Super Bowl coverage and A-Rodg
SUPER BOWL COVERAGE! SUPER BOWL COVERAGE! SUPER BOWL COVERAGE!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!
Has anyone overdosed yet? I, for one, have been trying to limit my intake. I’ve really been taking some time to reflect on the significance that any of this has on my own life. I’ve been asking myself: “DO I NEED to know whether or not Hines Ward was really at the Strip Club on Monday night??” “IS IT REALLY important that I see the footage of the Packers having their team photo taken??” WILL IT ruin my Super Bowl experience if I DON’T know how Marshall Faulk thinks the game will play out??? So…after some real soul searching, I decided to limit myself to two healthy doses of Super Bowl coverage per day. One hour in the morning, one at night. (And I read a few articles in between.)
In all this coverage, there is one thing that commentators have been saying that has really baffled me. For weeks, Colin Cowherd of ESPN Radio has been going on and on about whether or not Aaron Rodgers is “one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.” I’m sorry…WHAT? Why would anyone even ask that question right now? Aaron Rodgers is a third year starter; he’s 27 years old. He has a lot of time left to define what his mark on this league will be. And, in my opinion, there are far more interesting things to say about him.
Aaron Rodgers is a unique story. My cousin, Ron O’Dell, actually coached Aaron at Pleasant Valley High School in Chico, CA. Ron said, “no one was really recruiting him (in high school).” Aaron only received one Division I offer and that was to walk-on at Illinois. But something must have told him that offer wasn’t right, because he turned it down. Ron says:
“Aaron would always say he was going to be an NFL QB. I would tell him ‘if you’re going to be in the NFL, you gotta be better than me’ and we would compete everyday in practice. If I hit his right shoulder, he’d have to hit my right shoulder. We’d see who could throw it harder at each other and still catch it. We did everything. You never know if someone will actually make it to the NFL. But, with Aaron, part of me knew that he could make it because he was such a competitor and was so mature about it all.”
Ron knew he was coaching a talented guy and Aaron knew he could learn a lot from Ron, a former quarterback himself coming from a family where the football waters run deep. So when Rodgers was disappointed with the lack of college offers, he and his father sat down with Ron. “I told him to be patient. I said, ‘go to a Junior College and someone will recruit you,” says Ron. So that’s what he did. Aaron attended Butte Community College in Oroville, CA. He put up some impressive numbers and after only one year he was recruited to go to Cal. And you probably know the rest of the story to bring us up to today. Although, one interesting tidbit you may not know…growing up, Aaron Rodgers was a die-hard 49er fan. Ron says, “he was always wearing Niner stuff at school. His dream was to play for the Niners.” So, when the 49ers decided to pick Alex Smith over Aaron with the first pick of the 2005 Draft, Aaron was understandably disappointed. And I can only presume that those first few years, having to be a back up in Green Bay, wasn’t his ideal situation. But, just like his high school to college issues seemed to work out, it seems as if his college to pro issues have worked out as well. I guess everything happens for a reason.
I’m not sure why the media feels the need to project into the future of someone’s career and predetermine what the outcome will be. Maybe it’s just something to talk about, to fill the airwaves. But, I think we’re getting too far ahead of ourselves. Let’s just let the guy play THIS game. And then let’s let him play next season. And, if he’s going to be an “all time great QB” that can be determined toward the end of his career.
Besides, I think the much more pressing and important question here is: Will Aaron Rodgers continue to use the Championship Belt celebration throughout his career?? And, if so, will it be well received? Or, will fans get bored with it? I’d like to open up the discussion on that. I’ll start by saying, I believe any opportunity to reference professional wrestling at the workplace is a good one. And, I will love that silly little belt every time I see it.
“Everyone is a self made person, but only the successful admit it.” – unknown
18 Comments for Super Bowl coverage and A-Rodg
I have been in Pakistan on a work trip for the two weeks of Super Bowl coverage so I get all my news online. Respected Reporters find it news that owners of teams in the Super Bowl are walking out of church. And that news was repeated by another Respected Reporter. That is overkill.
Oh, and can I get some pity, I get on my 13 hour flight back to the US 30 minutes before kickoff. Tell me how the game goes…
Oh my, Pete. That’s unfortunate. Maybe you’ll have wifi on the plane?? I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you. I didn’t read the story you referred to but it sounds like a bit much.
I’m loving your blog, Steph! So much so that it’s cultivating a renewed interest in pro sports for me 
. I lost any measurable interest in the pros years ago, which fueled my zeal for college athletics. Consequently, reading your blog coupled w/ my already greater than usual investment in this super bowl (due to my Cal allegiance) is fostering refreshing excitement. Thanks!
Hope your well
Hi Bryan! Great to hear from you! Thank you for checking out my blog! Oh yes, I figured you’d be into a Cal QB in the Super Bowl. Hope everything is good with you!
I misspoke. Not really a report, but a tweet: http://twitter.com/#!/SI_PeterKing/status/33146790924521472
I am disappointed on missing the game, but not sad that I missed the last two weeks of hype.
May I ask a quick question: We get every angle possible in media. Players tweet/get interviewed. Coaches give banal analysis in order to not give anything away. Pundits look for controversial positions to stay relevant. Ex players make bad jokes on pre game shows, etc, etc. As a family member inside the game, you have been in the unique position of seeing the inside and outside but most likely have little agenda outside wanting to see family and friends in the business succeed. So, as an outsider/insider in an very choreographed industry like the NFL, how much of what the actual fan sees represents the realities of the real people and personalities that you have witnessed? I appreciate your website because you a. actually respond to fans and b, I think have a very unique perspective on the industry. I am not one to typically comment on these things, but getting a response is quite nice, to be honest.
