Travis Kelce Responded To Aaron Rodgers' "Mr. Pfizer" Comment Flawlessly
Oh, you thought I was alluding to Kelce commenting on medical research in reference to the efficacy of a vaxine? No, no, no.
What Kelce did there was respond like a seasoned expert in public relations when that reporter asked him if he heard what Aaron Rodgers said about him.
Just flawless execution from Kelce there, checking all the public speaking boxes.
- self-deprecation right off the top.
"Oh, see this filthy mustache I'm rocking? Yah, no wonder he calls me Mr. Pfizer. That was pretty good, haha."
- following up directly addressing the question with a question
"Gee, who knew I would get into the vax wars with Aaron Rodgers?"
- Slipping in a subtle, but very effective dig of your own. (While smiling ear to ear.)
"Looks like its Mr. Pfizer vs. The Johnson and Johnson family over there."
- Close with a memorized talking point provided by the sponsor.
"I got vaccinated because..."
Kelce didn't really stick his neck out on this subject and I'm not going to either. But him pointing out Rodger's hypocrisy was the big thing to me about Rodgers stirring this up to begin with on his guy McAfee's podcast last week when asked about Kelce. He really doesn't have a leg to stand on with his argument in regards to the vaccine. He literally plays for Team Vaccine. Team Big Pharma is The NY Jets, bought and paid for by the Johnson and Johnson family with their billions of big pharma dollars. That preposterous $75 million dollar contract you signed with team Big Pharma is being paid to you in Big Pharma dollars, too, Aaron.
Sucks, because I've really gained a ton of respect for Rodgers over the last few years, 1- because of how generous he has become, and all the charity he does for great causes, like he did with The Barstool Fund and helping small businesses, but also because the more outspoken and more he's interacted with the media, the more we've been able to learn how smart and well spoken he is. He thinks for himself, likes to learn about things, and develops his own opinions.
But this was a tongue-in-cheek "scuffle" he should have never picked while wearing Jets colors.
(Full disclosure - I have no dog in this fight because I have both dogs in this fight. I've actually started to really like Rodgers since resigning to the fact he legitimately owns The Chicago Bears. Aside from being a freakishly talented quarterback, with the most touch I've seen a quarterback have since Dan Marino, he's a pretty brilliant guy. He reads like crazy, and isn't afraid of expressing his opinion. He's really good on camera and entertaining to listen to. It sucked seeing him go to the Jets, and sucked even more seeing him snap his achilles on opening night. My hate for him turned to respect.
Likewise, I used to despise Kelce. I thought he was overrated, obsessed with being Gronk, and definitely not even close to worthy of smooching Taylor Swift. But now? He's undeniably incredible at football. Though he's nowhere near the blocking Tight End Gronk was, he's pretty fucking good catching the ball and scoring. And after meeting him this past summer a few times at my club in Cleveland, Forward (ever heard of it?), he's actually a ridiculously funny guy, who treats staff like a true gentleman, has a ton of manners, and is polite and nice to every single person who says hi and asks for a photograph. My hate for him turned to respect.)