The Big Lead

Aaron Rodgers Told Sauce Gardner He's 'Built For This'

By Stephen Douglas

Miami Heat v New York Knicks - Game Two
Miami Heat v New York Knicks - Game Two / Elsa/GettyImages
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Aaron Rodgers will play football in New York this year. I mean, technically, he'll play in New Jersey, but it's very close to New York. Which means he'll have to deal with the New York media. Unlike when he was in the rural paradise of Green Bay, Wisconsin where they haven't even invented the printing press yet.

Rodgers famously avoided the media for more than a decade in Green Bay. Most people had never seen him with his helmet off or heard his voice until he walked into the Jets training facility in slow motion last week. Does he have thoughts on things? Maybe we'll find out this year when the dreaded NYC MEDIA gets a shot at him. It will certainly be interesting to see his reaction if his name ends up being used in a pun-centric headline on the back page of one of the two daily newspapers in town.

If you're a concerned Jets fan, don't worry. Rodgers did not burst into dust when confronted by a gaggle of New York-based newspeople at his introductory press conference. And he has spent the last week in public being photographed at sporting events. On Tuesday night he attended the New York Knicks playoff game against the Miami Heat with new teammate Sauce Gardner. During their night on the town, the pair shared an intimate conversation about playing in The Big Apple. Here's what Gardner told NFL.com:

"When it comes to playing in New York, you just got to tell yourself, 'I'm built for this.' Me and Aaron, we just caught ourselves yesterday telling each other, like, 'I'm built for this.' He'd say he's built for this. We just had that one-on-one moment where we were out eating dinner. That's all there really is. I was just trying to share with him my experience when it comes to playing in New York, and how my mentality was to have a mindset that I'm built for it and embrace the New York culture. Embrace the New York media. Embrace the New York fans. Embrace everything that comes with New York."

There you have it. Aaron Rodgers is built to embrace it. No further questions.

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