thought that taking a QB first was a huge mistake. After all, we had Brett Favre as our quarterback. How do you argue with that?
As the Draft continued, I realized that it wouldn't be a bad idea. Brett Favre was 35, going on 36, and his age was starting to show a little bit. I started to accept the fact that my childhood hero wouldn't be around for much longer. The Packers were preparing for when he left and Rodgers would have a couple years to learn from a future Hall of Famer.
My friend passed me the wristband to get into the main room a few minutes before the Packers picked. Rodgers was the last player left at the Draft who was waiting for his named to be called and was visibly upset. When the Comish called his name for the Packers he was all smiles though. I snapped a few pictures and watched him hold his jersey up. It was something special. We left shortly after that because my uncle was getting antsy. Little did I know I was witnessing history.
Rodgers sat on the bench the next 3 years. The first two were rather uneventful and he didn't look particularly good in any of his brief appearances, braking his ankle in his only extended time. Year three is when he really showed us why Ted Thompson drafted him. The Packers and the Cowboys were about to play on Thursday Night Football. Clash of the Titans for the top seed in the NFC. The Packers came out slow and the Cowboys were beating them badly. Brett Favre takes a shot and he's done for the day. In comes Aaron Rodgers. He was deadly accurate, he had an insane pocket presence, and he was even a threat on the ground. The Cowboys didn't have an answer for him. Had he played the whole game, who knows what would have happened. Hindsight is 20/20 and it's easy to say he would have won. Who knows. But he gave us the best chance to win.
After Favre punted/threw an INT in overtime vs the Giants in the Championship game, he retired. And then he wanted to come back. The management saw enough in Rodgers to say no. This started a whole backlash by Favre who made his way to the Vikings out of spite. Favre came up just short of a Super Bowl, fittingly throwing an INT to blow the Vikings' chance of winning. Rodgers proved to the world why the Packers drafted him 24th overall, held on to him all of those years, and showed a legend the door last night. I'm proud to say that I was there from the beginning. I watched him grow and he's now the face of the Packers and he's writing his own legacy rather than following in the footsteps of Favre. I couldn't be happier as a Packer fan. Super Bowl XLV Champs!!!
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