Packers QB Rodgers to visit Allen for KU-OSU

By Matt Tait     Jan 18, 2014

Former Super Bowl MVP and current Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers spent Friday in Lawrence, the precursor to today’s main event — No. 15 Kansas vs. No. 9 Oklahoma State at 3 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.

“This is kind of on the bucket list,” Rodgers said in an interview with the Journal-World after watching practice and shooting around in the old gym. “It just doesn’t usually work with my schedule to be able to get back here for a game.”

Rodgers, a nine-year pro who played two years of college ball at Cal, long has had a trip to KU’s historic hoops arena near the top of his to-do list, and a friend made this weekend’s trip possible. The credit for his interest in KU basketball belongs to one of the Packers’ trainers, who went to KU, but his appreciation for KU’s history and tradition go back to his days as a young sports fan.

“I’ve been able to go to (Boston’s) Fenway Park in baseball, I play at probably the most famous stadium (Lambeau Field) in the (NFL), and I thought it’d be fun to go to an arena like this that has so much history, a great coach and great support,” Rodgers said.

Asked for the most obscure bit of KU basketball knowledge he owns, Rodgers pointed to his love for his Bay-Area brother and former Jayhawk.

“I’m a big Drew Gooden fan,” Rodgers said, his face lighting up. “And it’s fun to look up in the rafters and see a bunch of the names I remember from when I was a kid. It’s fun to be at a place that has so much history.”

Rodgers spent the day dining downtown and then watched KU’s final practice in preparation for today’s Big 12 showdown with the Cowboys. After practice, he met the players and coaches and posed for pictures with the Jayhawks.

Rodgers said he was in Detroit in 2008, when KU knocked off Villanova and Davidson en route to the national championship.

“Those were some of the best games I’ve ever seen,” he said.

As for whether Rodgers, an all-pro quarterback who is regarded as one of the best in the game today, has any basketball skills, the Chico, Calif., native was honest in his self-assessment.

“I played a little,” he said, grinning. “But the height of my game was in eighth grade. I realized early on that I didn’t have a big future in basketball.”

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.