Tip For Tortured Jets Fans Growing Tired Of Rodgers’ Off-Field Distractions: Don’t Listen
The Jets’ ineptitude has long been fodder for comedy writers, from late-night talk shows like Jimmy Kimmel’s to Saturday Night Live. With social media, now everyone is a jokester, as my Twitter feed can attest.
Many recent posts are versions of the same idea, such as how the price for the Jets to trade for Jordan Love in 2038 skyrocketed following Green Bay’s demolition of Dallas in Sunday’s Wild Card round, referencing how Gang Green acquired overaged Packers quarterback Brett Favre in 2008 and Aaron Rodgers last offseason. Another 14 years later—get it? Previously, there were bits centered on how if only the Jets had a backup QB like Joe Flacco around when Rodgers went down in the season opener. Never mind that Flacco, who came off his couch to finish the season with a nice run to take the Browns to the playoffs before flaming out in Houston on Satursay, won once in nine starts over the previous three seasons in New York. He found—and would have found again--that the Jets’ offensive line is no laughing matter.
And, of course, there’s Rodgers himself, who set off alarms at the Jets’ season-ending press conferences last week by teeing up jokes that write themselves. He strangely asserted how “the bullshit that has nothing to do with winning needs to get out of the (Jets’) building.” That’s like The Proud Boys lobbying for more gun control.
See, I’m doing it too. I guess it’s ok since I’m a long-suffering Jets fan.
Rodgers, who reportedly received over $1 million to appear on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show this season, was almost a weekly sideshow to the actual games, of which he lasted four snaps before rupturing his Achilles when sacked by Bills edge rusher Leonard Floyd. During his rehab, Rodgers directed attention towards himself through his aspirations, as unrealistic as they were, to return to action before the 2023 campaign concluded. Besides the unprecedented recovery time and ensuing safety concerns, the Jets were never going to stay in the playoff hunt long enough for a return to matter.
In truth, I can’t comment much more about Rodgers’ appearances on the show since I really wasn’t interested in any of the episodes following the one in March where he declared his intention to play for the Jets this season. All the other discussions about his alternative views on modern medicine or his beef with Kimmel didn’t fascinate me in the slightest.
Celebrities of all types come with varying degrees of intellect and communication skills. Even some bright ones sometimes stick their proverbial feet in their mouths. To many folks, that’s irrelevant. Former pitcher Jim Bouton wrote in “Ball Four” that there will always be a tendency for the mass audience to assume that he, and other pitchers, were “only as smart as their earned run average.”
Obviously, that’s not true. Rodgers may be a future Hall-of-Famer, but when he went off on his theories about darkness and dolphin voyeurism, as is his right, I exercised my own freedom to tune that stuff out.
For I, a Nets fan as well, had already experienced similar nonsense with Kyrie Irving, whose heart and head weren’t always aligned. The Nets grew tired of Irving’s antics after three-plus seasons that were debased by multiple suspensions by acquiescing to his trade request last February.
Still, there was no denying Irving’s brilliance on the court when he suited up in Brooklyn black. Because the two sides of Irving were unrelated, I was willing to ignore his ignorance on the many matters off it that didn’t get in the way of him performing. It’s called compartmentalization. I know it’s hard to square now because his tenure in Brooklyn ended in failure, but even the Bucks admit that had Irving not landed on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s foot during Game 3 of the second round, the Nets would have gone on to the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals—and possibly beyond.
Unlike Irving, Rodgers to date hasn’t had to face any consequences from his statements—again, I have no idea what will happen with his remark about Kimmel and any implied relationship with the disgraced Jeffrey Epstein. So in this case, the move for anyone like me who doesn’t care what he has to say is simple: Don’t listen.
The media, both mainstream and social, encourages you to make a big deal about irrelevant diversions such as the Pat McAfee Show. When your team hasn’t qualified for the playoffs in 13 years, the longest drought among the four major pro sports leagues, it isn’t.
You have the remote or the mouse. Click out of the clickbait. Focus on Rodgers’ actions, not his words. Be encouraged that he was willing to run scout teams in practices prior to meaningless games to finish the season. Pray that he can come back, at 40, and play at some reasonable percentage of his prior form in 2024.
Like Jerry Seinfeld once said, fans root for laundry. Rodgers wears the uniform of a team that, long before the Butt Fumble, has been the butt of comedic content for far too long. It’s sickening. If the Jets make the playoffs next season, I couldn’t care less about what he says on some silly talk show.