Green Bay prankster Rodgers gets Nagy
The Bears-Packers hostilities started early this season.
Aaron Rodgers fired the first shot when he saw coach Matt Nagy in Lake Tahoe last month.
Nagy and Rodgers played in the American Century Championship, a celebrity golf tournament, and it was a big deal for Nagy to be invited for the first time. Rodgers, a regular in the tourney, spoiled Nagy’s big moment when players were introduced at an event the night before it began.
When they called Nagy’s name, he hit a snag trying to make his way from the back of the room.
“I’m scrambling in the back to stand up, and there’s about a hundred guys sitting in the back row, and as I’m walking, all of a sudden I trip,” Nagy said. “I look back, and someone stuck their knee out to trip me.
“I look back, and [Rodgers] is just sitting there, and he’s staring at me, laughing, with this grin. I just looked at him and all I thought about was, ‘This is gonna be fun.’ That was the interaction we had, and I think it was a mutual respect.”
That was the extent of their time together, and Nagy still seemed irked that Rodgers got the best of him on the course, too. Rodgers shot 82-79-76 to finish 21st; Nagy was 49th (84-88-87).
“I’ve gotta do better,” Nagy said.
His chance at payback comes in the season opener Sept. 5, when the Bears host the Packers.
None of this is surprising from Rodgers, who has annoyed every Bears coach since he took over as Green Bay’s quarterback in 2008.
The future Hall of Famer is 16-5 against the Bears with 45 touchdown passes (13 percent of his career total) and a 105.9 passer rating.
He burned the Bears in the second half of last year’s opener in Green Bay’s 24-23 comeback victory, but the Bears handled him well in a 24-17 win late in the season. Rodgers completed 25 of 42 passes in that game for 274 yards and threw one of his two interceptions on the season.