I still think he's a tool. Just like how all the Pack fans hate Cutler. It's the same thing, except in Chicago, we laugh it off and in Green Bay, people get all defensive and cry.
-ey-
Packers Fan with Cancer Shocked by Criticism of Aaron Rodgers By Marcie Kobriger
Last Friday, an Action 2 News report featured a breast cancer survivor seeking Aaron Rodgers's autograph as the Packers were departing for Atlanta. Video of the Packers quarterback walking past the woman as she held out a hat for him to sign went viral -- and Rodgers came under fire.
The woman at the center of the controversy says she's shocked and upset by comments critical of Rodgers's actions at Austin Straubel airport.
Jan Cavanaugh and her husband are die hard Packers fans. The pair is often at the airport to see the team off for away games and on the edge of their seats when the Packers play.
When she talks about the team, Jan includes herself on the roster, referring to the Packers as "we."
"We sat yesterday and watched the whole game, and we're so excited that we're going to play the Bears," she said.
But her excitement over an NFC Championship match-up has been tempered.
Aaron Rodgers and other players didn't autograph her cap as she saw them off to Atlanta -- but it's not the hat she's upset about, it's the Internet and radio chatter created by the video of Rodgers passing her by.
"I was terribly upset this morning because I did not realize what was online, and opened up my email," she said, "and I was just shocked."
The video has drawn criticism but the only people Jan is critical of today are those creating the chatter.
"I am very unhappy with people making so much out of this, because this really isn't that big of a deal. It's up to the players to decide who they want to give an autograph to, and that's their prerogative."
Just a week earlier, Rodgers autographed Jan's pink jersey bearing the number 12 as the team departed for Philadelphia. A few years ago the now-star quarterback signed a number of things for her, too.
Jan says they've kept everything players have signed for them except for a few items they gave to family members.
While she is distressed over the controversy, Cavanaugh won't let it dampen her excitement for the packers.
"We're really big football fans and the Packers are our team, and we just think that this is the team to root for, so Go Pack Go!"
Aaron Rodgers is a DOUCHEBAG.
Bigger Douchebags, WBAY-TV out of Green Bay.
I know this post will start a whole string of "Bears Still Suck" chants from all my Wisconsin friends. I'm OK with that. I'm also gonna hear people say that Cutler is the bigger douche. Let's make 3 things clear here before you see the videos below and read Mike Florio's article.
A) Jay Cutler has always been a jerk. He knows it. That's who he is. He doesn't care to embrace that role. He's about football. Some athletes embrace it. Not Jay. Jordan was king when it came to embracing that role. MJ still has Chicago eating out of his hand. Cutler wants nothing to do with that. He just wants to play football.
B) Aaron Rodgers wants to be the face of the Packers. He embraces the spotlight. Heck, he looks for it. He makes himself seem like the lovable QB. Just like Favre did during his tenure in Green Bay.
C) See for yourself. Aaron Rodgers acts as if he is totally unaware of the situation below. Yet moments later, Clay Matthews does what any respectable athlete would do. He even acknowledges that he was aware of Jan Cavanaugh's presence.
Both Rodgers and Matthews came off the same plane. That means Packers PR told Matthew about Cavanaugh's story. No way they would tell Matthews and not Rodgers.
Bottom line, Rodgers is an idiot that will be defended by more idiots.
Check out the article below by Mike Florio of [Pro Football Talk]. I even found the videos that prove their douchiness.
Aaron Rodgers has a lot to learn about where his money comes from Posted by Mike Florio on January 16, 2011, 3:35 PM EST
We realize that only two days ago we defended largely unlikable Bears quarterback Jay Cutler from a mailed-in attack by ESPN’s Rick Reilly. But since Reilly has yet to attack Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, we feel no need to defend him. (Yet.)
In fact, we’re going to attack him a little. (Maybe Reilly will come to his defense.)
Rodgers makes a lot of money because people are willing to pay to watch him do what he does, and because they’re willing to sit and watch him do it on television, while being bombarded with advertisements and networks promos.
Without fans, football would be lacrosse. Or indoor soccer. Or postseason baseball.
So football players need to be willing to pause and sign an autograph or two from time to time. Especially when the person seeking the autograph is female, is wearing copious amounts of NFL-licensed pink apparel, and has very short gray hair.
There’s a pretty good chance that any person fitting that description is a cancer patient. And if the NFL is going to allow the official uniform to be infiltrated by pink patches and gloves and cleats and stripes every October, high-profile NFL players need to be willing to stop and sign an autograph for someone who fits the profile of a person who is in the fight of her life.
WBAY-TV has the video evidence. Watch Rodgers breeze by Jan Cavanaugh, refusing even to acknowledge her existence. (The good news is that linebacker Clay Matthews treated her with warmth and respect.)
Hey, it’s a free country. Rodgers has an inalienable right to choose to behave like an ass. And the rest of us have an inalienable right to tell anyone who’ll listen that he’s behaving like an ass.
Rodgers needs to realize that without people like Jan Cavanaugh, whose passion for pro football prompted her to go to the airport after a radiation treatment in the hopes of getting Rodgers to sign the pink hat with the Packers logo that she always wears, make his entire lifestyle possible. Otherwise, he’d be no different than a guy who’s really good at throwing darts or horseshoes or cornhole bags. He’d derive personal satisfaction from the use of his God-given skills, but not much if any money.
We hope this strikes a chord with all pro athletes. The fans are the reason you get paid the big bucks. And it would be wise to show some gratitude, especially when it’s obvious that one of those fans isn’t blessed with good health.
We also hope that Rodgers and/or the Packers track down Jan Cavanaugh and make it up to her. The fact that Rodgers would crap on a rare moment of happiness for someone whose entire life in consumed by fighting the disease and contending with the physical, mental, and emotional effects of it should make the stomach churn of anyone who has cancer, or who has seen a loved one stricken by it.
In other words, everyone.
UPDATE: The folks at WBAY, who probably should have realized that the station’s relationship with the only team in town may have been undermined with the publication of the video of Rodgers treating a cancer patient like a panhandler with leprosy, apparently have taken down the clip. The key moment has been uploaded to YouTube.
