Almost all of us have an athlete or athletes in our lives.
Certainly we know people who are politically active. A lot of us aren’t too far from someone who may have a “healing” interest in psychoactive plants.
But do you know an apex-level athlete who was asked to run for vice president and openly uses mind-altering plants with colleagues in his sport?
The new 3-episode docuseries, “Aaron Rodgers: Enigma,” spotlights a man who can fairly be said to fit this bill.
The opening episode of the series is enigmatic in itself.
Comprised of compelling stock footage of NFL broadcasts along with vérité roll from practices, huddles and lockers, the subject matter tells its own story. Production seems to fade to the sidelines–a strong move in storytelling–retelling a story that fans may recognize at least in part.
Others will be intrigued to see what plays out for the first time.
In the latter two episodes, events become so personal that the opposite dynamic is at work. Here, by invite only, the production delivers private footage that might surprise just about everyone.
“Aaron Rodgers: Enigma” reflects the subject’s admission that he is pulled between his extroverted and introverted lives. The production technique of marching from those two ends–public reel and intimately private video–without filling in too much of the midfield, allows “Enigma” to reserve judgment.
It gives audiences the space to analyze and make the call on Rodgers.
Some might want “Enigma” to throw a flag or spike the ball in rejection or support for Rodger’s activities, but the series swallows the whistle and leaves our minds in play action.
“Enigma” rekindles the memories of how Rodgers, a Super Bowl champion and All-Pro quarterback, kept the Packers at or beyond their Brett Favre levels of excellence. The docuseries makes us wonder if perhaps Rodgers found himself enshrouded as an individual behind the Green Bay green and gold due to seamlessly carrying on Favre’s legacy.
Then the series records how Rodgers waxes outspoken on human rights and could have probably been on your 2024 election ballot if he had wanted to. In that political season, perhaps Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s unsolicited invitation to Rodgers to be his running mate showed Rodgers he could impact the entire American body politic without mounting a publicity campaign.
“Enigma” tracks how Rodgers has stymied journalists through the challenge of his independent views, some developed out of lessons experienced at Berkeley, no less.
Thirdly, “Enigma” travels with the explorer Rodgers, who some weeks is beyond anyone catching up with him – on a “retreat.” As a further paradox, the red-blooded American football player Rodgers and his league buddies use liquified rainforest vines for mystical purposes.
A viewer might wonder if their retreats are technically questionable substance use. The series begs and swirls with similar questions.
Rodgers claims his family has turned away from him for lack of common understanding. “Enigma” widens the glimpses people have had of Rodgers in order to afford better understanding of him but stridently refuses to force people to do so.
Viewers who would like their placement of Rodgers to fall in line with other “Renaissance” athletes might be disappointed. Is Rodgers a Bill Bradley crossover from sports to politics, but one who challenges the status quo?
Is Rodgers a Tom Brady with a different, but also notorious, longevity and health protocol? Is Rodgers a Darryl Strawberry with a completely different ministry? (By the way, kudos to Strawberry on his overcoming of substance use that definitely was not healing and for reaching out in a big and spirited way to help others).
Perhaps Rodgers is the ”Zen Master” of quarterbacking as Phil Jackson was to hardwood coaching, yet more self-expressed politically. Does Rodgers’ mystery make him the dissident athlete of the era par excellence?
Any way of looking at it, Rodgers is a unique public figure in American life and is young enough to barely be getting started. That severed achilles tendon four snaps into Rodgers’ first game with the New York Jets left a gaping hole in viewers’ expectations for how Rodgers would complete his playing career.
He finds himself in the nexus amidst stardom, national controversy and personal development.
As well as he connected downfield, Rodgers’ impact off the gridiron could become much bigger. “Enigma” does not provide a concrete answer as to Rodgers’ plans with the HHS, assumed to be led by RFK, Jr.
Rodgers does have certain feelings that “Enigma” allows him to reveal about improvements in nutrition and health freedom, considering how the political system is mired deep in the backfield during a chronic disease, drug overuse and government overreach blitz.
Moving from a Midwest media sports market to New York City wasn’t the vehicle that rocketed Rodgers to the next level of publicity. Instead, Rodgers is increasing his national impact on his terms and by walking through a door of his own making.
As we finish the decade’s first quarter, we truly are running with the ball as the media ourselves for perhaps the unfamiliar first time. The real enigma is what untapped capabilities can awaken in us?
Spiritual interests grow and vary as we search this realm, and God has “many mansions in His house,” so “Enigma” seems biblically wise to hold back from judgment about the crushed South American vines that Rodgers’ drinks at ceremonial times.
That being said, many who drink the vine, of one kind or another, find a time when they can say, “Enough,” and let it go, as biblical wisdom also guides.
“Enigma” toys with the notion that the courage to dare fully, whether in sports or media, rests on the premise that that we eventually let go of earthly things. For now, the most independent and enigmatic thing we can do for significant yardage might be to sincerely develop in our callings.
“Aaron Rodgers: Enigma” shows that from gaining talented teams around you, to welcoming politicians who pursue you, to attracting movie crews to share what’s unique about your story, to keeping rare friends who walk with you whether you’re down or up–you never know what or who might take their best shot at you.
Rodgers’ incredible arm talent and ability to make plays under pressure have earned him numerous accolades, including two NFL MVP awards and a Super Bowl victory. However, his relationship with the media and his sometimes prickly demeanor on the field have created a sense of mystery and intrigue around the Green Bay Packers star.
Some have labeled Rodgers as aloof or difficult to work with, while others see him as simply a fiercely competitive and intensely private individual. Regardless of how he is perceived, there is no denying that Rodgers is one of the most complex and fascinating figures in the NFL.
As Rodgers enters the twilight of his career, the question remains: will we ever truly understand the enigma that is Aaron Rodgers? Only time will tell, but one thing is for certain – he will continue to keep us guessing and captivated for years to come.
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