A few hours before the Packers kicked off against the New York Giants
in East Rutherford, N.J., on Sunday, Aaron Rodger was nearly a thousand miles
away, in a Green Bay hospital with a broken left collarbone, crying like a
baby.
That's because he is a baby, little Aaron Rodger Dryer, born
Sunday at 12:20 p.m. to Packer-fan parents and named for the star quarterback
currently nursing the same injury. And at 8 pounds, he's got prototypical-baby
size to one day be a future football player, too.
According to a Green Bay Press Gazette story, little Aaron
was born a couple of weeks early, and his parents hadn't decided on a name. But
when it was revealed that he had a break in his left collarbone, which is
the exact injury that has kept the Packers' Rodgers on the sidelines since Nov. 4, dad
Kyle Dryer was inspired and offered the suggestion.
But would Mom approve of such a charmingly cheeseheaded
tribute?
"I said, 'That's not a bad name,' " remembered
mother Kristal Tyczkowski, little Aaron's mother. "That's when we
knew."
And thus a namesake (although without Rodgers' 's', as
the parents felt Rodger sounded better as a middle name), along with a baby, was born. By Tuesday, the
family, which includes 4-year-old Madysen and 11-month-old Carl, had returned
to its Green Bay home.
Broken collarbones are common among newborns, according to
the doctor that delivered little Aaron, and they usually heal quickly. The
Packers, along with fans like Kyle Dryer and Kristal Tyczkowski, are hoping
Rodgers' injury does likewise.
Since Rodgers got hurt on the first drive against Chicago in
Week 9, Green Bay has lost three games in a row and fallen out of first place
in the NFC North. Poor quarterback play from the now-cut Seneca Wallace and
practice-squad-player-turned-starter Scott Tolzien, a former University of
Wisconsin star, has plagued the Packers, along with struggles on defense.
Rodgers has not been officially ruled out of Sunday's game
against the Minnesota Vikings, though coach Mike McCarthy has already announced Tolzien
will make his second straight start. Initially, it was announced Rodgers would
miss three to six weeks with the collarbone injury; as of Wednesday, he's been
out 16 days.
No word yet on what the unwittingly eponymous quarterback
thought of his newborn namesake or their green-and-gold-mad parents. But it's a
good bet that Rodgers, who's very active in local Wisconsin communities, will
be paying a visit to the family.
