Aaron Rodgers has officially received his first boos since joining the Pittsburgh Steelers, but those jeers had nothing to do with the 41-year-old quarterback’s performance during the first week of training camp.
Rodgers was briefly booed prior to Wednesday’s practice during his live appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” after McAfree referenced Rodgers’ history of being on successful teams. McAfee specifically referenced Rodgers’ lone Super Bowl win as a member of the Green Bay Packers.
“Yeah, we beat the Steelers,” Rodgers said, a comment that drew some boos from the crowd at Saint Vincent College, the site of Steelers training camp. Several fans also chanted, “F— the Packers!” in a response to Rodgers’ comments.
While he was merely stating a fact, Rodgers’ decision to openly gloat about his Super Bowl win over Pittsburgh was bold, especially when you consider the passionate fan base and their reverence for their Super Bowl teams, specially those 2000s squads.
Those Steelers teams consisted of several franchise icons that included Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu, future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, former Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison and Super Bowl XL MVP Hines Ward. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has said that he feels that Ward would be in the Hall of Fame had the Steelers defeated Rodgers’ Packers in Super Bowl XLV.
Pittsburgh entered that game trying to become only the fifth team in league history to win at least three Super Bowls over a six-year span. Instead, the Steelers lost in the Super Bowl for only the second time in eight trips to the big game. The biggest reason for Pittsburgh’s loss was the play of Rodgers, won was named the game’s MVP after throwing for 304 yards and three touchdowns against the Steelers’ No. 1 ranked defense.
Flash forward 15 years, and Rodgers is trying to become the first quarterback in history to lead a team to a Super Bowl that he had previously faced in the big game. And while Steelers fans are hoping that Rodgers is able to do that, they would rather not be reminded of the Super Bowl win Rodgers did win at Pittsburgh’s expense.
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