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Green Bay Packers legend Bart Starr praises QB Aaron Rodgers
By Mike Woods • Gannett Wisconsin Media • February 9, 2011
GRAND CHUTE — One is 77 years old, a gentleman's gentleman, who also happens to be an icon. Another is 27 and the hottest thing on the planet.
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And then we have the prodigal son, age 41, who one day will see the light — we hope — and be welcomed back home with open arms.
Green Bay may be the most fortunate football team in NFL history. The cradle of quarterbacks, NFL version.
Over the past 40 years, it has produced one quarterback in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Bart Starr, another whose bust has a reserved spot on the waiting list in Brett Favre and another whose career is on the right trajectory to earn his place among the all-time greats in Aaron Rodgers.
On Monday at Fox Valley Technical College, the first Packers quarterback to win Super Bowl MVP honors was in the house talking about the second. And if you didn't know any better, it was like hearing father talk about son.
"I really admired the play of Aaron," said Starr, who was at FVTC as part of the school's leadership series and attended Sunday's Super Bowl XLV in Dallas. "He knows how we feel about him. I've never seen anyone who is so into a game, is so well-prepared, so poised, so confident, so productive. Just an unbelievable performing guy out there on the field. It was just a joy to watch him."
For Starr, knowing he's no longer the sole member of the Packers' Super Bowl MVP Club made the victory over the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV even better.
"I loved it," he said of Rodgers. "He's a wonderful man. We were very pleased and thrilled for him. And my wife (Cherry) and I were doing high-fives all over the place."
We all know Rodgers is a smart guy, and not just because he went to Cal. He watches, he observes and from afar he understands what Starr means to the people of Green Bay and, more importantly, why.
"You're revered in Green Bay for not only how you play but how you carry yourself and I think Bart Starr is a prime example of that," Rodgers said last week in Dallas. "He's a great guy who I've gotten to know and, obviously, someone I'd love to model my career after."
He's off to a good start on the field. He has a 4-1 postseason record with a 13-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio and a QB rating of 112.6 and one ring.
Starr was 9-1 in the playoffs with a 15-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio and a QB rating of 104.8 and five rings.
Off the field, we've all been witnesses to how Rodgers has handled the messy transition from Favre, his humbleness and his understanding of the quarterback's role and the realities that come with it.
Rodgers talked of conversations he's had and e-mails he's exchanged with Starr, and how they've been a source of help and inspiration.
But Starr being Starr, he takes no credit.
"I haven't given him advice," he said. "I've just encouraged him and said how much we love him and appreciate what he's done for the team and encourage him to just keep it going, that kind of thing. He doesn't need any advice … We just wanted to chat with him and wish him well and let him know that we're out here rooting for him all the time."
Still, when told of Rodgers' words, the legend couldn't help but smile.
"Well, I'm honored he would say that because he has a lot more physical talent than I did," Starr said. "This man is something special. I was blessed to be with some very, very special people. Being blessed like that, I could get by with being a little less talented. But this guy is unreal. He can carry the team with him."
As the conversation turned to the future of the Packers, Starr did not hold back his emotions.
"You win one, it is really worth something," he said, then raised his voice slightly, clenched his fist and got up on his toes as he added, "And it also drives you to want to go for another one."
Starr made it clear his belief is the Packers are equipped to do just that. Perhaps because he knows the Packers have a leader who is very much in his own likeness.
Mike Woods writes for The Post-Crescent of Appleton
By Mike Woods • Gannett Wisconsin Media • February 9, 2011
GRAND CHUTE — One is 77 years old, a gentleman's gentleman, who also happens to be an icon. Another is 27 and the hottest thing on the planet.
Additional information
(Links will open in a new window)
♦ Sign up for Green Bay Packers text alerts.
And then we have the prodigal son, age 41, who one day will see the light — we hope — and be welcomed back home with open arms.
Green Bay may be the most fortunate football team in NFL history. The cradle of quarterbacks, NFL version.
Over the past 40 years, it has produced one quarterback in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Bart Starr, another whose bust has a reserved spot on the waiting list in Brett Favre and another whose career is on the right trajectory to earn his place among the all-time greats in Aaron Rodgers.
On Monday at Fox Valley Technical College, the first Packers quarterback to win Super Bowl MVP honors was in the house talking about the second. And if you didn't know any better, it was like hearing father talk about son.
"I really admired the play of Aaron," said Starr, who was at FVTC as part of the school's leadership series and attended Sunday's Super Bowl XLV in Dallas. "He knows how we feel about him. I've never seen anyone who is so into a game, is so well-prepared, so poised, so confident, so productive. Just an unbelievable performing guy out there on the field. It was just a joy to watch him."
For Starr, knowing he's no longer the sole member of the Packers' Super Bowl MVP Club made the victory over the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV even better.
"I loved it," he said of Rodgers. "He's a wonderful man. We were very pleased and thrilled for him. And my wife (Cherry) and I were doing high-fives all over the place."
We all know Rodgers is a smart guy, and not just because he went to Cal. He watches, he observes and from afar he understands what Starr means to the people of Green Bay and, more importantly, why.
"You're revered in Green Bay for not only how you play but how you carry yourself and I think Bart Starr is a prime example of that," Rodgers said last week in Dallas. "He's a great guy who I've gotten to know and, obviously, someone I'd love to model my career after."
He's off to a good start on the field. He has a 4-1 postseason record with a 13-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio and a QB rating of 112.6 and one ring.
Starr was 9-1 in the playoffs with a 15-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio and a QB rating of 104.8 and five rings.
Off the field, we've all been witnesses to how Rodgers has handled the messy transition from Favre, his humbleness and his understanding of the quarterback's role and the realities that come with it.
Rodgers talked of conversations he's had and e-mails he's exchanged with Starr, and how they've been a source of help and inspiration.
But Starr being Starr, he takes no credit.
"I haven't given him advice," he said. "I've just encouraged him and said how much we love him and appreciate what he's done for the team and encourage him to just keep it going, that kind of thing. He doesn't need any advice … We just wanted to chat with him and wish him well and let him know that we're out here rooting for him all the time."
Still, when told of Rodgers' words, the legend couldn't help but smile.
"Well, I'm honored he would say that because he has a lot more physical talent than I did," Starr said. "This man is something special. I was blessed to be with some very, very special people. Being blessed like that, I could get by with being a little less talented. But this guy is unreal. He can carry the team with him."
As the conversation turned to the future of the Packers, Starr did not hold back his emotions.
"You win one, it is really worth something," he said, then raised his voice slightly, clenched his fist and got up on his toes as he added, "And it also drives you to want to go for another one."
Starr made it clear his belief is the Packers are equipped to do just that. Perhaps because he knows the Packers have a leader who is very much in his own likeness.
Mike Woods writes for The Post-Crescent of Appleton
