Aaron Rodgers certainly made people sit up and take notice on Friday when he went on a 20-minute diatribe about why he didn’t get vaccinated against Covid-19, why he trusts podcaster Joe Rogan over scientists, and how the “woke mob” is the true bad guy in the vaccine debate. There were some very strong reactions from around the NFL world and on social media.
However, there was also a very specific subset of reactions that had nothing to do with his play in the NFL or his current status in quarantine.
This past year, Rodgers was one of the guest hosts in the running to replace Alex Trebek at Jeopardy! In fact, he was considered one of the frontrunners for a while before the job went to producer Mike Richards (which is a whole story unto itself). However, given the way that today’s interview recontextualized the way many people see Rodgers, and knowing that there was a strong call to replace Trebek with someone who had the same values about science and history, it seems like there’s a sigh of relief amongst Jeopardy! fans that Rodgers was not chosen.
Oh, and there were lots of Jeopardy!-related jokes, too.
Blood pressure lowered from just imagining the relief the “Jeopardy!” people have to feel at not having hired Aaron Rodgers
— Patrick Monahan (@pattymo) November 5, 2021
Aaron Rodgers really chose to trust Joe Rogan and ivermectin over medical professionals and the vaccine. Man, Jeopardy down bad.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) November 5, 2021
Aaron Rodgers didn’t get the Jeopardy gig but still managed to become a host
— Mohanad Elshieky (@MohanadElshieky) November 5, 2021
I don’t think Aaron Rodgers is going to be the new Jeopardy host
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) November 5, 2021
https://twitter.com/ericdharvey/status/1456001532047106049
So we dodged a real bullet when Aaron Rodgers didn't get Jeopardy, huh?
— Johnny Two Hats (@Johnny_2Hats) November 5, 2021
Rodgers will have next week off to ponder how things have gone for him since the Jeopardy! stint. There have been some pretty high highs and very low lows, and we suppose that which moments you consider to be which depends on how you see the world.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.