Green Bay baby with broken collarbone named after Aaron Rodgers
A few hours before the Packers kicked off against the 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, baby 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 exactly what's kept the Packers' Rodgers on the sidelines since Nov. 4, dad Kyle Dryer was inspired and offered the suggestion.
The only question: 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 (sans Rodgers' 's'), 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 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.
Who knows, maybe he can even give little Aaron some quarterbacking tips. The kid could use them because, as Kyle Dryer said, "He'll be taking snaps."
