FanHouse

And now, a few words from Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers quarterback, former mullet lover, and the guy who may or may not have been correctly quoted when he told Sports Illustrated that fans need to "get on board now or keep their mouths shut":

"I do care deeply about the fans and I think anybody who has been to training camp and sees I'm a lot of times the last one out signing autographs sees I care about the fans, I care about their opinions," said Rodgers. "Everybody wants the fans to care for them and to pull for them and I am no different. That's why the thing that would bother me the most would be if anybody would be offended by the things that were stated because I do care about the fans."

This was Rodgers' response to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Lori Nickel when asked about the response to SI. Oddly, he "would neither defend nor dispute" whether he actually made the comment in question, but whatever, apparently, he really loves the fans, even though, you know, he thinks they should shut their pie holes (maybe).

And just like, say, a senator running for president who is asked to clarify previous remarks that contradict a current stance on a particular issue, Rodgers points to his list of fan-related deeds as evidence that he loves the little people: "I think my record as far as the time I spend with the fans, and more importantly the stuff I do in the community, kind of speaks for itself..."

Check and mate. Or something.

Rodgers adds that he'd be pretty disappointed if "in this whole thing ... anybody is offended by the stuff I say because I think my track record speaks for itself in the way I feel about the fans."

I actually believe Rodgers; maybe it's his folksy demeanor, or his mix of Northern California charm and Midwestern sensibilities. He seems humble enough, and appears to understand the enormity of his undertaking, which would make his original alleged comments out of character. And dumb. But either way, I'm willing to cut the guy some slack; he's under a lot of pressure.