Farewell, Aaron Rodgers: Many Packers and Vikings fans seem ready to move on from No. 12
MINNEAPOLIS – There are football fans on both sides of the Minnesota-Wisconsin border ready for longtime Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to move on.
Rodgers said Wednesday he wants to play for the New York Jets after 18 seasons with the Packers.
It's been enough time to make some enemies out of Vikings fans.
"I hate the guy," said Kieran Thomson. "Just born into it."
Packer-backers are saying their goodbyes to the icon.
"He was the perfect quarterback after Favre left," said Ryan Nelson.
Dot Lindholm, a longtime Vikings fan, laughed as she said maybe her team will have a better chance at beating Green Bay now.
"[They] had two great guys," said Lionel Figueroa, a Vikings fan. "You had Favre and now you have Rodgers, and now it's time for them to start suffering."
But even Rodgers' biggest fans seem to be over the yearly drama of whether he'll come back the next season.
"The 'will he-won't he' is getting old I think a little bit, but good for him to move on and good for the Packers to move on," said Brandon Botsford, who said he'll always love Rodgers.
Steve Rosauer said he's looking forward to seeing what his team's next quarterback will do.
But Rodgers will always be remembered, for who he's been on and off the field.
"He's a little bit of a basket case I think," said Andrew Ferguson, a Vikings fan. "He's very good at what he does. He's had his times where he definitely took care of the Vikings."
Rodgers is 17-11-1 in his career against the Vikings and 24-5 against the Bears.
"He's given us I feel like everything he's been able to give us, so I got to just respect him for that. He's a winner," said Daniel Hammer, a Packers fan.