Aaron Rodgers spills on darkness retreat, pooping, and NFL future
Aaron Rodger had himself one heckuva an experience during his isolation retreat in which he spent four days in darkness, contemplating everything in his life without any outside distractions.
While everyone is talking about the football thoughts Rodgers had during his experience with absolute black, the number of interesting topics he discussed on the Aubrey Marcus Podcast goes well beyond the pigskin.
Yes, he spent the third day of darkness inserting himself into a future of retirement and then took the fourth day to imagine himself playing football again in 2023.
"What I saw in both the third and fourth days, I saw myself, my full self at the end of that journey on the one side – and I saw my full self at the end of that journey on the other side. I wasn't missing anything. I was fully myself in both those timelines. And those are really sweet, sweet things to experience," said Rodgers.
Anyway, some interesting nuggets from his discussion about his retreat.
1. Going to the bathroom was dangerous
"My whole thing was like, OK, the worst thing to drill myself on would be that hook, so I put a towel on that. And the sink, because the sink was super sturdy. And it was also, because the bathroom is so small – there was just a toilet and a sink – it was dangerously close to the toilet, where if you moved slightly to maybe wipe or weren't really thinking about where the sink was to bend down and brush your teeth, you could definitely drill it and I drilled it one time," he said.
"I don't think I have any major damage. But it was the last day, too. I was like, 'I f****** made it through.' I didn't drill my head at all. I ran into some things, shoulders, arms, knees of course."
2. Wiping his butt in the dark
"I had very, very smooth...smooth number twos," Rodgers said in the midst of a playful conversation with Marcus about what it's like to wipe their butt in the dark.
"I was grubbing on these big salads that they had for us," he continued. "Yeah, my dumps were super smooth. In my mind, they were all two wipers and done."
"There were multiple, though, where I didn't even think I needed a wipe."
3. Green Bay has a great Indian restaurant
"India Bhavan, man. Thank you, guys. Incredible, man. Unbelievable. And for those of you who don't know where it is, it's where the Hooters used to be. Which hasn't been there for a long time and I have to admit I was only there one time in 2006. It's definitely an upgrade. Phenomenal," Rodgers said.
You don't need to be a pro athlete to afford a meal there. The most expensive item on the menu is $18.99.
4. The first team he'll talk to is the Packers
"If I decide to play, I think first is a conversation with them. Where you guys at? I've been there 18 years and I have so much love for Green Bay and the organization," he said.
He later said that he'll make his decision "sooner than later."
5. Retirement versus playing again
"I think as much as anything, before there felt like one scary option and one unknown. That's what the two felt like," he said. "The scary was retirement and the unknown was going back and playing and what does that mean? Is that Green Bay? Is that somewhere else? If that's somewhere else what is it like being somewhere else?"
Rodgers didn't disagree when Marcus raved about Rodgers' ability to still play at a high level.
"Then they drafted my replacement and then I won MVP twice," Rodgers said of the Packers taking Jordan Love in the 2020 draft. "I threw 85 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in two years."
"There's probably people that think I'm done. I thought I was done before I became Covid MVP twice. There will be plenty of inspiration down that road. I have a great peace about it that I did not have without the darkness so I'm really thankful for that experience."
