For a moment it was as if COVID-19 had come and gone.  Thousands of college students filled band-filled stadiums, beer flowed during massive-sized tailgate parties, and Sundays returned to crowded gatherings in musty man caves.

True, some venues required masks and others proof of vaccination, but spectators were adapting and sports were officially back.  If sports now meant sitting inches from strangers rather than six-feet or pulling my mask down to drink a beer, I was fine with that.

Then Aaron Rodgers brought it all back.

Green Bay’s star quarterback stirred up plenty of controversy last week when it was announced that Rodgers had contracted COVID-19 despite the public’s understanding that Rodgers was fully vaccinated.  In an earlier press conference, when the Super Bowl winning quarterback was asked whether he had or had not been vaccinated according to NFL protocols, Rodgers replied, “Yes, I’ve been immunized.”

I’ll take SCIENTIFIC TERMINOLOGY for $500, Aaron.

After contracting COVID-19 information leaked that Rodgers was not considered vaccinated by NFL standards, and that Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers had violated league rules.  Rodgers later explained that he had used an “alternative method” to combat the virus but failed to elaborate.

• Immunity is defined as the ability of the body to defend itself from foreign bodies. If by foreign bodies Rodgers meant the Kansas City Chiefs defensive line, and defend by missing the game entirely, he was correct.
• Apparently, Rodgers was in line to get his vaccination shot at the local CVS earlier in the season, but inevitably decided to pass.
• If only Rodgers would have paid attention to college football where the University of California at Berkeley Bears had to postpone their game against USC when more than 40 staff and players tested positive. Wait?  Didn’t Rodgers attend Cal-Berkeley?
• If Rodgers thinks like many, that not getting vaccinated doesn’t affect those around him, I completely disagree. I was forced to watch Jordan Love last Sunday!

• On a positive note (pun intended), no one has been penalized all season for grabbing Rodgers’ facemask.
• Enough about Rodgers. COVID-19 also sidelined Denver’s offensive coordinator, Pat Shurmur on Sunday. Symptoms included shortness of breath, mild confusion, and overall lethargy.  Oh, not Shurmur, he’s doing fine.  I’m talking about the football team.
• If you don’t think that COVID-19 is such a big deal anymore, tell that to Rodgers, Nick Chubb, Lamar Jackson, Devonte Adams, Noah Fant, Saquon Barkley, and my entire Fantasy Football team.
• I miss the days when my Fantasy running back simply missed a game due to a torn ACL.
• Speaking of torn ACLs. Odell Beckham Jr. seemed to have caught a break both figuratively and literally when Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Robert Woods was announced lost for the season.
• A new Federal Mandate requiring proof of vaccination for indoor venues with over 100 people may stir up some controversy in NFL stadiums like Dallas, Houston, and New Orleans. Did I say 100 people?  Detroit Lions, don’t worry about it.
• Ties are quite the rarity in the NFL. But Mason Rudolph, starting at quarterback for Ben Roethlisberger who is out with COVID-19, versus the Detroit Lions sounds like a tie to me.
• The NFL isn’t the only professional sports league with COVID-19 issues. Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving has yet to play a game this season due to his reluctance to get vaccinated and the rules within the state of New York and the NBA.  That puts Irving on my All-No-Show-Team of Kyrie at the point, Klay Thompson at shooting guard, Kawhi Leonard at small forward, Zion Williamson at power forward, and Ben Simmons down low.  All five have yet to play this season.
• Zion’s team has other issues as well as the NBA reached late stages in its investigation on player tampering. The Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, and New Orleans Pelicans are but three of teams accused of potential violations while recruiting players from other teams before specific timelines.  The New Orleans Pelicans (2-12)?  Case dismissed.
• The other worrisome issue regarding COVID-19 are the reported lingering side effects, especially difficulty in thinking. Maybe that explains Jon Gruden suing the NFL and Roger Goodell, or the College Football Playoff Selection Committee that placed Michigan over Michigan State in the rankings.
• The College Football Playoff Selection Committee did do one thing right when they rejected a plan to expand the current 4-team playoff tournament into a 12-game one. 12 games?  Meaning after the first round of games they’d be down to six teams?  And after round two they’d be down to three teams?  And after round three they’d be down to….whoops.

• Finally, to paraphrase the words of Aaron Rogers. Five letters here just for everybody out there in Packer-land (and everywhere else). R-E-V-A-X.

Images via npr.org, abc7chicago.com, footballoutsiders.com, bleacherreport.com, marca.com, twitter.com

Alan Tapley The Athletic Supporter

Alan Tapley is an educator, author, and blogger who has lived just outside of Boulder for the last twenty years.  His published work includes two novels, two children’s books, a series of cartoons in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and multiple sports related articles. His love for family and the state of Colorado is only matched by one thing, his passion for sports.  The first baseball game he ever attended was at Wrigley Field, before there were lights.  At the final Bronco game at the old Mile High, he allegedly cut out a piece of his seat in the South stands.  But regardless of being here for the Avalanche’s last Stanley Cup, the Rockies only World Series appearance, and all the Broncos’ Super Bowl Victories, his wife never fails to remind him that he wasn’t at the University of Colorado in 1990, like she was.  The year the Buffs football team won the National Championship