Aaron Rodgers acquired a tattoo final week. Have a look.
Ever for the reason that nice “retirement” fiasco of 2020, Rodgers has been below the microscope for every and all the pieces he does. That’s to not say this consideration has been unwarranted. Statistically talking, Rodgers is among the top-five best quarterbacks to ever play the sport. He has additionally been prominently within the public eye after his high-profile trysts with Danica Patrick, Olivia Munn, and, most just lately, Shailene Woodley. His life is a lightning rod for clicks from NFL followers nationwide.
So, clearly, making a lifelong dedication to a forearm tattoo isn’t one thing that’s going to slide below the radar. The web was ablaze with takes on this tattoo and what it might probably imply. Take one other take a look at the picture above, and also you’ll see that the tattoo has many intricacies, none of that are clearly explicable to anyone particular person. There are constellations, a few lions, a fan, an ocean, some summary crosshairs, and another geometric designs that add to the general aesthetic worth.
Rodgers stated on his Instagram publish that his tattoo has “a deep and significant story and connection.” I get it. That’s type of the preliminary stigma with tattoos — they must imply one thing. In any other case, they’re just a few random junk in your physique that you just’re completely going to remorse later in life. That is the tattoo knowledge that’s crushed into teenagers from individuals too previous to know the enchantment.
I acquired my first tattoo once I was 18, and boy howdy was it an entire amalgamation of nonsense. Each single a part of it needed to imply one thing to me. It was a pair of drumsticks, my grandma’s initials, a treble clef, and the violin music for the “Tune of Storms” from The Legend of Zelda wrapped round my arm. It took some time earlier than I lastly admitted that it seemed silly. Folks change. I acquired it coated up 5 years later.
Finally, the conclusion I got here to is that this: The No. 1 one who ought to approve of any tattoo is the particular person getting it. The message is corny, certain, however it additionally doesn’t must be overcomplicated. It harms the inventive course of when individuals are pigeon-holed into a particular archetype of pondering. If Rodgers acquired a tattoo which means one thing to him and that he thinks is cool, then by all means he as a person needs to be entitled to that satisfaction, free from ridicule.
Nevertheless, Rodgers completely deserves to get clowned for this tattoo. Not for the tattoo itself, what the tattoo represents, or its connection to him, however the context by means of which he has used this newfound pseudo-intellectual persona to troll the general public.
We aren’t too far faraway from the notorious “I’ve been immunized” line, which was deliberately utilized by Rodgers to each save face and intentionally mislead NFL followers as he refused to get a scientifically confirmed vaccination towards COVID-19. Rodgers then proceeded to gaslight those that believed he was vaccinated, unfold misinformation in regards to the effectiveness of vaccines, and falsely reward the functions of ivermectin, a de-wormer used for cattle and livestock. A public endorsement of fellow conspiracist Joe Rogan all however ensured the autumn of Rodgers from a relatable franchise pillar to that of a kooky celeb who seems down on the peasants under him.
There’s a distinct irony in regards to the individuals who nonetheless go to bat for Rodgers, as these are the individuals he’s deliberately making an attempt to deceive. Rodgers boasted on The Pat McAfee Present about how he by no means truly learn Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand after advocating for it on stay TV the night time earlier than. Rodgers has additionally claimed that individuals shouldn’t be seeking to professional athletes for recommendation and that they don’t seem to be pillars of knowledge that needs to be relied upon to affect life selections, all whereas concurrently utilizing his platform to share his worldview. He’s not silly. Rodgers is aware of he has the world on a string, and he’s utilizing that energy to govern those that nonetheless take heed to all the pieces he says.
That being stated, it’s honest to make the assertion that Rodgers acquired an advanced, considerably summary tattoo as a result of he knew that it might fire up consideration. That is precisely the kind of sociopathic conduct typical of the most recent model of Rodgers. It retains him within the headlines throughout the offseason, and permits him to proceed donning the cloak of thriller that boldly proclaims, I do know one thing that you just don’t, and that sucks for you.
All people is entitled to their very own opinions. What’s changing into more and more misplaced, nonetheless, is the notion that individuals should stay with the implications of their very own actions. Regardless of how a lot he tries to run from it, Rodgers has earned the darkish cloud that now follows him all through the twilight of his NFL profession. No quantity of successes and holier-than-thou media periods will take away from the self-sabotaging and egocentric, divisive rhetoric he has spewed for the higher a part of the final three seasons. Rodgers has misplaced an excessive amount of assist, and that has been fully self-wrought.
The tattoo is cool. Let’s not get it twisted. It will be important, although, to not gloss over the particular person behind it and the context for getting it on the time that he did. It’s a visible manifestation of willful deceit, which is an apropos first tattoo for the reigning NFL MVP to get.
