On second thought, I’ll just show you - here’s real adversity and how a good quarterback handles it:
http://community.sportsbubbler.com/forums/p/93095/1081015.aspx
Two years ago, as Green Bay’s first new quarterback in 16 years, Rodgers thought the only way to handle angry fans who still wanted No. 4 at the helm was to speak up but not out, to make people laugh and to take the verbal sacks.
And he heard those boos at that first Favre-less practice in 2008, the sarcastic rooting for the New York Jets, the hecklers every time he wound up.
And he felt those boos during Family Night, when he made his official debut as the Packers’ starting quarterback at Lambeau Field.
And his jaw dropped at the kid who cussed at him.
He was often aware of the nasty comments on local and national blogs.
He found his truck keyed at Miller Park.
He read derogatory comments written on his driveway (although we must chuckle at that because it was written in sidewalk chalk).
But it was no joke when he and former teammate Ruvell Martin were harassed at a gas station.
The letters, well, there were too many to count.
“It was ugly,” Packers receiver Greg Jennings said. "They didn’t always mean harm. But it was very harmful, what they were doing.
"I remember this one lady saying, ‘I’m a Favre fan. I don’t dislike Aaron; I just don’t like the fact that he’s our quarterback.’
“I was like, are you serious right now? This guy hasn’t done anything! He didn’t ask to be here. He didn’t ask to get drafted by the Packers. He didn’t ask to be behind a future Hall of Famer. He didn’t ask Brett to leave.”
“I just got to a point where I couldn’t not do something about it. It hurts when I open my car door and a guy yells ‘F you’ to me. You just hold all that in, and I have a hard time holding all that in.”
Buoyed by their support and mentally strong already after a lifetime of being overlooked, Rodgers put up a front for the public. He said most of the right things. He threw for 4,000 yards. He fought off injury. He played well and faced his critics.
But remember the grunge hair? No accident. Everything Rodgers does, even down to his physical appearance, has a purpose and so did that beach-bum look.
“I don’t take myself too seriously. I grow my hair out, grow a mustache in training camp. It’s for comic relief,” Rodgers said.
It was, in part, a way to get all the guys on the team to at least laugh with him and maybe that would lead to unity.
“Well that’s my secret. It’s not going to be a secret anymore obviously,” Rodgers said. "There’s not many things that I do that aren’t thought out. I’m not just a whimsical person. If more people are going to talk about my mustache than Brett Favre in 2008, that’s a win for me. It’s not like I just woke up one day, ‘Oh, I am going to do this.’
Last year, the 11-5 Packers went to the playoffs and Rodgers played brilliantly. He had once vowed to turn the Family Night boos into cheers, and he did it.
That’s a real NFL quarterback, Rimbo. Vince Young is not one.
