Packers' Aaron Rodgers has a weird sense of humor
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is very good at playing football. Telling jokes? Well, that's another story.
"His jokes are what we call 'Algebra 2,'" Miami Dolphins offensive lineman and former Packers teammate Daryn Colledge told Kevin Clark of the Wall Street Journal. "I think a lot of people don't get it."
Clark offers this example: During a recent a team meeting, Rodgers showed a photo of a historical American figure and asked rookie center Corey Linsley to identify him. The purpose of the drill was lost on Linsley, but he correctly identified the figure as John F. Kennedy.
"What's his middle name?" Rodgers asked.
"I don't know," Linsley replied. "Frederick?"
Half the room giggled while the other half sat there confused. Linsley and his teammates found the situation weird.
Rodgers also has a habit of quoting "The Princess Bride," which is often lost on his younger teammates. His favorite line to recite is, "Let me put it this way. Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates? Morons."
"They probably don't get the reference, no," Rodgers admitted.
"He does make jokes that fall on deaf ears," fullback John Kuhn said. "But that's what happens when you make a lot of jokes."
According to teammates, during pregame walkthroughs, Rodgers will often stare at players with an angry expression on his face until they become concerned. He then laughs.
"It takes a really long time to figure it out," Linsley said of Rodgers' humor.
During midweek meetings, Rodgers presents an award for the "Man of the Week," during which he displays less-than-flattering images of his teammates on the video board for all to see.
"He spends a lot of time on the Internet, trying to find anything," tight end Andrew Quarless said.
But according to offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga, nothing is as odd as the Saturday meetings Rodgers runs with the offense.
"He has these little gigs every Saturday, he has 10 to 15 minutes to do whatever he wants," Bulaga said.
During one of these meetings, Rodgers started showing what he had determined to be the greatest commercials of the year, Bulaga told Clark. Turns out, it was an elaborate setup to show the cellphone commercial Bulaga had done with head coach Mike McCarthy.
Even opponents are aware of Rodgers' strange sense of humor. Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman Michael Johnson said he is so confused by Rodgers' on-field demeanor that he's compared him to Clive Owen's mysterious character in the movie "Inside Man."
"There is no self-doubt in (Rodgers)," Bulaga said.