Life is looking pretty good for the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers. The team still looks like it is going to have a solid passing game even though it lost Greg Jennings. The running game appears set to be the best Lambeau Field has seen in years. He got paid with his new contract--yeah, lit doesn't suck to be Aaron Rodgers.
However, it is not all a bed of roses for Rodgers. There are things like the constant media presence that can be a serious imposition and distraction. That's why he says he feels for Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel and the mess he is going through.
Rodgers talked to SI's Peter King recently and in King's latest post to his new blog the Monday Morning Quarterback (good article; read it after you read mine) he said this:
“I love our game, but to me, there’s too much access. It’s way over the top. From the camera in the locker room, from the center being miked, to all the attention … Everybody’s watching. Everybody’s listening. And social media: If I’m out, more than likely, there’s going to be a camera on me, and a picture or video’s going to show up somewhere.
“I feel bad for Johnny Manziel. I mean, he’s made some decisions … I just think, he’s a 20-year-old kid, and I wish he could just live like a 20-year-old.
“Ten years ago, when I was in college, nobody was following anyone around. I could walk around campus [at Cal] and no one knew who I was. No Twitter. Facebook was just starting. I didn’t even know what my Berkeley.edu address was. I couldn’t get a Facebook page. So that’s how things have changed.
“I don’t do Instagram. I don’t want people to know where I am.”Rodgers has a point. The world has changed dramatically for athletes and fans just in the short time that he has been in the NFL.
Social media and the internet are driven by an ever present thirst for more when it comes to our favorite athletes and celebrities. From a fan's standpoint it is nice to actually have that kind of access, but too often people forget that the object of their affection does not owe them anything. That's when a good thing turns bad.
Of course it is no excuse for poor decisions, but when a person is trying to grow up under the spotlight errors that would be learning moments (like they are for non-famous people) become embarrassing scandals.
Is it right? No. Is it the world we no live in? Absolutely.
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