The defeat is several days old, but the frustration and disappointment are lingering.
Usually, Aaron Rodgers is much better at letting go and moving on than this. Perhaps it's because he's so unaccustomed to this feeling -- the team is in the middle of losing four of five, something that hasn't happened to him since his first year as the starter. Whatever the reason, the Green Bay Packers quarterback is clearly downtrodden on this early December afternoon as he saunters toward the alcove that connects the team's locker room to the players' parking lot. Then he hears that familiar voice -- and familiar catchphrase -- and pivots.
"Hey, Buuuuuud!" Andy Gruber says cheerfully, steering his laundry cart into Rodgers' path.
From across the room, you can clearly see Rodgers' expression transform -- at least until he and Andy go into WWE wannabe mode, exchange John Cena's patented "You can't see me" wave in front of each of their faces, obscuring Rodgers' wide grin. The two share a fist bump and go their separate ways -- Rodgers out the door, Andy to the next towel-filled bin.
"Andy is the one guy at the facility who can always make me smile," Rodgers later explains. "He's the kind of guy that even after a rough loss, you come in here on Wednesday -- because he doesn't usually work on Monday or Tuesday -- and he's always smiling and saying, ‘Don't worry, we're going to get the next one.'
"I love Andy for who he is. He talks a little slower sometimes, but other than that, it's not something that you really think about, to be honest with you."
Four years ago, Rodgers gave Andy an important job: Work his way around the locker room with a nameless No. 33 jersey and get it signed by every player on the roster. Each day, Rodgers would harp on him about getting each signature, repeatedly emphasizing that it was a gift for someone very close to him. After Andy had collected all the autographs and delivered the jersey to Rodgers, he handed it off to Batty, who delivered it to the team's head seamstress, Marge Switzer. She then sewed a nameplate onto the back, and Batty wrapped Rodgers' gift for him.
"A day later, we bring Andy back in, he opens it up, it's the jersey he'd gotten signed," Batty says, smiling. The No. 33 had been to commemorate Andy's 33rd birthday. "He loved it. He has it framed on his wall at home."
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Jason Wilde wrote: