I enjoyed a good laugh when I read the other morning Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive year.
I have nothing against Rodgers, and considering he posted 37 touchdowns against only one interception last season, he seems to be as worthy of the award as anyone else. In fact, Rodgers received 39 votes for MVP while Tampa Bay's Tom Brady earned 10 votes, according to an ESPN report.
Clearly those who vote on the award believed Rodgers earned it. And the irony of Rodgers winning the award, after all the intense criticism he received in 2021, made me laugh.
Information (I can't call it news) flows so rapidly these days that we hardly have time to fully process yesterday's controversy before the headlines serve up something new to make us fighting mad.
Why, only a few months ago sports writers and commentators were telling us Rodgers was a rotten egg because he ducked the Packers organization during much of the previous off-season. And they told us he was a lying scoundrel that ought to be driven from the league for violating the NFL's Covid-19 guidelines.
More than a few reporters were nearly rabid in their words about Rodgers. One writer suggested his actions put every NFL player at risk of death by C-19.
I don't follow the NFL closely so the intense views puzzled me, and seemed over the top. Rodgers certainly had some reporters, commentators and fans worked up, but most people seemed unmoved, willing to judge him based on his on-field performance rather than what he did off the field.
I think that's how it should be with professional sports, minus some obvious exceptions.
And it appears many others agree. All the fuss about Rodgers that aired in recent months seemed in the end to be more smoke than fire. And that's often how it goes these days.
-- Thanks for reading. Comments and questions are always welcome. Post them here, or send an email to kbotterman@gmail.com.
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