Thanks for starting the site, and I look forward to your take on things in the future. Cheers
Oh, and are you at the Super Bowl this year? Is it as crazy on the ground as it seems by reports? Thanks
Oh man, that’s a tough one to answer. I’ll try to keep it short. The NFL in terms of coaching is a very small business. Typically, the same network of men rotate through the 32 teams. So, if you’re coaching in the league you tend to know everyone, know stories about everyone, know the personalities of everyone, coaching styles, etc. Because if you haven’t worked with them, someone else that you’ve worked with has. It’s kind of just like any big company…meaning that there are all types of people and all types of work ethics. That goes for players and coaches. I’ve known a lot of people personally, whose public persona was far from their private persona. But, you can’t make a generalization about it. I think it’s a case by case thing. In terms of game stuff, I can only speak from my experience, but no smart football coach that I’ve been around would ever discuss his game tactics on air. There is just way too much media coverage now, it’s too risky. So, like you said, all the football commentary from current coaches has to be vague and general. But, for sure, if you talk to a head coach the week before a game *privately* he’d be able to recite the game plan, tell you the first play, tell you the strategy they used to break down the other team’s defense/offense. He just could never say anything like that in the public (obviously).
Does that answer your question? If I misunderstood what you were asking let me know!
No, I’m not there. It looks freezing!
It pretty much answers my question. I love football. I played in HS, but not good enough for college. I considered coaching for a long time, and think I may have been good at it, but I also was equally interested in traveling to tough places around the world and working, so I knew I could not dedicated the time and energy I know most coaches do and still satiate my international fix.
I guess, as a fan who loves the game more than the pomp and circumstance that surrounds it, I wished that the media covered x’s and o’s and tactics that are researched based more than “gut feelings” and ridiculous pundits and prognosticators. So I always wonder how much of the hoopla surrounding the game in choreographed or if that is just the industry.
I do have a lot of questions about how things in the industry works, but I will save them for later–I hope you keep the blog going for a while. Are you planning on this being a job or hobby?
In my experience, players and coaches pay very little attention to what is happening in the media. You really can’t pay attention to it if you want to stay focused on your game. I think most of the the stuff on tv is entertainment for the fans. And, sometimes there are interesting stories and sometimes it’s just chatter.
I plan to keep the blog going. I love football and I think my perspective is slightly different than the people that are writing about it or on tv talking about it. I appreciate the questions and I appreciate you reading the blog!
That is great insight on Rogers background/start. I really enjoyed the pots.
You know the answer to your question. Guys like Cowherd always latch on to a topic like that simply to try an be controversial. He basically had a choice between that and the Big Ben redemption story. Both are tired and only time will answer the questions.
True.
Cool site!
Colin Cowherd is an idiot. Similarly, in Boston, we have this guy Gary Tanguay covering the Celtics who seems to have been Grandfathered in to his role. The thing I don’t like most about all the money in sports is the influx in revenue for the reporters. Especially when you consider what they are saying. That’s what is unreasonable, not the players salaries etc. (that money is coming in, they deserve it more than the owners). I very much enjoy your perspective and am glad that you are not afraid to call out the media.
It is refreshing.
I felt the same way about the Pro Bowl. One can’t look at it like a normal football game; it’s just not. From the implications, to the player rotation. (Even the MLB All Star game affects the outcome of the season). Once that is accepted it can be quite an enjoyable game.
The matchups, the players (playing with rivals from around the league), and just seeing what wins out among top talent. This year I’d say it was the interception. I also saw what I’m sure is Belichick’s most jovial, and “open,” interview with Tony Siragusa. Fun to watch.
Not to sound melodramatic but I will be devastated if there is any kind of [noticeable*] work stoppage. I am also very much against the said 18 Game proposal.
*by noticeable I mean pretty much anything, though obviously I could get over it if it lasted say March-June
After that game none of the Modern day Great Quarterbacks have NOT lost a Super Bowl. (Thinking in terms of multiple SB winners, though I won’t exclude Peyton Manning). Since the “Free Agent Era” began.
What a balanced league, and a great sport.
Packers the first team to win the SB from the 6 seed since the Steelers did it. The Steelers were the first to ever do it when they did in ’06.
Wow, that’s true. I didn’t think about that.
It is a great sport…I will also be disappointed if there is any work stoppage. Let’s hope it all gets sorted out!
I hate news about the CBA. It is boring, it is not about the actual game, an if it drags on too long, everyone associated with the negotiations should be fired. Ok, that is off my chest. My question is about the coaches with the CBA. They seem to be stuck in the middle. Do players and owners see coaches more on the management or the labor side? I assume they all have disparate opinions on what should happen, but I am interested in what side of the argument they are perceived to be on.
I missed the Super Bowl, but caught many hours of ESPN coverage on my flight from ATL to PDX this morning. Sounds like a decent game with some truly terrible planning and music acts…
The coaches that I’ve spoken to about the CBA just want it to be resolved as soon as possible. I think most coaches are just trying to stay out of it and are hoping that both sides will reach an agreement. There is the coaching side of the NFL and the business management/contracts side. Most organizations try to keep the two sides very separate (as I think they should). From what I’ve heard, I don’t think the players and owners are involving the coaches.
very succint and nicely written. I do think the pro bowl is a bore and may in fact have a player injured unessarily. Spell check not availab le
Herb