According to Betteridge’s Law of Headlines, “any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word ‘no.'” The headline of this column is no exception.
A pervasive mentality among Green Bay Packers fans (and observers) is that any season with Aaron Rodgers that does not culminate with a Super Bowl win is a season gone to waste. After all, Rodgers is a two-time MVP and arguably the best quarterback in the NFL, so for him end his career with one measly title would be a huge disappointment. While I don’t entirely disagree with this sentiment, it greatly misses the point of being a sports fan.
A fun question to ponder is this: would your rather have the Packers make the playoffs for ten consecutive seasons and never win a Super Bowl, or would your rather have them win one Super Bowl and miss the playoffs for the next nine seasons? This is an easy question for me because I would always rather make the playoffs and not win a Super Bowl. In this scenario I would be watching a good-to-great football team for ten years versus a mediocre-at-best team for nine seasons. First and foremost I watch football to be entertained, so anything else is a bonus. This leads me back to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
Since Ted Thompson became General Manager in 2005 the Packers have only missed the playoffs three times – two of them being at the start of his tenure. With Thompson running the show the Packers have consistently been one of the most entertaining teams in the NFL, in no small part because of the brilliance of Rodgers. Though you can’t say the Packers have a Vince Lombardi-style dynasty, if you enjoy watching football for the sake of watching football the past eleven seasons (and counting!) have been a golden age.
With the 2016 Packers season mere days from commencement, don’t worry that Aaron Rodgers’ “window is closing” or think that the season will be an abject failure if Lombardi Trophy #5 does not make it’s way to Green Bay. Instead get excited about a feisty defense, the return of Jordy Nelson, and (barring injuries) another season of high-octane offense. Enjoy it now because one day – when the Packers’ streak of quarterback fortune ends – we’ll think about those bygone teams that were always a threat to score 50 points and remember how good we had it. Indeed, being a football fan does not get much better than this.
**Editor’s Note: Since this post was written, the Green Bay Packers won their season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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