Saturday, 4 a.m.
There are three possible reactions to the ongoing staredown between the New York Jets and the Green Bay Packers.
The first is passion. You feel this if you're a Jets' fan. You have a celebrity crush going on in the name of Aaron Rodgers, and you cannot believe he is not a Jet at this moment. You feel very strongly about this, and so you are very loud and more than a little indignant.
The second is arrogant. You feel this if you are a Packer fan. You are more than willing for your team to walk away from the growing annoyance that Rodgers has become, but not at the price that Jets' fans are evidently ready for their team to pay.
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Then there is this one, the one all of this back and forth has left us with, itotal amusement. I mean, this is funny stuff, this ongoing debate over which team has more leverage. Me? I want to see the principals of the deal all meet for lunch, and while they are there, for Rodgers to spill catsup on his shirt.
After which, maybe the team reps can get into a fork-fight over dessert.
I mean, really. Why don't the sides just call it off? The Jets sound like they want the Packers to give them Rodgers. The Packers sound like they want a fortune and a half.
In other words, the Jets think Rodgers is great ... until it's time to pay for him. And the Packers think that Rodgers is a pain, except he's their pain. The Packers, you see, owe Rodgers a stupid amount of money (they were stupid to pay it, and the Jets think that Green Bay cannot dare to ask for a reasonable amount of money. Green Bay thinks that Rodgers is the finest underachieving quarterback in the "One Super Bowl club."
And so neither team wants to blink.
The truth is that, except for compensation, both sides are right. Rodgers is a great player ... and a pain. He's a star...and an underachiever.
You know what's missing? Another team. Maybe another quarterback. Both teams are bound to try to convince the other that another party exists.
Just wait. Between now and the draft, Green Bay will leak that they're talking to Houston, or Baltimore, or Indianapolis. The Jets will mention that they really, really like Lamar Jackson. And have you seen Blaine Gabbert in the moonlight?
Of course, neither side will believe it. So Green Bay will continue to ask for a No. 1 draft pick or two. And the Jets will offer a seventh and some old practice jerseys.
If I'm an arbiter, I suggest the Jets give up a No. 1 and a No. 3 (if Rodgers plays more than one year).
That way, the Jets can feel they overpaid.
The Packers dan believe they were under-compensated.
And the rest of us can wait for both sides to be disappointed.