It's Mr. Rodgers' neighborhood now

That would be Aaron Rodgers, of course. The new starting QB for the Green Bay Packers. The Favre era has sadly and badly ended for both Brett and the Packers organization. But with every end comes a beginning (is that too New Agey for this discussion?).

The Aaron Rodgers era officially (pre-season version anyway) begins against the Bengals in Green Bay tonight at 7 p.m. Central time. The game will be carried on ESPN as well as local TV and radio channels in the Wisconsin market.

Well, perhaps "era" might be a bit of a stretch. If Rodgers makes it 10 years as the starter -- heck, five years -- that might be considered an "era." Right now, it's game number one, and not even the regular season number one. But it's a start. Of course, Rodgers will only play one or two quarters before giving way to his two rookie backups, who are having a battle of their own in training camp to see who will claim the #2 spot. Initially, it was almost a certainty that would be Brian Brohm. But apparently, seventh-rounder Matt Flynn has begun to tighten the game and give coaches something to think about, according to reports.

Anyway, back to our main man. Check out this story for more.

Go Pack Go!!!

It's not his fault

Regrettably some fans of Brett -- supposedly also Packers fans -- have taken it upon themselves to boo, deride and even curse at Rodgers for no other reason that he happens to be the poor shlub who has to try to replace a legend. Not to mention the fact that he had nothing personally to do with any of the Favre mess. In fact, Rodgers stayed well out of the fray despite what also must have been a bit of a trying time for him personally.

Green Bay Press-Gazette sports reporter Mike Vandermause has written a great column on this sad situation with some fans entitled, "Too bad some fans aren't as classy as Rodgers." All Packer fans should read this. And if you are angry or resentful at Aaron Rodgers just because he's now "the guy," guess what? He is the guy now. He is the guy that will either help guide this team to the playoffs or not. He is the guy that we now must encourage and cheer for. Why boo a player for the mere fact that it's now his time to play? If you are a true Packer fan, you know what? Rodgers was right in that Sports Illustrated story: get on board or shut up. The train has left the station. Deal with it. You can still root for Brett and the Jets. Get an NFL TV package and watch every single Jets game if you must. The better Brett and the Jets do, the higher the draft pick the Packers will get because of it. The Jets will be this writer's second favorite team this season.

But we need to support the Packers. And that means especially supporting Aaron Rodgers. His teammates do. Now we need to as well.

Go Aaron Go!!!