GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Little kids weren't the only ones breaking out their No. 12 jerseys for Aaron Rodgers Day.
Green Bay Packers offensive linemen Josh Sitton, T.J. Lang, Jeff Saturday, Marshall Newhouse and tight end Ryan Taylor showed up for Wednesday's practice wearing Rodgers jerseys. The Wisconsin state legislature had designated Dec. 12, 2012, as Aaron Rodgers Day in honor of the Super Bowl winner and last year's MVP, and students and workers throughout the state were encouraged to celebrate by wearing his jersey.
"We had some fun with it today," said Lang, who may or may not have been the ring leader for the caper. "He was a good sport about it. He just laughed. He got a kick out of it.
"We like to poke at him as much as we can -- there are not very many opportunities for that, for him being as sensitive as he usually is," Lang added. "So we had some fun with it."
The players wore their No. 12 jerseys for the first few minutes of practice, long enough for Rodgers -- and everyone else -- to notice. They then put their own back on.
"(I want) to thank my teammates for wearing my jersey for 20 minutes, and getting scared and taking it off," Rodgers said.
Rodgers doesn't normally like to be singled out, but said the proclamation was a "great honor." He was even happier that it turned into a fundraiser for the MACC Fund, his favorite charity. Fans were encouraged to donate $12 to the MACC Fund, which is dedicated to fighting childhood cancer.
"It is a special thing," he said. "This is something that will probably only happen once in my lifetime so I appreciate it."
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press
