How Aaron Rodgers Became AROD

Growing up in Wisconsin leaves you with many iconic sports figures to idolize and look up too. From Brett Favre to Robin Yount to the big O, Oscar Robertson. Although these have become household names in the state of Wisconsin, I think one athlete takes the claim for the greatest athlete to ever come through this state, his name is Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is from Chico California and spent his upbringing involves in athletics such as baseball, basketball, and football. Coming from a small town like Chico, Rodgers didn’t earn a lot of looks from Division 1 schools. He attended Butte College, a junior college in Oroville, California in the year 2002. During his time at Butte, Rodgers used his skills and football IQ to lead them to a 10-1 record while also being named the conference MVP. Finally, Rodgers had earned his keep and transferred to the University of California at Berkeley. During his two years at Cal, Rodgers completed 63.8% of his passes, passed for 5469 yard with 43 touchdowns and only 13 interceptions. He even qualified as a Heisman Trophy finalist in his 2004 season at Berkeley. Rodgers two seasons at Cal made him a high recruit in the 2005 NFL draft which entailed his hometown team the San Francisco 49ers. In Rodgers mind it was a simple decision for the 49ers to make, a hometown kid playing for his hometown team, boy was he wrong. Rodgers draft day slowly went by as he sat in the draft room with his agent. The Green Bay Packers had the 24th pick in the 2005 draft and with Brett Favre in slow decline, they made their move to get his successor, Aaron Rodgers. Playing behind a legendary Quarterback like Brett Favre was not what Aaron had in mind but he was patient. Learning and taking the IQ of Brett for 3 years helped Aaron prepare for his moment which came against the Minnesota Viking in the 2008 NFL season where he led them to a win and his story began.