For Pete's Sake, Packers QB Aaron Rodgers Isn't A Bad Guy

Chicago IL

15 October, 2021

5:52 PM

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CHICAGO — Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers doesn't harbor the anger toward Chicago that most of this city's residents have for the infamous Bear-beater. An Arlington Heights high school sophomore may be a big part of the reason why. Here's the thing. Bears fan Pete Nicoll isn't a fan of the Packers star because, well, he's Aaron freaking Rodgers. But just because he doesn't like him doesn't mean there isn't a level of respect between the two almost-strangers. Pete was 11 when he randomly crossed paths with Rodgers while the Super Bowl-winning quarterback was in town to play the Bears in 2017. Rodgers was making his way from the team hotel to his usual Chicago culinary destination, Mastro's — the downtown steakhouse that has become one of Rodgers' favorite haunts when he comes to town. That's when Pete told his mom the stranger walking toward them in the gray ski cap looked a lot like the hated Packers signal-caller. Pete's mother insisted it couldn't be. Then Rodgers got closer, and then it hit her: That's Aaron Rodgers. The two chatted momentarily and then posed for a photo. Not wanting to be an annoying kid, Pete thanked Rodgers for his time and watched as he walked away. A few blocks later, Rodgers again encountered Pete and his mom, who had stopped to text Pete's dad about the encounter. For the next 25 minutes, the three walked and talked: Pete, the lifetime Bears fan, and Rodgers, the often-booed rival from Up North. #NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/DniJbT6kUo— petenicoll15 (@petenicoll15) October 14, 2021 Pete has rarely discussed the meeting in the four years since. Until this week. On Wednesday, Rodgers was asked about his feelings about Chicago. Without prompting, he recalled the conversation he had with a random kid and his mom as he walked on his way to dinner. Rodgers said he always enjoyed coming here to visit and, despite being treated poorly on the field, respected the people who lived here — including the kid who walked with him to dinner on that Saturday night. Rodgers called the walk-and-walk a "nice chance meeting." Pete saw that news conference at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday and tweeted: "Im the kid that he met and I walked around with him. Cant believe he still remembers me. Respect." Im the kid that he met and I walked around with him. Cant believe he still remembers me. Respect. https://t.co/2SXy0AQatj— petenicoll15 (@petenicoll15) October 14, 2021 Ever since Rodgers' news conference, Pete's phone hasn't stopped blowing up. He woke up Thursday morning to more than 1,000 likes of his tweet — a number that has since doubled. He did a WGN radio hit and was featured on ESPN's Instagram feed. Pete got so much Twitter attention that it's forced him to mute notifications when he gets mentioned. "That's when I, like, all right, this is insane," Pete, who attends Prospect High School, told Patch on Friday. "It's been insane." Pete's tweet didn't go viral until his photo was linked with video of the Rodgers news conference expressing his Chicago feelings. He would never play here, he said, because the Bears are the Bears. But for Pete, who doesn't remember a ton of specifics about the chat, the fact Rodgers remembered the encounter and actually brought it up meant something. "It was a nice chance meeting," Rodgers said this week. To the best of his recollection, he recalled chatting Rodgers up about the Bears, being a Cubs fan, about what sports he played and family vacations. Just normal stuff, really, Pete said Friday. Even after the encounter, Pete couldn't bring himself to actually like Rodgers. He received a couple of Rodgers shirts for holiday gifts but has yet to wear them. But since the chance meeting, there was something about the way Rodgers treated him and his mother that hasn't left Pete to this day. "He was just a nice and normal guy," Pete told Patch. "He seemed normal, and I couldn't process that in my head." "I think a lot of what he respected is that we didn't treat him like some crazy celebrity, and he didn't treat us like we were nobodies. He treated us like we were family friends." Pete said this week on Twitter he has never been to a Bears game. Others tweeted at Rodgers to push him to provide Pete with tickets to Sunday's game at Soldier Field. While Pete's certainly not angling for a handout from anyone, he probably wouldn't mind a chance to see Rodgers one more time. "He's still my least favorite Packer, because why wouldn't he be? He's everybody's least favorite Packer," Pete said. "But the fact I talked with him and saw his respect and how normal, nice and cool he is to normal people, it showed [the] respect I have for him." Chances are, most Bears fans won't agree. But Pete has his reasons for holding firm.