Well, Aaron Rodgers played his first game as starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. He’s following a legend. That has to suck. It’s hard to be the one coming after someone who was something more than you are whether it’s smarter, wittier, faster, stronger, prettier, and a long list of er words you may have of your own. I’m sure when Aaron gets his first paycheck, the pressure will seem a little more worth it. When you’re a kid following a sibling, it can either be like following Favre or following the family dufus, which is a whole lot easier.
Sometimes children are put in the weird position of being compared to one or the other parent, back in the day. It’s funny how many conferences come around to parents going on about how they learned and responded to school. One year a dad was taking blame for his child having trouble reading. This kid worked hard, but reading was a struggle. The parent told me in a don’t worry about it kind of way that he was just like that in school and that Roland was probably following in his footsteps. At this point, the mom leaned over and reminded dad that this conference was about their adopted son, Roland, and not him. There are also parents who make decisions for their children based on shoulder chips they’ve kept from their own childhoods. Usually this happens when a parent thinks their child gifted, and then remembers feeling bored in school because the teacher didn‘t realize what a genius he was. So in a tactical move against possible doldrums, parents push the teachers to push their children. This seldom works, incidentally. We are culminations of our own experiences.
It’s great when you get a sibling in your class, you already know the parents and they have a clear understanding that this child is not the other. This one may be the complete opposite, a composite of similarities and differences appreciated by the parents who just step back and watch life unfold.
So Aaron, although we love Brett and may accidentally call you Brett every now and then, be patient with us. We’re trying to see you as an individual just starting your career of a lifetime. When you drop a ball, we may inquire about what the matter with you is; when you get sacked, we may say something about our grandmothers being able to get rid of a ball faster than you, but when a pass is intercepted, we’ll go away shaking our heads saying, "Geez...he’s just like Brett.”
