Das Football-Rätsel: Aaron Rodgers

7.3 stars.

I was intrigued by this documentary. I wanted to see inside the mind of Aaron Rodgers, and I think this is probably what he believes. This is a look inside the mind of Aaron Rodgers from the perspective of Aaron Rodgers.

What do you expect? He is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. If he had three championship rings, half the people out there would say that he is the GOAT. But since he was unable to secure those special accolades that only a Super Bowl can provide, except the one time, he is immediately tossed aside, and put into the pile of other great quarterbacks, but not the best of the best, top five quarterbacks.

Arguably he is in the top five. Look at how many quarterbacks won MVP four times. All you need to do is look. Peyton Manning has five, AR is second with four. But if you count quarterback rating as the number one indicator, Aaron Rodgers by far is the best QB of all time. And yet, if you look at all the top 10 QB all time lists, he's not even in the top five. You can't ignore the stats. This guy is in the top 2 or 3 of all time, most definitely top 5.

Most likely his downfall is that when it came to the extreme pressure, he didn't quite have what Tom Brady and Joe Montana have. But if you look at his overall stats, he far surpasses them both. So where do you draw the line?

Ok, so he's arrogant. Most of them are, but because of the 2020 debacle, his image is tarnished forever? Credit where credit is due. They are almost all arrogant, it goes with the territory. You would be too, especially if you had difficulty sorting out real friends from fake ones. That sort of life makes a person arrogant. They have to work on getting past that difficulty. What we see as arrogance is merely a facade of an extremely talented person putting a protective bubble around himself.

The entire way through it shows why Aaron Rodgers is the goat of football. You get to go experience and get to know more of the greatest thrower of a football to exist. It's really amazing how they filmed it all. As someone who already loved Aaron Rodgers, it really just makes you appreciate his greatness even more. From his thought processs on go balls, to what he thinks on certain situations it really is fascinating. Things like this are what helps better the NFL and their product overall. Showcasing the greatest Quarterback ever like this is what I believe the league has needed for a long time.

Enigma is not the most objective documentary you will ever find (if you want more of that, read Ian O'Connor's "Out of the Darkness" tome). To a certain extent, it trades Aaron Rodgers' involvement for a little bit of narrative-shaping. But I was still enthralled by Enigma because it allows Rodgers to tell his story in his own words-not clickbait headlines-and he always gives a thoughtful accounting (whether you ascribe to the exact same beliefs being somewhat immaterial).

For a very basic overview, Enigma focuses on the "present" of Rodgers rehabbing from his 2023 Achilles tear as a member of the New York Jets. While seeing him navigate one of the quickest rehab processes for that injury in NFL history, doc directors Gotham Chopra & Liam Hughes flash back to relevant Rodgers' life moments-high school, college, NFL draft, Brett Favre relationship, Packers dominant QB ascendence-to allow him to tell his story. Supplementing Rodgers' own thoughts are interview snippets from the likes of Mike McCarthy, David Bakhtiari, Matt LaFleur, Davante Adams, Nathaniel Hackett, Brett Favre, Matt Flynn, and many others who have/had personal or professional relationships with Aaron.

If you only know Rodgers as "the guy who does psychedelics and sits in darkness", the first thing that will immediately "pop" in this doc is how physically talented at football Rodgers is and how much adversity he battled to get to where he is from a dominance perspective. He was smaller-than-average, he wasn't recruited by a major college, he had the most embarrassing draft day in NFL history, Favre basically shunned him, and he himself was shown the Green Bay exit a little before his time. But through all that, Rodgers developed an intense confidence/focus that allowed him to become one of the best NFL quarterbacks of all-time.

Of course, the more sensitive topics are discussed here as well: family foibles, darkness retreats, ayahuasca use, vaccine stances, and political involvements. Like anywhere else in life, I can't promise you'll like-or even respect, in some cases-Aaron's stance or inclusion within these topics. But at very least you will be hearing it "straight from the horse's mouth", and there is a lot of value to that. Regardless of what you think about Rodgers' life choices, his thought processes on those issues have clearly been given much thought and help him work through life issues as a quasi-celebrity. In a way that many athletes simply cannot, Rodgers brings a thoughtfulness, curiosity, and open-mindedness to his personal journeys.

I completely understand how and why Enigma could be a little "triggering" in the current age of extreme political/societal sensitivity. You likely won't agree with everything Rodgers has to say here. But hearing those thoughts straight from the source rather than twisted/utilized by clickbait sites or sports "talking heads" is refreshing and may soften the image of Rodgers you currently harbor in your mind. At very least, Enigma represents a chance for him to tell "his side of the story" in relatively unfiltered fashion.

Anyone who truly embodies change, enlightenment or openness would never intentionally broadcast it to the world. Especially not through a highly curated set of footage to shape their personal image.

I find Rodger's to be incredibly self centered and disillusioned in how he views the world. This docuseries a glorified PR stunt.

Go truly meditate and discover yourself and you'll find so much peace. You also won't feel the need to convince everyone it happened to you.

If you're looking for any true rationale into where the drama came from, you'll simply find a weak attempt at showcasing why everyone else is wrong.

Not much of an enigma here. A remarkably talented athlete explaining how he came to be a really strange man. The show is well done and worth watching if you're a football fan or a Bobby Kennedy Jr. Anti-vaccination whack job. Rodgers is a great quarterback and he did indeed overcome a lot of obstacles to become the NFL Hall of Fame player he will be in the not too distant future. At the same time, he is very odd. He doesn't appear to have many friends outside of his rehab team, drug cult pals and kindred spirit RFK Jr. Still, his story is interesting and a constant reminder that you really never know what's going on in another person's head.