One of the words that you hear coming out of Aaron Rodgers’ mouth recently is the word "legacy," especially in connection to his role as the face of the franchise for the Packers. This past postseason Rodgers mentioned that it was the playoffs that defined a player, and especially a quarterback’s, legacy. On Tuesday in the season finale of his radio broadcast Rodgers’ again talked about his thoughts straying to his legacy as he becomes the longest tenured player on the Packers. This past weekend something happened that may continue to cement his legacy with the Packers and it has nothing to do with the players on the field.
As you have probably heard by now, Rodgers and Brett Favre appeared together to present this year’s Comeback Player of the Year award. The two were about as funny as you can be on an awards show if your name isn't Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais, or John Stewart. Naturally, this event also triggered one of the longest running debates in Packer history, namely, when should Favre be brought back into the fold? In Tuesday’s Cheese Curds, Kevin highlighted a great article from CheeseheadTV breaking this down once again in light of the awards ceremony. As it turns out the event may be just another example of how much power Aaron Rodgers plays in the Packers’ organization.
On Tuesday, Rodgers discussed the joint appearance with Favre and Rodgers gave more of the back story to the segment….
They pitched to me this idea of presenting with Brett, just to see how I would feel about it. And I thought about it for a little bit, but I really felt strongly that it was going to be a good thing for both of us and for Packer nation. As the face of the franchise now, (it’s) a role that I take very seriously. I have the responsibility and enjoy having the opportunity to represent my team[.]
So there you have it. Right now one of the main mediators of the Packers and Favre looks to be Aaron freakin’ Rodgers! I have to admit that I did not see this coming, especially considering some of the odd stories coming out after the Super Bowl 45 victory a couple years ago. At the end of the day though there are probably only three people who could act as a mediator: Rodgers, Donald Driver, and Bart Starr. Anyone else may be too close to Favre or the Packers or just not have credibility with the fans in order to pull everything back together. It is just good to know that Rodgers is stepping up to the plate and making sure that reconciliation happens, and not in the distant future. Imagine how sweet it would be to see Rodgers be the starting quarter back on "Brett Favre Day" when the number 4 is retired. This could be a crowning moment to Rodgers' career, and a moment to get Favre, Starr, and Rodgers all together for a picture every Packer fan would drool over for years to come. More important though, it would be a moment showing just how much leadership Rodgers has as the face of the franchise and how he has used that power for the benefit of the organization and the fans.
That's the stuff legends are made of folks. It's something that Steve Young couldn't do for Joe Montana....but it's something we could see Rodgers do for Favre. I don’t know about you, but it’s just one more reminder of how lucky we are to be living in Mr. Rodgers’ neighborhood.