Aaron Rodgers is not an old man. At 31, the MVP favorite is very much in the prime of his career.
But 31 is practically ancient on the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers is actually the third-oldest player on the team. That age gap, along with Rodgers' desert dry sense of humor, often leaves teammates confounded.
In Kevin Clark's great piece in The Wall Street Journal, we get a few examples of Rodgers' comedy material, which doesn't always land at Packers headquarters. Rodgers doesn't alienate himself with his bits, in fact, teammates told Clark that Rodgers' willingness to bomb speaks to his easy confidence and ever-relaxed demeanor.
"He does make jokes that fall on deaf ears," said fullback John Kuhn. "But that's what happens when you make a lot of jokes."
"His jokes are what we call 'Algebra 2,' " said former Packers teammate Daryn Colledge. "I think a lot of people don't get it."
Our favorite takeaway is Rodgers' proclivity to blurt out lines from the 1987 romantic comedy classic The Princess Bride. Many of Rodgers' teammates weren't even born when Cary Elwes was stealing Robin Wright's heart, but that reality doesn't seem to matter to the quarterback.
Rodgers' favorite Princess Bride line comes from the character Vizzini: "Let me put it this way. Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates? Morons."
"They probably don't get the reference, no," Rodgers concedes.
More comedy gold from No. 12:
» During midweek meetings, Rodgers hands out a "Man of the Week" award. This is done solely so Rodgers can expose an unflattering photo of a teammate he's found on Google.
» Rodgers has had endless fun at the expense of backup quarterback Matt Flynn, who went viral after being hoisted up on teammates' shoulders at a Pearl Jam concert. (Flynn seems a little sensitive about the topic.)
» During one team meeting, Rodgers displayed an image of John F. Kennedy and asked rookie center Corey Linsley to identify the famous political figure. When Linsley correctly named the former president, Rodgers stumped his teammate by asking what Kennedy's middle initial stood for. "I don't know," Linsley said. "Frederick?"
» Rodgers interrupted a meeting to share the best commercials of the year. It was all a meandering setup to share a local TV commercial starring offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga and coach Mike McCarthy.
» During pregame walk-throughs, Rodgers will give select teammates a disgusted look and hold it until they ask him if everything is OK. Once they do, Rogers busts out in a laugh.
Everybody knows a guy who does that move. But it must be surreal when it comes from the greatest quarterback on the planet.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast recaps every Wild Card game and looks ahead to the Divisional Round. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
